Develop Interest in Subjects Which You Currently Hate and Score Better Grades: 2 Tips to Help You.

Many students are not interested in the subjects they study, and have to force themselves. This article provides some tips to generate interest in any subject so that you can study it better and score better grades.

"I can't get interested in Mediaeval History."


This illustrates a kind of complaint frequently made by college students. Can interest be developed in an "uninteresting" subject; and if so then how??

A growing feeling of pleasure is the sign which notifies us that we are growing interested in a subject. And it is such an aid in the performance of work that we should seek earnestly to acquire it in connection with any work we have to do.

We acquire most of our interests in the course of our experience. Since interests are largely products of experience, then, it follows that if we wish to have an interest in a given subject, we must consciously and purposefully develop it. There is wide choice open to us. We may develop interest in social theory, prize−fight promoting, lignitic rocks, mediaeval history etc.

Do not assume that the development of interest is an easy matter. It requires adherence to certain definite psychological laws which we may call the laws of interest.


The first law may be stated as follows:

1. In order to develop interest in a subject, secure information about it . The force of this law will be apparent as soon as we analyze one of our already−developed interests.

The relation of information to interest can be illustrated by the case of the typical university professor or scientist. He is interested in certain objects of research−−infusoria, electrons, plant ecology,−−because he knows so much about them. He was not always interested in the specific, obscure field, but by saturating himself in facts about it, he has developed an interest in it amounting to passionate absorption.


Let us demonstrate the application of the law again showing how interest may be developed in a specific college subject.

Let us choose one that is generally regarded as so "difficult" and "abstract" that not many people are interested in it−− philology, the study of language as a science. Let us imagine that we are trying to interest a student of law in this. As a first step we shall select some legal term and show what philology can tell about it. As student gathers some basic knowledge of the subject, you may find some students becoming interested in exploring the subject further.


2. There is still another psychological law of interest: In order to develop interest in a subject, exert activity toward it. We see the force of this law when we observe a man in the process of developing an interest in golf. At the start he may have no interest in it whatever; he may even deride it. Yielding to the importunities of his friends, however, he takes his stick in hand and samples the game.

Then he begins to relent; admits that perhaps there may be something interesting about the game after all. As he practises with greater frequency he begins to develop a warmer and still warmer interest until finally he thinks of little else; neglecting social and professional obligations and boring his friends with recitals of golfing incidents.

The methods by which the new−fledged golfer develops an interest in golf will apply with equal effectiveness in the case of a student. In trying to become interested in Mediaeval History, keep actively engaged in it.


Read book after book dealing with the subject. Apply it to your studies in Political Economy, English, and American History. Choose sub−topics in Mediaeval History as the subjects for themes in English composition courses. Try to help some other student in the class. Take part in class discussions and talk informally with the instructor outside of the classroom. Use your ingenuity to devise methods of keeping active toward the subject.


It will readily be noticed that the two laws of interest here set forth are closely interrelated. One can hardly seek information about a subject without exerting activity toward it; conversely, one cannot maintain activity on behalf of a subject without at the same time acquiring information about it.


These two easily−remembered and easily−applied rules of study will go far toward solving some of the most trying conditions of student life. Memorize them, apply them, and you will find yourself in possession of a power which will stay with you long after you quit college walls; one which you may apply with profit in many different situations of life.

In concluding this discussion we should note the wide difference between the quality of study which is done with interest and that done without it. Under the latter condition the student is a slave, a drudge; under the former, he can be a genius. Touched by the spark he sees new significance in every page, in every line. So try to develop as much interest as possible in the subjects you are studying. Your interest can make a lot of difference in your level of performance in that subject.

If you want to be an excellent student and want to get higher grades, then you probably realize the importance of good trained memory. Do you know that you can train your memory so that you can learn faster, recall easily and remember better. Learn how to do these - Memory Training for Students








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Stop Bleeding in 15 seconds

Researchers seem to have found an amazing liquid that can stop bleeding in 15 seconds!!!


Uncontrolled loss of blood can lead to loss of life. But now researchers at Massachusetts Institue of Technology and University of Hong Kong have found a liquid that may help in stopping bleeding anywhere in body within 15 seconds.


