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4 Likes
Back from Vacation; need motivation
Spent a lovely week in the mountains of Colorado and now I don't even remember what a LSAT is. Iv'e been trying to get back into my routine and nothing is working. Has anyone else experienced a break and found they can't get back on the grind? I need motivation!
Comments
You can wake up the day after the test and say,
"I did my absolute best, and put maximum amount of effort into it"
Or
"I didn't do everything I could have, and now I have to pay for it."
Days like today are what make the difference. You know you are capable, you know you want to chase your dreams. The only thing you need to do is start running!
I'm in the same boat as you. I spent 5 wonderful days in Costa Rica for a friend's wedding and two days since my return, I'm struggling to adult. As @LSATcantwin mentioned, you gotta start running to chase your dreams. I have today and Saturday to accomplish my tiny goal, which is to complete one subject, and with this goal, I can ease back into it and go full force next week. Good luck to you!
Thank you all for your motivation! I took the weekend to recover and build a vision board and I feel like myself again! 170+ here I come!!
Sounds like a great time!
I've said it a million times, but motivation isn't what you need! It's like trying to always be happy, just ain't going to happen and you can't control it anyway. It's all about discipline girl! that's something you can control and rely on.
You just have to ease back into it and imagine yourself getting that email saying you scored a 180! I like the vision board idea too.
Awesome that you took time away - literally away from the LSAT!!
Take it easy on expectations for your brain to re-engage. Some of the greatest breakthroughs have happened post-break but it takes time to get back into full swing of studying.
Some advice - Build confidence!
...re-take your favorite practice sets in the curriculum or PT sections that were strong before your vacation
...definitely do LG games or sections and always keep them a part of your weekly schedule to not lose abilities
...have realistic expectations and when you start to recognize you are fully engaged, then you can really start to enjoy the LSAT experience again which will lead to AHA moments to further energize your studies!
I love the analogy of someone learning how to swim and takes a break - when they return to the pool:
- do they jump off the diving board into deep water causing stress to rely on swimming abilities not fully intuitive
... or ...
- do they take it slow and easy walking down the steps to ensure they remember the mechanics of how to swim and build confidence in their ability. Then, they jump off the diving board out of excitement and no fear because they know how to swim.
Hope this helps:)
I can relate to your situation, as I went away for 4th of July and honestly, I'm not sure if it's the heat in CA right now (which is DREADFUL), or the full moon, or what... but this weekend I was totally unmotivated! I knew I had to do stuff, I knew I'd be pissed at myself later on if I didn't, but the get up and get to it attitude was not there. At all. It was straight forcing myself to print the drills, do them, watch the explanations, etc.
Today, when warming up for my PT, I started on a vision board too!! It was awesome and super inspiring, as I'm sure you experienced as well! It totally reminded me of my end goals and the reason for short term pain, long term gain. We can do this!!!
Plus, the PT I took today was the first PT since I started (June) that I actually walked away from feeling like it went well. Hopefully it did, lol.
We got this!
I am a huge believer in Motivation! It can give you that extra kick when you don't feel like being consistent ;-)
Great point. I started off yesterday with my RC lesson and just happened to be on the hardest ones .. gah. lol it was rough. Thankfully I got through it but I am feeling a bit down. But like @"Alex Divine" said consistency is the key. Keeping at it!
Whoop! Whoop! love this .. vision boards are so legit. I used to roll my eyes at them but nope they work ha! And you're right we got this! Just gotta put one foot in front of the other till we're sprinting.
PS sorry for the heat - it's rough here in Texas too
Motivation is great. It is like showering, so you should do it daily. However, my point is that it's fleeting and you're always going to need it to strike. That's why I try to achieve discipline which is a habit that I can control and never goes away.
Consistency is key. My biggest regret will always be that while prepping I had days where I felt like I had to do 4-5 hours or it wasn't even worth cracking open a book. Now I wish I had taken those 30-45 minute windows and done more. They would have added up!
YOU BETTER STUDY !!! I NEED SOME ONE TO PUSH ME !! - (in my pep talk voice)
LOL!! You are like my ultimate cheerleader ha!
ah gotcha; makes sense
i posted this in another thread.
"who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life" -Charles Darwin
However, i do believe in rest and reward. For instance, if you know you put work in, treat yourself.
I DID A GIRLY THING AND MADE ONE OF THOSE BOARDS.
Turns out it's not girly, and actually really inspirational.
I did have to google what the heck it was though
I saw! Loved this thanks for sharing :-)
HAHAHA! Good stuff
The Hamilton soundtrack. Particularly Non-Stop and Room Where it Happens.
