Pressure exists in all sorts of areas: parents expect high academic achievement, friends expect companionship when they need it, and teachers expect school work to be done.
Teens sometimes need that extra pull to stay happy in any goal that they choose and that’s when motivation kicks in.
Many teen experts believe the best way to motivate teens is to let them motivate themselves.
“I think motivation is when you work for something really hard. For an example, if some one wants to go to Guam they need to earn money, which becomes their motivation to earn that money. It can also be fear. Some people become motivated to get over their fears,” said Lakell Villegas, a 13 year-old 8th grader from SAEF.
“I sometimes need motivation, and not very often, I will lose my concentration and it will become a little hard to start again, or lose my focus,” she said.
“To stay motivated, I just remind myself that it may be hard, but I will be able to get over it, and have fun after it. I think if you don’t really know how to stay motivated, then you should write the good things that will happen after it, and when it gets hard, then just look at it and remind yourself that you just need to work a little harder, and you will be done with it,” she laughs.
Another teen also said she needs “motivation to do some things in life. But then again, I am just a teenager. I believe that when I lack motivation, I tend to space out a bit. I later on realize that I wasn’t paying attention, or someone points it out for me, and I get back on track,” said Kay Kay Constante, a 15 year-old junior from Marianas High School.
“I usually stay motivated because of my friends, and certain family members. They push me to keep on going. It’s hard to stay interested in something you don’t like. So, when they’re not there to encourage me, I think to myself there’s a reason I’m doing this, and I have to get it done. Motivation for me is encouragement to do something,” she said.
