Are We Really Giving Our Best?

Hello people.

I was learning something and something hit me hard. 

and of course i'll tell you

When we were kids, we used to learn English alphabets, addition, learn tables, social studies stuff and just so many things. And we used to do it so damn well. 

But, when we reach college, why do we become less of a student?

Why is our school version better than who we become at college, in terms of studying?

Does our cramming ability deteriorates with age? illogical

and not everyone crams up answers

Do we all lose interest in studies after school? nope

Do we all  become too interested in our social lives? don't think so 'cause most of us are becoming introverts

Is it because our teachers don't pay attention to us as much as they used to, in school? um, arguable but sounds more of an excuse

What happens to us after school? Why the best exams of our lives were taken by us in school time? Why can't we sit with books for as long as we used to? Why watching lectures gets replaced by scrolling feed? Why on Earth are we becoming less of ourselves in academics during college time?

This really is a question for most of us.

i'm in this most category myself

Of course, some of us are still studying the way they used to, in school. But ask them and they'll also end up agreeing with this: the efforts they used to put in school were higher than they do now.

even if their present efforts are doing good for them

I don't know the answer. But I might have a possible answer or a way to think for finding answer, so here.

i've absolutely no idea how much sense this is going to make, hear me out; you might get the right direction from something i say

maybe

Starting with what hit me when I started writing this:

When I was learning this thing, I got intrigued by what I learnt. And I --after ages, it seems-- focused on learning that, instead of questioning its use.

When I zoned out from learning that new theory, I realized that for once, I didn't ask "Why am I even studying this?" or "How will I ever use it in real life?"

I know, not all of us are learning how difference of squares of cosec and cot of an angle is 1 or why sin divides cos equals tan. But, we all are learning those things in college where we surely do get to the point which seems irrelevant to us. 

Even if the course we've enrolled in is the way to our dream job, we, at some point, end up questioning on, where would I even use it? or This isn't what I thought I was going to encounter in books.

We did ask these questions in school at some points but, there were things which we didn't have any idea about how they're going to be useful for us and we still did them with so much enthusiasm. And marks weren't the whole reason of that enthusiasm. We really used to enjoy few subjects, or few topics atleast.

I don't know where is the conclusion of the answer but I already told you that I ain't sure myself.

Is it because we've started questioning?

But isn't questioning "how do we use this in real life" a good thing? How can questioning this become a disadvantage to ourselves?

okay, wait, maybe i got something as an answer

We are always questioning. That's the problem.

not 'questioning' but that 'always'

At some point, we gotta learn things. All we're doing is questioning and that too, before putting efforts in learning.

In school, we did question this on topics. But that was after we used to understand.

In college, all we are doing is: see what we need to learn, question the need to learn those specific topics, get distracted by n number of things, see the list again, question it, sit for a while to study, question it again after a few minutes, close books, get distracted, open books, remember the last time we did it, maybe get frustrated, question it again, get distracted. 

And, worrying over we ain't getting anything done is constant during the whole process

i might have exaggerated it but still pretty much similar cycle

There's nothing wrong with questioning and getting distracted.

maybe, something wrong about getting distracted too much

But, there's one thing that is going very wrong. And that is a missing step.

"Putting in efforts"

Seeing what do we have to learn and just going through it in a few minutes isn't known as putting efforts.

Our school version knows what putting in efforts was. 

we do too, if we're honest with ourselves

The way we used to sit with books for hours --not just minutes-- when we had tests coming, the way we used to re-read the topics we didn't understand well, underlining important definitions, setting getting our assignments done as priority over anything unproductive. Those were the things we called 'putting efforts'.

Are we putting in efforts?

Are we really giving our best?

Let's get in general terms and not just studying for a while.

Think about it. About anything you need to get done.

Are you really giving in your 100%?

Are you really choosing to get your tasks done over everything unnecessary?

Are you really spending the quality time with people when you're on break?

Are you really feeling that your whole day looks like work with small breaks and not long breaks with little work in between?

We ain't becoming the lesser version of ourselves in college because we're questioning. But it's probably because we ain't putting efforts which can be called enough by our own selves.

We are not judging ourselves hard enough like we used to do. We've prioritized all the things in which we're comfortable. Our priority list looks like it because it fits in our comfort zone. 

We've settled in our comfort zones too comfortably. We either tell ourselves "I'll do it later" and make it look easy or "It's too difficult" and don't even get started.

If we are less than anything what our ideal self should be like, it's not because something in us was lost in our childhood but because discipline doesn't reside in our comfort zone which we don't wanna come out of.

Our ideal self is what we think it is. Not what others think we should be.

Think of what your ideal self is like. And what do you need to be that person?

It's not gonna involve climbing Everest or walking on moon. But something which might seem equally hard: Being disciplined.

It's hard at the start. But is holding a pen still hard? You've held it for years and now it doesn't feel heavy. You can hold it in your hand subconsciously for hours and you won't feel tired. 

Trust yourself, it gets easier. Discipline is practice. You don't have to work eight hours right now. Just start somewhere and be consistent.

Reaching up to the level of your ideal self won't seem too far then.

Believe in yourself, darling.

You got it.

~Miss V