The researchers published their findings in the journal "Nanomedicine. This research was published in the October 10, 2006 online edition of the journal "Nanomedicine".
They explained how they tested the liquid on wounds in various parts of hamsters and rats -- brain, spinal cord, liver, intestine and skin. Each time, the wound stopped bleeding in about 15 seconds.


According to a researcher, this liquid looks like water, and you can put it anywhere there is a cut or bleeding, and it stops the bleeding without a clot. Researchers are confident that this liquid can be very important in emergency medical situations because of the speed of its action. It may also help in reducing infections.


Ellis-Behnke, from MIT adds that when you wipe away the liquid, bleeding resumes, but if you reapply the liquid it stops.

The researchers may have discovered the liquid by accident and still studying its mechanism. You can view pictures and videos of it by going to this link:

http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?type=article&article_id=218392862

Get Rid of Negative Self-Images

What is self-esteem? Self-esteem is the opinion we have of ourselves. This opinion can be good or bad and is usually influenced by many factors such as our previous experiences in life, other people's opinion about us etc. People with high self-esteem have good opinion of themselves whereas people with low self-esteem have poor opinion about themselves.


What is self-image? Self image is the image or picture in our mind that we have formed about ourselves. This picture or image can be a positive one or a negative one. Negative self-images can give rise to negative thinking.

The difference between self-esteem and self-image is that the former is just an opinion about ourselves and the latter is an image of ourselves.


If we are afraid of doing any activity, then chances are that we have formed a negative self-image of that activity. For example, suppose somebody has stage fear, then it is likely that the person has negative self-images of himself performing badly on the stage, people laughing and making fun of him etc. These images have a negative impact on the person and make him fearful of going on the stage and facing the people.


Therefore it is important to get rid of negative self-images. But the problem is that it might be very difficult to rid of such negative images. The harder we try, the more difficult it seems to get to banish the negative images from our mind. We have all heard the importance of positive thinking, but the negative self-images make it difficult to maintain positive attitude.

How then, are we going to get rid of negative self-images? Here I am going to present a simple technique for overcoming negative self-image:

This technique is called "Burning The Negative Images". In this technique you imagine burning any negative images you have till they fade away. Let me explain the technique with an example. Suppose, you have stage fear, you might be unconsciously making an image of going on stage and not being able to speak, your legs shivering, people laughing at you.


All these images would make you feel uncomfortable with the idea of walking up to the stage. Make a note of all the negative images that come up when you think of going on stage. Then deal with each image one by one.

Now take the first image, picture it as clearly as possible in your mind. Imagine that image is in the form of a photo or snapshot taken from a camera. Imagine holding that picture in your hand, taking a lighter and burning that image. Imagine as clearly as possible about the fire burning the edges of the negative picture, then after the edges the fire burns the entire picture and turns it into black ash. Then imagine throwing away that ash.

After you do it one time, try to imagine the negative image again. You may see that the image is not as strong and vivid as it was earlier. The negative image and its effect seems to have dimmed in your mind.


Repeat what you did the first time, burn the negative image again and throw away the ashes. Then again try to recall the negative image. If you feel difficulty in recalling the negative image, or the image seems to have dimmed considerably then that means you have been successful in your attempt. You can feel that the image now does not have much effect on you, you do not feel nervous or afraid while recalling that image.



If you still feel a little bit of negative emotion while recalling the image, then burn it a few more times until the image does not have any effect on you. Then move on to the next negative image that you get while thinking about going on stage. Burn that image till it no longer affects you.

keep doing this with all the images that you get. Soon you may find that you no longer fear walking up to the stage and giving the much dreaded speech.


Initially you may find that there are a lot of negative images associated with your fear and dealing with all of them may seem to be a very difficult task, but believe me this should not be as difficult as it seems and if you persist then very soon you may rid yourself easily of your lifelong phobia.Try it on any fear, phobia or any area of your life where you do not feel comfortable doing something.


