University Counseling Center
Study Skills Seminar
Memorial Hall, First Floor
 Memorial
Hall 102
 Hours:

Mon. – Thurs.


8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Friday

8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
 309-298-2453
 www.wiu.edu/ucc
 Individual
Counseling
 Group Counseling
 Career Counseling
 Academic or
learning skills
assistance
 Outreach
Programming
 Academic
Instruction
 Assessments




Psychological
Vocational
Learning Disabilities
Standardized tests
 Consultation
 Training
of Graduate
Students / Interns
 Motivation
 What


is motivation?
Sometimes it helps to get a definition first
According to Dictionary.com, motivation is:



The act or instance of motivating
The state or condition of being motivated
Something that motivates, incentive
 Desire
to do something, or have interest in
doing something
 In psychology, the process that arouses,
sustains and regulates human and animal
behavior
 Inner or social stimulus for an action
 What
starts our actions, gives direction to
our work, helps us persist despite obstacles,
and makes us put in considerable effort to a
task

People are internally
motivated to do
something because it
either brings them
pleasure, they think it
is important, or they
feel that what they
are learning is
significant
INTRINSIC

When a student is
compelled to do
something or act a
certain way because
of factors external to
him or her (like
money or good
grades)
EXTRINSIC
 Depression
from feeling overburdened with
class work
 Homesickness, troubles adjusting to life
changes
 Peer pressure to resist studying
 Personal relationships and family

Good and bad
 Unclear
career goals
 Not
a stable trait, psychological trait that we
can learn to regulate
 Identify
what motivates you, rather than
thinking of motivation as something you have
or don’t have
 Social
Factors
 Emotional
 Cognitive
Factors
Factors
 Money
 Desire
a particular career
 Parents
 Not ready for the workforce
 Hoping to find yourself
 Just want to party
 Personal




Goals:
What kind of person do I want to become?
What things do I really want to learn?
What things do I want to possess?
What things do I want to accomplish?
 Career


Goals:
What is your desired salary?
What is your desired position/ responsibilities
 Relationship

goals:
How would you like to deepen and enrich your
relationships with family, friends, etc.?
 To
get motivated you must realize
your goals—short and long term.
 Realizing
why you are doing
something is important, but always
make sure you are doing it for the
right reasons
 After
developing your goals, write them
down & post them somewhere as a reminder
to yourself.
 Recite your goals to yourself if you are
feeling frustrated (ex. Studying for midterm)
 Motivation defeats Procrastination
 Life

Skills
Organization, time management, goal setting
 Social

Meet a variety of people & learn to communicate
effectively & become more skilled in social
situations
 Job

Skills
Skills
Communication, leadership, initiative, logical
thinking
 Knowledge

Immerse yourself in your education
 Enjoyment

College can and should be fun
 Community

Become active in community (Macomb)
 Self
Involvement
Responsibility
Increase in amount of being responsible for
consequences of your decisions
 Spend
time with others already in your field.
 Remember to do things for yourself to keep
motivated:
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


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
Eat right and regularly
Be active
Learn to say “NO”
Relax
Mini-Vacation
Release frustrations
Be nice to yourself
Use the support around you
 Does
not just appear out of the blue, but
rather is the end result of hard work and
being a self-regulated person
 Relationship
between motivation and hard
work is reciprocal
 Having
a clear understanding of why you are
in school, and it’s benefits, can help you
remain motivated
 If
you have any questions or concerns about
motivation do not hesitate to contact the
UCC!