Most of us can relate to setting goals and feeling very motivated to accomplish those goals. Sometimes our motivation stays strong, and we reach the goal. Other times our motivation falters, and we fall short of the goal, often with promises to ourselves that we will succeed "next time." Think about some times when you felt especially motivated, perhaps with your schoolwork or a new diet/exercise plan. What helped to keep your motivation sustained? What are some of the obstacles you encountered that caused your motivation to waver? Based on your past experience and based on the readings in this unit, what are some of the best ways to maintain motivation in the long term?Describe how stress can affect your health. What do you believe are the best coping techniques for dealing with stress, and why?

Motivation is defined as the drive that underlies all behavior, which can range from mundane to crucial. So, whether it is drinking water to quench thirst or studying well to make academic progress, motivation is needed for everything. Therefore, there is a need to sustain motivation in everything one does. Stress is defined as the physical and psychological strain arising from a stressor. Whilst some stress is needed to drive motivation and achieve different goals in life, prolonged or chronic stress can be harmful to physical and psychological health. What helps to keep motivation sustained? It is only natural for people to deviate from their goals and get distracted by many things. This especially happens in case of schoolwork, where students deviate from their goal, as their attention veers away from the same. So, to maintain sustained motivation, what generally helps is to set SMART goals, as they are real and do not put unnecessary expectations or burdens. The next step is to consistently keep track of progress made toward the SMART goals, as this helps keep one on track. The final step is positive reinforcement, to reward oneself for every goal achieved, with perhaps a favorite film, TV series, music, etc. This will provide motivation to do better. What are some of the obstacles encountered that cause motivation to waver? When it comes to schoolwork, plenty of obstacles can lead to wavering motivation. Some of them are:Dealing with study material that does not match one's interests. Dealing with challenging material, which may be beyond one's scope. Plenty of distractions in the present time, which tempt one away from schoolwork. Burnout, due to long study hours. What are some of the best ways to maintain motivation in the long term?So, generally, some of the best ways to maintain motivation in the long term are:Create SMART goals and make a study plan accordingly. Prioritize study material - tackle those that are interesting first and deal with the uninteresting ones later. Or, intersperse the uninteresting ones with the interesting ones. Use the Pomodoro technique, as this will allow one to take regular breaks and keep their mind fresh. Create an environment conducive to studying, which can be done by minimizing distractions. Foster a study support network, including teachers, peers, and even parents. For, this can help in overcoming certain challenging tasks. Describe how stress can affect health. Stress can affect health in a myriad of ways. When faced with stress, the body kicks into action, flooding the system with hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which increase energy, elevate blood pressure, etc, so as to fight the stressor(s). However, prolonged/chronic stress depletes the body, leading to fatigue and exhaustion, leading to severe physical ailments. These include weakening the immune system, sleep deprivation, weight gain, high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, and even heart attack/stroke. Mentally as well, stress can be overwhelming and exhausting. Stress can give rise to negative emotions, anxiety, depression, which can affect other things like self-worth, self-esteem, social life, etc in different ways. So, overall, chronic stress can be devastating if left untreated. What are the best coping techniques for dealing with stress, and why?When faced with stress, especially chronic stress, it requires coping. Two ways to cope with stress in a healthy manner are problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping. Problem-focused coping deals with mitigating the source of the stress - taking steps to resolve it, engaging in active decision-making and problem-solving, etc. Emotion-focused coping deals with mitigating the negative emotions arising from stress - meditating, practicing mindfulness, exercising, etc. So, overall, it can be said that to better deal with stress, healthy coping techniques will involve an amalgamation of the two aforementioned coping techniques - a balance between problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping. Motivation can be sustained in a number of ways, and this is essential when it comes to achieving specific goals in life, like in school. Stress can affect physical and psychological health in a number of ways. So, there is a need to engage in problem-focused and emotion-focused coping.

Answered: What helped to keep your motivation…

Ciccarelli: Psychology_5 (5th Edition)

5th Edition

ISBN:9780134477961

Author:Saundra K. Ciccarelli, J. Noland White

Publisher:Saundra K. Ciccarelli, J. Noland White

Chapter1: The Science Of Psychology

Section: Chapter Questions

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Most of us can relate to setting goals and feeling very motivated to accomplish those goals. Sometimes our motivation stays strong, and we reach the goal. Other times our motivation falters, and we fall short of the goal, often with promises to ourselves that we will succeed "next time." Think about some times when you felt especially motivated, perhaps with your schoolwork or a new diet/exercise plan. What helped to keep your motivation sustained? What are some of the obstacles you encountered that caused your motivation to waver? Based on your past experience and based on the readings in this unit, what are some of the best ways to maintain motivation in the long term?
Describe how stress can affect your health. What do you believe are the best coping techniques for dealing with stress, and why?

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