Okay. I get it. So you haven't
necessarily put in 100% effort into your grades so far. I've spent
plenty of years slacking through school myself but eventually the
slow kick in the butt the world gave knocked some sense into me. For
years, I struggled to care even the slightest bit about my grades.
I did have one reason that I kept
trying to use to force myself to study with but it never worked.
Since I've started working with students on how to improve their
grades, I've learned that it's actually one of the most common
mistakes students make.
Do not get good grades to make someone
else happy.
Despite all the whining of your parents
or teachers, you cannot give in. Any attempt to study to make someone
else happy is an almost completely wasted effort. You have only one
life to live. Right now it might not seem like a big deal but you
will regret the time you waste studying for this reason. Studying to
make other people happy is a completely inefficient and painful way
to spend your time. If you're going to find a reason to get good
grades then take the time to find a good one. That will speed up your
studying and make sure you can actually enjoy the process.
What are the reasons you should be
getting good grades.
1. The Pursuit Of Knowledge
Yes. This is the noble and blatantly
obvious first answer. Of course, 99% of you will glance over this
like a crack in a sidewalk but this crack happens to be wide enough
to break your ankle if you're not looking out.
Your grades can be thought of as a sign
of the knowledge you're gaining. While it's never as simple as that
cliché, it holds some truth. If you're looking to gain knowledge
that they teach in school, focus on getting good grades as proof that
you're actually learning it.
That being said, this should not apply
for most students. Don't feel bad if you really don't care about the
subjects taught in school.
2. Personal Training
I may have never enjoyed many subjects
in school but after I started focusing on scoring high, this was one
of my fundamental reasons.
You only have so much time in your day.
If you want to be a better person, you need to use that time to
improve. Considering you spend hours of your day cramped up into a
dim classroom, you might as well use it as a way to improve yourself.
Your grades improving is usually a sign
that you're improving your ability to learn information in school.
These improvements will be helpful well past your school years.
3. To Get People Off Your Back (Yea. It's different.)
I know what you're thinking. Isn't this
the same as making other people happy? Not exactly.
You should not be getting good grades
to satisfy someone else but, for most students, getting poor grades
would be absolutely miserable. Not because there is some major life
consequence (well... probably) but mostly because parents and
teachers would be poking you with annoying comments all day about
your lack of effort.
If you're in a non-voluntary school
situation like high school or earlier, satisfying people to the point
that they shut up is a reasonable motivation to get good grades. If
you're getting C's and your parents are complaining that you should
be getting A's, try only getting B's and see if they stop whining. If
they do, maybe it's worth sticking with the B effort. If they still
keep complaining then either get the grades they want solely to shut
them up (and don't put in an extra ounce of effort over that,) or
forget trying to please them.
The difference between this and to make
other people happy is this. Do the minimum to get people to let you
live your own life. (Sometimes no amount will do this. If not, this
reason is not for you. Deal with the people in your life. Not your
grades.)
4. Prepare For A Career
So, you've decided you want to be a
doctor (or maybe a professional basket weaver?) Getting good grades
now, particularly in related subjects can be a great way to start
prepping for a job. Notice the word start. It's definitely a small
step for most careers but some career fields this is particularly
useful.
If you want to be a math teacher (or
engineer or card counter etc.) then focus on getting good grades in
math. These lessons will definitely help you in your future career.
Your history grade might be a complete waste of time though.
5. Create A Buffer
Okay. Maybe you're not so motivated by
any of these other reasons. Despite that, you might still want to
pass the class (how odd of you, right?)
Good grades can be created as a buffer
for more slacking in the future. With some courses, the early lessons
are significantly easier than the later lessons. For those courses
(and certain other situations) you may want to get great grades early
on so you can slack off a little later in the year without worrying
about your grades failing.
Imagine how great it will feel having a
final coming up that you could completely fail and still get a good
grade in the course. Yea. Studying isn't all that hard in those
cases.
6. Top School Or A Scholarship
Notice the word top school. I did not
use the word good school. Good colleges do very little to help your
career in the future versus the average college. They generally
charge more to give you a slightly better education. That better
education, usually doesn't pay off with a better career.
Imagine you're an employer reading an
application that shows a person went to Joanasburg University? That
may be the greatest college in the country educationally but if your
potential employer hasn't heard of it, it means nothing. Top schools
include MIT, Harvard, and other recognizably named colleges. On top
of that, they can usually get you significantly better connections
for your future.
If you're close to qualifying for one
of those top colleges then you should consider keeping those grades
up to make sure you have the chance to get in. At the very least, you
may be able to get an academic scholarship. That can also be a great
reason to keep fighting for great grades.
7. Cause You Wanna
Don't let me tell you not to score high
if you have some personal reason you want to get good grades. Maybe
you want to impress the girl sitting next to you in class? Maybe
you're hot for teacher? Maybe you're a time traveler planning to
learn information to take back to your society where you'll use it to
defeat the evil ninja monkeys on mars? Whatever really floats your
boat it a good motivation. As long as it really gets you excited, it
can be a good reason to get a good grade.
Just please... don't do it to try and
make other people happy. If they need your grades to be happy then
they have bigger problems they should be worrying about.
Do you want to know how to get better
grades than ever without putting more time than ever into studying?
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