Many people will tell you that there are two different kinds of motivation: the carrot and the stick. The carrot signifies some sort of prize or positive reinforcement dangled in front of you that motivates you to push forward toward the goal that is in front of you. The stick represents negative reinforcement or some kind of punishment for failing to accomplish the things you are supposed to accomplish, with the idea that the fear of the punishment will be motivation. Neither the carrot nor the stick is the best kind of motivation.
The best kind of motivation is internal. Rather than chasing some sort of external prize or fearing some sort of external punishment, the best motivation comes from an internal decision that the job to be done needs to be done and is worth doing. With that in mind, I’m going to say something a little extreme. If you can’t find the motivation to study for the SAT, you shouldn’t be going to college.
That probably sounds harsh, but let me break it down for you. The SAT is at times unglamorous, unexciting and unfun. In that respect it’s similar to a good portion of the coursework that you’ll encounter in college. I had a wonderful college experience and I can still say that there was quite a bit of college that wasn’t much fun. There will be tedious papers to write on a deadline, lab reports that stretch on for hours and lectures that never seem to end. The unpleasant parts doesn’t diminish the overall experience of college, but if you can’t handle them you’re not going to be successful in a college environment.
Unlike the experience many of you have in high school, you aren’t going to have the carrots of personalized praise from teachers and parents and school awards when you do good work. You also won’t have parents and teachers hovering over your shoulders to make sure you finish your assignments on time. In college you have the freedom to fail, and if you don’t find the internal motivation, you will exercise that freedom.
There are lots of excuses you can make about how the SAT is different from college and how your current state of indifference will fade once you get on a college campus. Quit trying to fool yourself. The SAT is a good challenge for college preparedness not just because it tests basic skills in math, reading and writing, but also because it tests your motivation.
If you find your motivation flagging for SAT studying, dig deep for that internal motivation. The sooner you figure out how to find that well the better, because you’ll need to dip back into it many times over the next few years.
