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Let's face it. There are subjects
you're going to hate. Despite that hate, you're going to need to pass
them to progress in school. There is absolutely nothing wrong with
that. Honestly, the fact that you're able to tell the difference
between the subjects you hate and the subjects you like is a good
sign. (I know it sounds pretty weird but tons of students just
despise everything blindly.)
Unfortunately, hating a subject comes
with some problems.
You cannot study a subject you hate
nearly as easily as you can study a subject you enjoy. Your brain is
designed to memorize things that are important to you. If you hate it
then you're admitting that it's probably not all that important to
you (at least at a gut level.) Subjects that you enjoy can stick a
whole lot easier.
What can you do about this?
The Wrong Answers
I can remember the same piece of advice
from every teacher I discussed this with. They would tell me how
great the subject is and try to convince me it's important logically.
That was never the real problem I was having though. I hated math. I
knew it was important. A huge percentage of the good jobs in the
world require at least a basic understanding of math. None of that
mattered. I still just hated it.
Logic is not the solution to hating a
subject because, odds are, your decision to hate the subject wasn't
logical.
I eventually got one piece of advice
that was semi-useful.
A friend of mine told me to, “pretend
that you like it.” Instead of just hating the subject, pretend that
you're the kind of student that enjoys the subject. By attempting
that strategy I saw instant positive results in my output but it
didn't take long before I lost that drive to pretend. (It's mentally
draining.)
What Got Me To Like Math
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I'd like to say that my sudden interest
in math was related to a conscious effort on my part but it was
partially just dumb luck. That being said, I was able to create a
strategy that I've successfully with future subjects I didn't enjoy.
What got me to like math? I got into
programming. Programming is heavily based on logic most of it could
be done without using much actual math. That being said, to go deep
into certain aspects of programming, math is a requirement.
Suddenly, I had an incentive to learn
math. At that point, learning to enjoy math just happened naturally.
What is the strategy I took from this
experience?
Love a subject for what you would love
to do with it. I hated math but as soon as I found programming,
learning math became an enjoyable process. You may hate English
class. Instead of going for the reasons the teachers tell you to go,
go for your own personal reason. (Maybe you like to find new words to
sound smart. Or maybe you prefer to make fun of the idiotic things
most novel characters do.)
It can be difficult to find a
personally relevant reason to enjoy a subject but it's one of the
most powerful options you have.
It's not the only way though.
Experiment With Delivery
This is another one of your most
powerful options.
Sometimes students end up hating a
subject just because of the crappy way schools try to teach it. By
crappy, I mostly mean, not personally relevant. Depending on your
teachers, you may never get your learning style properly involved in
the education of the subject. If you've never had the chance to learn
it at your peak then it's no surprise you hate the subject.
If you can't enjoy a subject from
school, try finding sources that can explain that subject outside of
the school environment. I know... it can sound miserable to search
for educational stuff outside of school but you should at least know
whether or not it's the subject or the sources that are driving you
nuts.
For example, if you find history class
boring, you can find a ton of history podcasts that explain it in a
much more fun way. That's not even close to your only option though.
There are comics, graphic novels, songs, and just about anything else
you can think of. Learning history doesn't just have to be a boring
lecture.
Find a new source of information on a
subject and see if it helps the subject get through to you.
Minimalism And Prioritization
The regular readers of this blog are
probably pounding their heads against the keyboard screaming, “NOT
AGAIN!?” Yes... I'm bringing this idea back from the nooks of your
brain. I'd pick it out with an ice pick if I had to because it's that
golly tootin' important. (Golly tootin'? I don't know why I used
that.)
When you properly prioritize your
classes, you're able to eliminate most of the challenges you'll have
with subjects you hate. Instead of always having to put a huge effort
in, you'll learn to put the minimal effort in while still getting a
grade that you're comfortable with. This blog has tons of articles
that can help you do that.
Action Plan
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I dropped a few ideas through this
article. I ordered the options from most effective to least
effective. That being said, I would recommend you start from the
least effective and move your way up. What do I mean by that?
Prioritize everything before you try
and solve your subject hating problem. By prioritizing your classes
you'll be able to know how much stress you should put into solving
this problem. (Some subjects you may never need to think about later.
There is no reason to spend days learning to love a subject when you
won't need the subject ever again in a month.)
After prioritizing, try to find the
minimum you can do while still getting a grade you're satisfied with.
Does that minimum seem like more time than you want to invest? Then
you need to keep moving up this list.
After that you should look for new
sources to help teach you the subject you hate. You know what you
enjoy better than anyone else. Look for sources of information that
employ something that you enjoy. If you look hard enough, you will
find a source. The source doesn't have to perfectly relate to the
subject. It just has to be closely related.
Finally, you can try to find a
personally relevant reason to enjoy the subject. This can take
months. In fact, it can never happen. You don't need to actively seek
it. Just remember that you're looking for it. Think about it every
once in a while. If you have a new idea then look into it. The best
part about this is that it lets you explore different things that you
actually enjoy. Most won't end up helping the subject but as soon as
you find one. You're set on the right path for good.
Do you want to know how to get your
studying done in less than 15 minutes a night (while still scoring
kick-ass grades?) Then this is the blog for you. Check out the
archives (or maybe even the ebooks if you've got a kindle.)
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