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Related Articles n Resources:
1. Overcome Fears by Educating Yourself
2. Tips for Improving Concentration
3. Get Fit while You Sit
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Easy Technique To Learn Any Subject Better

Introduction:
Do you want to know about a technique which can help you in learning things faster and better? You can use the “teaching technique” in order to learn better.

When you read something, or whenever you are trying to learn about any topic or subject, you can get a better grasp of the subject by teaching it to somebody.


The Technique:
Whatever you have read and understood, try teaching it to somebody. This will help to make the subject more clear in your own mind.

For example - suppose you have been reading a chapter in physics - after reading for half an hour, close down the book and then teach what you have learnt to somebody else which will make the subject more clear in your own mind.

Now lets say that you are in the middle of reading some important topic, and you want the topic to be firmly driven in your brain by teaching it to somebody, but the problem is that there is nobody interested to whom you can teach the subject. What would you do in such a scenario - would you go out on the street and catch hold of somebody and force him or her to listen to you??

If there is no one present who is willing to listen to your lecture then instead of teaching to humans you can try teaching to your pet cat, or teach to the door, the curtains, the wall, the book in front of you, or try teaching to your computer screen. Speak out loud on the subject, make gestures as if you are really teaching. You can also imagine that you are a teacher and teaching to a large group of interested students.

Does this all sound very silly to you? Remember that the important thing is not whom you are teaching to, the important thing is to go through the motions of teaching. Keep doing it even though you may find it silly in the beginning.


Advantages of the technique:
What happens when you go through the motions of teaching? Here are the benefits of using this “teaching technique”:

1. You repeat what you have just learnt which helps in remembering the information.

2. You put the information in your own words which will help in clearing up any confusions that you might have on the subject, the subject matter will become more firmly etched in your mind.

3. You will be organising the information you just studied in your head.

4. You may also notice that there are some points which you did not understand as perfectly as you thought you did. You can note down which points you did not fully understand, then re-read about those points to get better understanding.

5. While teaching you may get new thoughts and ideas on the subject. If that happens stop the teaching for a few moments and note down the ideas that have come to you.

So you see, it does not matter whom you are teaching to - whether it is to humans, animals or to the walls of your house - just going through the motions of teaching, trying to explain the subject as clearly as possible in your own words - will help you in grasping the information more firmly and in remembering it.


Alternatives:
If you feel silly or embarrassed doing this technique, you may try the following alternatives :

1. Instead of actually getting up and teaching, just imagine doing it in your mind.

2. Instead of teaching, you can also write down what you have learnt in an organized manner as if you are trying to write a chapter on the subject which you have just studied. This can also help.

For more resources to improve memory and learn better, check out - Improved memory for better marks

More Articles:
1. Develop Good Study Habits
2. Better way to read textbooks
3. Tips to develop concentration
4. Developing Interest in any subject

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Just Do It

This post is about how to overcome fears and panic by implementing the Nike strategy. In my previous post, I had mentioned details about how we can overcome fears by educating ourselves. You can read that post here, it is a very useful one.


Another very effective method of overcoming fear is to feel the fear and still do the task anyway. The important thing here is not to try and overcome this fear you are feeling, but get up inspite of the fear and do it. Do not keep high expectations from yourself initially.


If you have fear of public speaking, still try to go on stage and deliver the speech. Do not have over-expectations from yourself that you will deliver a great spell-bounding speech. Just focus on going on the stage and saying something and getting the task done. Do not worry about whether you will be good or bad.

Just going on stage a few times and speaking would help in reducing your fears, then you can concentrate on improving your public speaking. Initially the trick is to try and get the thing done no matter how you do it. In this way you will not be overly worried about your performance, which can prove to be helpful in making you feel a lot more relaxed.

It is important to remember the following points for overcoming fears:

1. When you feel afraid of doing something, feel the fear and still do it anyway.
2. Do not worry about how you do it, just get the task done even if you do not do it properly.

Hope you found this article useful. An excellent resource to check out for overcoming fears, anxiety, panic is - Panic and Anxiety Help

For public speaking mastery, do check out this highly ranked public speaking course: Learning to Master Public Speaking


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2.Tips to give a good speech
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4. Learn to sleep like a baby

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Becoming a Better Public Speaker

In this post, let us discuss how we can become a better speaker by eliminating verbal pauses from our speech. Verbal pauses refer to the umm.., aahh’s… that we say when we struggle to find something intelligent to say in our speech. This can happen with the best of us, such kind of verbal pauses make us seem unintelligent to our audience. So effort must be made to eliminate verbal pauses from your speech.


