Why is it that we can spend hours engrossed in some activities but can’t bear to spend mere minutes on other tasks? Obviously, certain activities (hanging out with friends) are a lot more fun than others (root canal). But interest and enjoyment vary widely to the point that you may adore what I abhor (baseball).
Sometimes, when we’re really lucky, the stars align and we find pleasure in productive tasks. Our passion propels us to excellence in academics, athletics, art, or commerce, which then triggers more benefits and inspires more passion. We see this in students with a strong intrinsic motivation for test prep: the more they practice, the better they do.
So how can you find passion for prep?
Oliver Emberton, an individual who clearly understands how interest and ambition feed accomplishment, shares some remarkable insights on this topic in his article “How to find your passion“:
All of our emotions exist for good reason. We feel hunger to ensure we don’t starve. We feel full to ensure we don’t burst. And we feel passion to ensure we concentrate our efforts on things that reward us the most.
Imagine you start a dance class. You find it easy. You realise you’re getting better than others, and fast. That rising excitement you feel is your passion, and that passion makes you come back for more, improving your skills, and compounding your strengths.
The enemy of passion is frustration. If you constantly struggle with something, you’ll never become passionate about it. You learn to avoid it entirely, guaranteeing you never improve.
Most people get this backwards. They think we discover our passion, and that makes us good at something. It’s actually finding that you’re good which comes first. Passion comes from success.
Finding and following your passion entail much more than this, so I recommend this full article. More important, I recommend that you isolate specific areas in which you would like to be wildly successful and cultivate a passion for them. Test prep, believe it or not, can be surprisingly enjoyable with the right program and attitude. Even better, the rewards for even a brief obsession can be staggering!
Mike Bergin