Random Thoughts

[Ken Cheng]

Re: how to motivate yourself to study.

This worked for me. I don't know if it'll work for you or anybody else, but you can evaluate and see if you can adapt it for your purposes.

At around the same time that I started college, I became an avid fan of the Beatles. I had heard their music often during my childhood and adolescence, but until the end of high school/beginning of college, I didn't consider myself a *student* of their music.

I was fascinated by what made the Beatles the best pop/rock band of their generation and arguably the best band of all time. Naturally, they were talented, but so were many other artistes. What separated the Beatles from the pack, however, was their insistence upon each of their new works surpassing their previous ones. They started with simple love songs such as "Love Me Do" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand," progressed to such sophisticated album-length statements as RUBBER SOUL and SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND before breaking up in 1970. In the eight years that they recorded together, they produced a body of music that would influence other pop/rock musicians for generations to come.

If you listen to the Beatles' music in chronological order, you'll see a constant progression - a constant quest to improve upon the previous music. The journey began with their cover performances and recordings of their favorite folk, blues, country, and early rock 'n roll music. The Beatles loved the music of 1930s and 1940s blues artists, of American country music stars, and of course, earlier rockers such as Elvis and Chuck Berry. They learned by copying/imitating these earlier masters. This is the "studying" phase.

As they accumulated knowledge, skill, and experience as musicians in their own right, the Beatles began writing their own music. At first, the songs were highly derivative of those of their heroes, but even in the beginning, the Beatles injected a unique character into their songs that made even their earlier works much more than straight imitations of their heroes' music. This is the "thinking" phase.

The Beatles reached the pinnacle of pop music by 1964, and were pioneering a new style of popular music that had not previously been heard. Even so, they didn't rest on their laurels. Conscious that even the newest music would soon be imitated and grow stale, they absorbed new influences...from classical Indian music to avant garde sound collages to experiments with electronic music (e.g. early synthesizers and such). They did things that pop groups had never done before (e.g. employ 40-piece orchestras to play an ascending music scale, only to end on a single crashing chord that they allowed to resonate to silence over several minutes), that pop groups weren't supposed to do. This is the "innovation" stage.

When I studied in college or wrote essays, I had the Beatles' catalog playing in the background. Far from being a distraction, the music focused my effort because I felt that I was essentially doing what a young John Lennon or Paul McCartney did when they were Beatles: each essay I wrote was my new "album." It had to say something different from my previous essays (or my peers' essays), trying something daring and new, and push the envelope of analysis and presentation - to be better than the previous essay (just as each new Beatles album was better than the previous one). When I studied for tests and quizzes, I was essentially rehearsing my material for a "live" concert. Live concerts obviously aren't as technically perfect as a studio recording, but the essence of the music is the same. When you play "live," however, you're allowed a measure of spontaneity that might not be evident on the "single" (e.g. the short homework assignment) or "album" (the extended essay/project). Either way, however, if you're a Beatle (or an aspiring student), you want your work to be the best work you've done to date.

I don't know if any of that makes sense to you, but it was a mental technique I used to motivate me to study in college. I graduated with a 3.8 GPA from UCLA in four years, so I guess it worked.

[Guo Xiang]

That's really annoying. I am unfortunately the type of person that doesn't like to be second guessed. I think most people don't like to be, but I'm particularly hostile to such situations like yours. I take a very personal insult in being made to feel stupid too whether the intention is real or imagined. In the past 8 years, I've been second guessed by all the important people around me in my major life decisions. It was very painful because I wanted the people that I trusted and confided in to support me. While I knew they had good intentions, I didn't appreciate not being allowed to learn my own lessons. In hindsight, some of them have even said "I told you so" to me. I'm a quick learner, I don't tell certain people anything anymore.

I say you wait the situation out for the other person to forget [for harmonious purposes] because you know he had good intentions towards you. Sometimes, it's best to bite your tongue and take a step back in order to see the larger picture. Wait it out to see if your decision was indeed correct and be smug about it yourself in quiet . If it turns out that he is correct, then learn from this scenario: don't tell him anything anymore. Don't forget to make a note in your brain this particular character trait of his for use in the future too.

Well, this worked for me anyway.

Thanks, darling. I was so tempted to lash out at him last night but didn't do so. I just don't think I'd share much of my joy with him when my decision pays off.

