When you’re struggling to stay motivated
First of all, if your goal is to go to medical school and someday be a physician, let’s just pause and admit that regardless of how unmotivated we all feel some days, overall we’re probably fairly highly motivated individuals. I mention this because I think we are usually the hardest and most judgmental of ourselves, and before we talk about motivation we should give ourselves some credit for going down this path in the first place.
I believe it’s completely normal to lose motivation some days.
I think one of the most important things I can try to do with this topic is normalize the fact that we ALL feel unmotivated at times. It’s normal to truly genuinely with every fiber of your being not want to sit back down at your desk to study organic chemistry because it’s your weakness on the MCAT. We just don’t always admit to each other openly that we’re lacking motivation, especially when we’re clearly surrounded by highly motivated people, and I’d like to be more honest about this. If you find a group of peers that are willing to be honest about their lack of motivation, that’s a good start for a support system to get you through.
BUT what should we do on those unmotivated days? For me, the answer is usually one of a few things:
Some days you just need a break, and that’s perfectly okay.
I’ve learned that it’s a poor use of your time to force yourself to sit at your desk and study when your mind just isn’t in the right place. When I do this, I learn very little and end the day even more frustrated than the beginning. Though it’s difficult for us “type-A” people to be kind to ourselves at times, sometimes our lack of motivation is really just our mind forcing us to pause. When I feel this way, I (try to) turn it into an opportunity for self-reflection and see what I can do to help myself feel less burnt out when I try again tomorrow.
When I’m not feeling motivated, I’ve learned that evaluating my current “work-life balance” will usually help me understand why my mind and/or body is forcing me to change things up. While there are several times along the premedical and medical school path in which we absolutely must spend the majority of our time on school work, it is also possible to fit in more “life” than we think. We just have to learn to prioritize our mental and physical health the way we prioritize school. This is something I’m still trying to figure out for myself.
The main thing that kept me balanced during undergrad and first 2 years of medical school was walking my lab Holly every day. This was my meditation, I never studied during this sacred time, and her happy face always made me feel re-grounded regardless of what else was going on. My advice is to try to find things that help you feel grounded, and by that I mean things that make you feel back in touch with yourself. I suggest trying things like a quick meditation (there are lots of apps for this), going outside in any capacity even if it’s just for 15 minutes, treating yourself to a home-cooked meal, calling a family or friend for a quick chat (preferably not about school), or a workout.
Once you’ve figured out what thing(s) help you feel grounded, work on having that in your life every day if possible.
It’s much more difficult than it should be, and you won’t be successful every day, but be patient and kind with yourself. If you’re a premedical student and work on these skills now, you will be ahead of the game in medical school when the work load will force you to re-ground yourself one way or another.
Remind yourself why you’re on this path, or find activities that help remind you.
One of the biggest motivators during undergrad for me was my time volunteering with hospice patients. Having my own patient that trusted me to show up each week and to be completely present while I was there absolutely kept me going when my motivation was wavering. Seeing what a difference just a few hours of my time could make in someone’s life made me so excited to someday see the difference my time could make once I was a clinician. I’m just starting to scratch the surface of this in medical school, and I still think of my hospice patients almost daily.
Everyone’s reasons and story behind why they want to go to medical school will be different, so I’m not saying talking with hospice patients is for everyone. I just suggest that you find something that helps keep your passion ignited, that re-motivates you and reminds you why you’re going down this path.
The last thing that helps me when I’m lacking motivation is to reflect on my current schedule and upcoming deadlines. Sometimes I lack motivation either when there’s not enough pressure on myself (ex- I don’t have the MCAT scheduled but I’m trying to start studying), or the opposite, when there is so much to get done that I feel paralyzed. No matter which end of the spectrum I’m on, the solution has always been the same for me:
Set achievable smaller goals, make a concrete plan to get there, and be willing to readjust along the way.
Whether you’re breaking up the pages of your biology textbook or an MCAT prep book into manageable sections, planning out practice tests to mark your progress, or setting your plan based on a work schedule, I think having concrete goals and a plan will help motivate you.
If you started reading this feeling unmotivated, I hope at the very least you feel less alone in your experience, and now you have a few steps you can try to keep moving forward.