Motivation Leads to Rewards

There are many ways to describe the word 'motivation'. I would personally describe it as a force that drives and encourages me to complete a task. In college life, I think motivation is one thing that a student should not seek to forfeit. Without motivation, a student, especially in college where he or she is independent. is likely to fail academically and socially. In high school, I was a student without a motivation. All my friends were similar to me and we could hardly be called students. Everyday was like a weekend to us. It's not that we were rebelling against the school or acting like punks, but we were simply unmotivated. In my junior year, I was in a situation where going to a college seemed as an impossible task. Fortunately, I finally got motivation. That motivation was so powerful that I was able to isolate everything during summer break except for SAT prep book. My scores skyrocketed compared to what I've got 3 months ago. Although my GPA was deep down in the abyss, I was able to go to a college with a motivated mind that rendered me a great SAT score and an outstanding college application.

Now that I think of it, I still don't know what was the primary source for the motivation that I got in my junior year. However, I think I know what motivated me after this week of CLS 105. I am pretty confident to say that my motivation derived and still derives from Rewards. If you think about it rewards is probably the universal source for everyone's motivation. Students study for rewards whether it be a inner-feeling, or a physical reward from parents, people work because they get rewarded for it and pets listen to the owner for the same reason as well.

So it was time for me to figure out the possible rewards for me in college. For an each successful and motivated semester that I complete, I listed down the possible rewards I would get. For a no-cost reward, of course, it is a grade. Grade is like a receipt you get after paying for something. It is a proof of your hard work. For a low-cost reward, I will get something from my parents whether it be a cash or a present. For high-cost reward, which is the most important to me, it bestows me a better future and more options available for me which can include transferring to another school or getting more benefits in SU. Finally, I will obtain something that cannot be bought with money: self-accomplishment feeling. This is the greatest prize and the reason why I was able to continue on working. After experiencing the first accomplishment feeling, my motivation got much stronger.

Ultimately, the motivation search can start and end at rewards. When there are no rewards, motivation will be gone along with it. But when there are rewards, motivation will keep flowing in me. But let's just say that when there are no more rewards left, that should mean you've pretty much worked too hard and got everything you wanted and should take a break.