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Motivation Checklist

The following checklist may prove helpful in getting at the sources of poor motivation. If you want to improve your motivation, you may want to choose a self-directed improvement program or use the information as a focus for counseling.

1. Preferring something other than attending this university:

____Would prefer not to go to college.

____Would rather attend another college.

____Would prefer a different kind of training.

2. College as means to an end other than learning:

____To avoid getting a job

____To find a mate

____To have a good time

____To get away from home

____To prove self-worth

3. Distracting personal problems:

____Conflict with same sex

____Conflict with opposite sex

____Conflict with parents

____Lack of confidence

____Undefined resistance to college

____Angry at the world

____Overuse of drugs or alcohol

____Fear of evaluation

____Difficulty in making decisions

____Lack of financial resources

____Marriage problems

____Phobias and other anxieties

____Insecurity

____Loneliness

4. Lack of interest:

____Undefined vocational goals

____Undefined educational goals

____Course material is not what I think is important

____Interest in school is not the "in" thing among my friends.

5. Continuing self-defeating behavior patterns:

____Excessive dependence on parents or others

____Fear as a motivator

____Parents as motivators

____Grades or academic achievement as motivator

____High school habits