How an 8-year-old is Motivating Herself Through Advanced Classes

Quietly and inwardly, she whispered it to herself. Afterwards, she gave audible expression to her thought. “I can do this!”, she relayed, had been the thought she had whispered, and which had moved her to attempt the question that appeared to be clothed in difficulty. Which after some time, she correctly answered, without the help that she had thought of requesting.

She might have whispered, “I can’t do it.”, as I have seen many students easily do. But it would have been a lie. And those words, uttered falsely, carry grave consequences. They can stomp through motivation and mental resources.

But suppose she hadn’t been able to solve the problem that day, would it have been truthful to still tell herself that she could do it? I say yes. What was difficult that day, may have not been difficult the following day. Her mental capacities are still expanding.

This is not to say that a student shouldn’t acknowledge when something is hard, nor is it to say that the words, I can’t do it.”, don’t have a place in her reality. But it is often the case that the truth sounds more like, “this is hard, but with well-directed effort, I can become better”, rather than, “I can’t do it.”

So, through truthful self-talk, this eight-year-old is motivating herself to attempt problems that are just within her abilities but further than she’s been before—difficult problems. Problems without which the mind would soon weaken.