[Suet Seung]

I laugh at that fool who thinks he knows grammar better than me. It's almost ten years since he has been in an English class and he has never gone to college to develop his writing skills. You certainly do not use quotation marks for titles of books. Instead you should use italics or underline the title of the book. You're 1,000 years too early to think you know better than me.

[Ken Cheng]

I laugh at that fool who thinks he knows grammar better than me. It's almost ten years since he has been in an English class and he has never gone to college to develop his writing skills. You certainly do not use quotation marks for titles of books. Instead you should use italics or underline the title of the book. You're 1,000 years too early to think you know better than me.

*I'm* still the best, though.

[milKBoi]

Thanks Ken, though it didn't really made any sense to me. Well thats the exact same feeling i get studying auditing.

[Banh Mi]

We've just past page 255 in this thread. That's the highest a stat can go in old school Final Fantasy games.

[Guo Xiang]

Some people are just so crude. -.-;

[Ken Cheng]

Thanks Ken, though it didn't really made any sense to me. Well thats the exact same feeling i get studying auditing.

Hmmm. I see the problem. My method isn't going to work for this subject.

Maybe you could envision yourself as a great scientist working towards some breakthrough discovery?

[Suet Seung]

*I'm* still the best, though.

"One mountain (peak) is high, but there are other mountains ( peaks) that are higher."

Why, of course, senior Ken. I have no doubt about that since you did come to the world earlier than me; however, I will continue to learn and educate myself until the day I die. There will be a day where I will surpass, even, you.

[Ken Cheng]

"One mountain (peak) is high, but there are other mountains ( peaks) that are higher."

Why, of course, senior Ken. I have no doubt about that since you did come to the world earlier than me; however, I will continue to learn and educate myself until the day I die. There will be a day where I will surpass, even, you.

Maybe.

But until that day, I'm still the best.

[ByTmE]

Again, I am amazed at how little I managed to accomplish in the last three days. I'm also suffering from lack of motivation to study. Perhaps, I am just lazy.

[kidd]

Again, I am amazed at how little I managed to accomplish in the last three days. I'm also suffering from lack of motivation to study. Perhaps, I am just lazy.

if you don't study then you will become a janitor for the rest of your life ~ unknown

[xJadedx]

Boo, no more KevJumba on Amazing Race. But they did lose fairly, though it was unfair for that other team not to get a speed bump.

[Ken Cheng]

if you don't study then you will become a janitor for the rest of your life ~ unknown

Janitors are perfectly respectable people who perform important work for the rest of us.

One even went on to become a great martial artist.

[mi do ri]

Boo, no more KevJumba on Amazing Race. But they did lose fairly, though it was unfair for that other team not to get a speed bump.

I thought there were more than two teams that used the Taxis to get to their destination? My first time watching it and man, it's probably one of the most intense competition shows along with Fresh Meat/ The Duel by MTV and some others.


So I tried baking carrot cake from scratch today. Everything worked out fine except I did not put enough sugar so the cake came out slightly salty to bland. My mom is going to feed it to the birds tomorrow. Man, what a waste cause it came out looking really nice.

[kidd]

Janitors are perfectly respectable people who perform important work for the rest of us.

Hei, I'm trying to motivate ByTmE to study. Why do you want to sabotage my effort? It works for milKBoi.

No one said a janitor is not a respectable job. But, it's certainly not an attractive job. Would YOU prefer to work with your books, pen, paper and computer or cleaning up other people's mess? That's the motivation behind that line.

Note: I'm not looking down on janitors, ok?

One even went on to become a great martial artist.

I wonder why he didn't stay a janitor. Could it be that he found something better?

[Ken Cheng]

So, you want to join this profession?

Nah. I'm not very good at it. I'll leave it to people who are more skilled in this area than I am.

Wonder why he didn't stay a janitor since it's such a great job.

Incredibly, he *did*...for decades.

[Ken Cheng]

Hei, I'm trying to motivate ByTmE to study. Why do you want to sabotage my effort?

Because there are better ways to accomplish that goal than scaring people with the fear of working a respectable vocation.

[Ken Cheng]

<<------------------------- Ah...possibly my favorite avatar ever.

[kidd]

Because there are better ways to accomplish that goal than scaring people with the fear of working a respectable vocation.

Well your long essay didn't seem to work for milkBoi while this sentence does.

The fact that this sentence can scare the readers mean they are already scared of the profession in the first place. It's not the sentence itself that scare them away from the profession.