The first step is to become aware of this behaviour. You can watch how other people speak and notice whether they speak without any verbal pauses. Next you can notice your own speech, or ask others to observe you while you speak and let you know of the frequency of verbal pauses during your speech.


Becoming aware of your tendency will help you make efforts in overcoming this habit. After you have become aware, the next step would be replace this habit with another better one. So what would you replace this habit with?

Instead of verbal pauses, make your pauses silent. Instead of saying umm or aah, just remain silent for brief moment until you come up with something intelligent to say. Remember you do not have to keep on speaking during your speech, you can afford brief moments of silence without the need to fill up with any sounds.

Hope this article would help you to become aware of your verbal pauses, and replace them with silent pauses which should make you a better speaker atleast by some degree. For mastering public speaking, click here



Related Articles and Resources:
1. Get Rid of Negative Self-Images
2. Develop Interest in Any Subject
3. Exercises to Develop Concentration Skills

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Overcoming Fears

One of the best ways to overcome fear is to learn more about it, get knowledge about the thing that we fear. That will help in reducing the fear because once we have good knowledge about a particular thing, we become comfortable doing it and the fear begins to fade away.


Many people are afraid of public speaking because it involves a lot of skills like preparing a good speech, delivery of the speech, how to address the audience, body language, tone of voice etc. Since many people have not mastered these skills, public speaking involves a lot of uncertainties to them and they are afraid of walking up to the stage as they fear that they may make complete fools of themselves.


One way to overcome this fear is to study in detail the various skills involved one by one, such as they should study about the basics of body language, how to maintain a confident and correct posture, they should study and master effective speech preparation and delivery. Once they master the various skills involved in public speaking, they will feel a lot more comfortable and eventually they fear is likely to vanish into the thin air. (Check this out if you want to master public speaking skills - click here



This is because they have step by step mastered and become comfortable with various smaller skills that are needed for giving a good speech or presentation on stage. They have divided the task of public speaking into smaller pieces, then studied and mastered each piece until they became perfect in it or atleast became comfortable in it.


If you observe people who are good at something or have successfully overcome a fear of something, you are likely to find that they took the time to learn how to do it until they mastered it. They broke the task down into smaller chunks and mastered the individual chunks.

This is a systematic approach of overcoming fear as you are taking small steps at a time and getting comfortable with them, you are confronting your fear in small steps.
This is the key to overcome fear - to handle it in smaller chunks and not all at once.


Uncertainty is likely to give rise to fear, while knowledge kills it. So arm yourself with knowledge about anything which you are afraid of. Break the task into smaller components and take the time to learn those various components. You will then no longer be uncertain or unsure about the things you fear, you will now possess the knowledge of it which will help in making the fear go away.


If you are good at something, it is unlikely you will feel afraid of doing it, on the contrary you will feel confident and comfortable in doing that thing. So in order to master fear, make a commitment to study and master whatever it is that you fear. Break the object of your fear into smaller parts and deal with each part one at a time till you have mastered it, then move on to another part. If you are afraid of public speaking, break it down into different parts, study each part, arm yourself with knowledge of that, practise it till you become perfect then move on to the next part. If you keep doing a thing repeatedly you will not fear it, because you have learned from doing it repeatedly, you have become comfortable with it.


So here is the summary of this article - Educate yourself in order to remove fear. Study the various aspects of your fear by breaking it down into smaller parts, and master each part till you feel comfortable.

You can also learn how to handle your fears and overcome panic to fast-track your way to overcoming these difficult barriers to your success. Check this widely acclaimed course - Eliminate panic and anxiety



Related Articles:
1. Just Do It - Strategy to handle fear
2. Become a Better Public Speaker
3. Develop Interest in Any Subject

For public speaking mastery, do check out this highly ranked public speaking course: Learning to Master Public Speaking

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