Cultivate discipline

Woke up from my evening nap, all groggy. Reluctant to study.

Came across this bit on reddit:

 

Next, I switched the cell to flight mode, wrote this down on paper and placed it before me on my study desk and I sat through one pomodoro session.

Will begin the next session now (current time: 9pm)

Update: I sat three sessions in total. In my last session, the information wasn't registering in my mind anymore. I couldn't even find the strength to look away from the page and question myself on the topic.

So I chose to prepare flash cards and revise these before I sleep (current time: 12am)

If; by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Source: http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/if-by-rudyard-kipling#ixzz3Q5eFijL6
Family Friend Poems

My preconceived notion

It is difficult to get back into studies after a certain age.

Although the "certain age" was never defined, the common view I have heard several times over, was that the difficulty begins as one reaches their mid twenties.

It would be naive of me to claim that the course has successfully made a difference. It is too soon.

In the mean time, what can I say to convince you that this is worth trying? What was it about this course that made ME consider trying?

As a person who loathed Mathematics, Dr.Oakley decided to retrain her brain. With her distinct approach towards learning, she took her time and went on to earn a doctorate in systems engineering.

I believe it was in her video that I heard her say that she was 26, when she took up learning the engineering subjects.

I had no doubt that my method of study required an overhaul.

The chocolatey Dr.Oakley

Dr. Barbara Oakley; the one who appears in most videos. A gentle looking woman with a soft voice that sounds like she is eating chocolate. Well, that's how it sounded whenever I listened with my head-phones on. I wonder if this has anything to do with why I ate through two boxes of Ferrero Rocher since the course began. Not that I mind, I love those things.

I just realised that I am unsure if this course is a personal project to her. I do know that she is involved in research that "focuses on the complex relationship between neuroscience and social behavior."

The beginning

Towards the end of 2014, I came across a comment on Reddit, in a discussion regarding self-improvement, I believe. The comment referred to an up-coming free online course aimed at "learning how to learn".

After suffering through a string of failures over the past couple of years, I had slumped into depression. Not the kind where one would curl up into a ball and cry. This was different. I became indifferent to everything. I was living my life on auto-pilot. I had lost interest in everything that I had once loved; games, movies, music and believe-it-or-not, even smoking (my nine year old habit.)

Deep inside me, a desire had been stirring; a desire for change. I registered for the course and eagerly watched the first set of videos as soon as they came online.

In this blog, I intend to shed light on all the aspects concerning the course, that I found interesting. 

Additionally, I will attempt to log my plans and progress as regularly as I can.