If you can not answer yes to this question, you should stop studying

Posted by David on June 14th, 2018

Monday morning, 9:57 clock. My office starts right away. Actually, I wanted to get a coffee before, but I'm too late. The first student (let's call her Lara) is already here - 3 minutes early.

So I'm starting today.

And Lara starts right away: "At the moment my studies are not fun anymore. The pressure is too high, everything is stressful and I imagined otherwise. Should I break off? "

Boings. Now I am awake.

For six years I have been advising students and helping them with problems during their studies. If there is a question that I hear over and over again, it is this one. Only it is always something special, because there is no ready-made answer. And: the question is existential; a big chunk with far-reaching consequences.

Lara is excited and hopes for a clear answer. But she does not get it from me - but a counter question with which she can make the right decision herself.

If the study is only annoying

Every student is dissatisfied with his studies from time to time and has doubts about his university career. But that's normal and part of studying. It is not uncommon to think in hard times about what it would be like to drop everything and quit your studies.

But if the study is annoying for a long time and all motivational reserves are exhausted, many students make a crucial mistake, pointed https://eduzaurus.com/essay-writing-services: They only look back and no longer forward.

They see only how exhausting, depressing and time-consuming the study was last and cement this snapshot. As a result, they lose all hope for improvement and see no other way out than dropping out.

What helps in this situation is a simple change of perspective.

The crucial question

Let's get back to Lara. Lara wants to quit her studies because she is no longer enjoying herself, is too stressful and does not live up to her expectations. So Lara is in a persistent low motivation; She only looks at the past few weeks and months and subconsciously assumes that her remaining studies will continue in the same way.

And this is precisely where Lara must actively counteract.

Not in order to make the studies beautiful, but to leave their negatively dominated viewpoint and make an objective decision. A drop-out may be just the thing - but it can also prove to be a big mistake later on.

In order to balance these two extremes, I asked Lara to ask herself the following question and think about it in peace. Maybe she will help you too.

The key question is:

Will my studies make me happy in the long term?

If you can not answer this question with "yes", you should stop your studies.

The question that determines your dropout is no longer "How was my studies far?", But forward-looking: "What will my studies be like later? Will it make me happy in the long term? "

Do you see the difference? It is not a whitewashing, but only a change of perspective, which puts the sustainability of the decision and your personal happiness at the center.

But why is that? Let's take a closer look at the question.

Why long term?

Your studies are an important part of your life. And that's not only true for your time at the university, but long beyond.

Your study is an investment in yourself. You invest time, money, and lots of work to provide you with a quality education that will help you get your dream job done later.

So when you think about stopping your studies, you have to see it over the long term. In your assessment, you can not confine yourself to what the next few months might be like, but you must also ask yourself, "What in five, ten, or twenty years? Will I still classify the demolition as positive or annoy me? "

Depending on the situation, it can be worthwhile to go for a short time through hell and bite your teeth for long-term happiness.

Why happy?

Why are you studying? Because you want to get a great job later? Because you want to earn a lot of money? Or because you intend to save the world with a crazy invention?

These would all be good answers. None of this is reprehensible or wrong. They all just aim at the same thing: you want to be happy. And your studies should help you with that.

Many students who drop out of college have lost the faith that they are getting closer to their personal happiness by studying. They then decide on a different path and hope that the restart will pay off for them. Often, studying is not the problem - it's your own ideas of happiness. Or: the missing ideas of happiness.

Before you fundamentally question your stu

dies, you need to be clear about what you want. What does it mean for you to be happy? Only when you know that, you can decide whether your studies will help you to reach this state - or not.

Dropping out of college? Yes but…
Even if you can not answer the crucial question (will my studies make me happy in the long term?) With "yes", there are still alternatives to dropping out of university.

So far, we have completely ignored one thing: your study is not a carved final state. It's a dynamic construct that you can customize at any time. Of course not completely arbitrary and only within the scope of your examination regulations; but you have some leeway.

And you can use this scope to improve your personal situation and increase the long-term prospects for happiness.

Specifically, this could mean: you can change modules or exchange modules, change your specialization or spice up your studies with interesting additional courses. If you do not have the time, you can think about an extra semester - but then it will be nothing more with the regular study time (but that is a matter of consideration). In addition, you can enhance your studies with elements such as internships or semester abroad and thus break out of the rigid course of study.

Only when you are sure that you can not change your studies in a way that makes you happy in the long term, should you consider dropping out of university. Before you fight, please.

Conclusion

Every student occasionally doubts about his studies. You, the fellow students from the last row and the nerd at the front. Everyone - if only for half a second.

Doubt is part of it and you will never completely get rid of it. The important thing is that you do not let them defeat you and take a negative attitude to your studies.

Instead, tackle the matter objectively and ask yourself how your studies will evolve in the future. Ask yourself the crucial question and then work actively to find the study that will make you happy in the long run.

Maybe you already found it.