YAS!!
https://media.giphy.com/media/xUOrvZODvBychmZJJe/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/xUOrw48fkLx8sJIqty/giphy.gif
OHHH Hamilton ! lol i wanted to watch that but realized im not spending 350$ on tickets for me and wife so I went to Aladdin instead
Ahhh I've been holding off on listening to the soundtrack because I want to save it for when i watch the actual play lol! But seeing as how that's unlikely to happen any time soon I may just take a listen ;-)
Was Aladdin good! I've been wanting to see it too!
I saw Hamilton two years ago when they first opened on Broadway (got tickets for $140/ticket) and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen
But yea, the songs are amazing so you should take a listen 
I'm hoping to get an RC passage about Aaron Burr (or something Hamilton related) on the LSAT I'll take...
little late to the game on this, but I just re-read Mike Kim's "five essays" in chapter 1 of the LSAT Trainer (I've got the 2016 version) and found it pretty inspiring. If you've got the book, give them a read!
I got really lucky. I just went to the actual box office at Richard Rodgers Theatre, and they had some orchestra seats cancelled at the last minute! (Probably some celebrities/politicians cancelled.) I seriously think I used up my luck for 2015 and 2016. I hope I get lucky on the LSAT. lol
I want a passage about something that I'm actually interested in....not about basins of attraction....
You lucky bastard lol. I've come across some passages that are my niche. They are definitely the best. Had a really hard one on Frida Khalo, my favorite painter and I was like yaaaasssss!!!
I DO have the book and I will re-read thanks for the tip!
Yeah, pretty motivational and helpful. Also in the 2015 version as well.
I also listen to the Hamilton soundtrack for free on Amazon Prime. Pretty good stuff, but never been a fan of musical type genre stuff. I wish politicians sill dueled, though. That'd be pretty insane to settle beefs and lot more people would stfu.
@"Alex Divine" for Prezzie ... I'd vote for you!
@tringo335 the Frida passage was definitely a good one. I struggled a bit with the last paragraph. I've been working with Daniel Z on RC and it's been tremendously helpful! Once we went through the passage it helped me see that the LSAT doesn't throw in random details for no reason.
Yes the Frida one was very difficult. I love Daniel Z! He's the best. I will definitely have to reach out to tutors once I get further down the line in studying.
When you say doesn't add random information in, what do you mean? Sometimes I feel like there's so much fluff in an RC passage I can't filter through it all.
@tringo335 from what I remember: the last paragraph includes information on planned economic development. When I first read it I thought random fact thrown in there - who cares. But when reading we need to push it back to the information provided in the previous paragraph where the author discusses the Self Portrait on the Border and the contrast between the industrialized U.S. and the pre- industrial Mexico.
The last paragraph serves to qualify and explain that she isn't opposed to industrialization [that she doesn't have this extreme view], as long as it doesn't come at the expense of cultural identity.
In the past I would read passages and it would end with what I thought was random and I would have a really what?? moment. Now when that happens I try to refer back and see what it can be linked to.
For me, making a schedule with both my hobby AND my studying is super motivating. I practice yoga everyday so I start my day off with that, study for about thirty minutes (usually a LOGIC game or I'm finishing off BRing a section of mine because I break down my BR throughout the week) and then I go to work, come home, shower and study for the rest of the night. Setting a schedule REALLY helped keep me motivated.
Also, if you're into yoga, the Yoga Girl 'Conversations from the Heart" Podcast is my all time favorite. Although she does not talk about the LSAT her podcasts are ALWAYS self-motivating and usually revolve around not giving up, how to learn from failures...etc. Also, surround yourself with motivating people. If you BRed a high score call up a friend or family member and tell them. It reinforces your confidence... I just did this the other day and after I called my mom I just felt better and it made me WANT to study knowing that I had regained confidence in myself.
I hope that helps!
Omg yes! I remember that question and getting it wrong and thinking I didn't recall seeing what her viewpoint was on industrialized revolution this makes so much sense now. Does Daniel do a call or his he doing private tutoring?
This is awesome thanks for the tips. Especially the tip about calling a friend about a good study. I love that.
We do one one tutoring. He's helped me immensely with my strategy for RC, helped me make a study schedule, and is so helpful with keeping the confidence and momentum going. He's one of the approved 7sage tutors listed. He truly cares about his students and tries to make it incredibly accessible and so he has a great hourly rate
I meant to include he's doing (free) Thursday RC sessions on the oldies but goodies. Tonight they're doing RC PT30.
Yea I sat on a call with him and he spent an hour walking me through one LR passage. He's super encouraging helpful and nice.