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About yourself:
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Who you are is more valuable than
what you do. Your worth as a person is not based on your
intelligence, your grades, how hard you work. It is enough to be
you. |
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Respect and value the opinions of
others - but realize that ultimately you must respect and satisfy
yourself. |
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Practice impulse control by
imagining the consequences of your actions. How will you feel
afterwards? Then, act so that you will be satisfied with
yourself. |
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Write out a plan for yourself. Jot
down personal and academic goals and priorities, and reread them
when you're in a slump. |
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Don't worry about or dwell on
things that go wrong. Concentrate on your successes. Remember that
little successes build up just as quickly as little failures. |
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Give yourself time to change.
Forgive yourself for backsliding and making mistakes. |
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Don't be a perfectionist. Make
approaching your goals the basis of your self-respect rather than
reaching your goals. |
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Don't allow feelings of inadequacy
to get you down. Think about all the things you do have going for
you. |
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If you're feeling down or hopeless,
imagine the worst that could happen - exaggerate your fantasies -
and then laugh at them. Do this to put yourself and your current
situation in perspective. |
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When you're down, go to someone you
know cares for you and ask him or her to give you a "pep talk,"
reminding you of your good qualities and talents and abilities
and/or make a list of your good qualities and read them when you
need to. |
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Be willing to risk failure for
something you really care about. Be willing to risk success, too! |
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If you're irrationally afraid of
something, do it a lot; the fear will wear off. |
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Learn to recognize, sooner, events
which are not turning out as they should - and act to redirect them
to your satisfaction. |
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About your work: |
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No one else is forcing you to do
your work. You've decided to take it on. Don't waste your energy in
hostility toward others. Accept and live with your own decisions. |
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Start early. The sooner you start,
the sooner you'll be free to do other activities, the less worry
you'll experience, the more time you'll have to recover from
mistakes and wrong directions. |
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Expect a certain amount of tension.
Use that tension as energy to get yourself moving. |
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Different people have different
styles of working. For example, some people need competition to do
their best, while others work better at their own pace. Respect your
work style and arrange the conditions you need to do well. |
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If you have a long, hard task, make
it as comfortable for you as possible. Do it in short bits (but stay
with it), do it wearing comfortable clothes, among friends, in
familiar surroundings, with whatever you need to keep your spirits
up while you work at it. |
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Pure, unadulterated motivation is
rare (most of the time); you just have to keep plugging away. |
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If necessary, pause every now and
then to remind yourself why you have chosen to take on certain work,
what you expect to get out of it. Give yourself a pep talk. |
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When you've done something you feel
good about, reward yourself with a treat: you deserve it! |
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Completed tasks keep interest and
motivation at a higher level. Try to complete a task, accomplish a
sub-goal, before you quit for the day. |