Inspiration Hour with Mr. Gilbert was a blast! Mr. Gilbert and the Student Body Presidency discussed how to stay motivated and at the end there was a dance-off! Oh, and congratulations to Team 1, the winners!

This time of the year is a hard time to stay motivated. It’s the middle of the school year, another semester of homework and midterms and finals ahead. It’s cold and not very sunny (depending on where you live), and sicknesses are going around (depending on where you live).

The Pre-Stuff

Before we got into talking about the ten steps to staying motivated, Mr. Gilbert showed us a very inspiring video. It was taken from a graduation speech. Basically, it said that we need to have the courage to dream big, to not fear failure, and to fall forward.

What is falling forward? Students gave a lot of definitions of what that meant, but it seemed that one of the most popular ones was when you expect to fall and plan to learn from it. This is not saying that you want to or hope to fall, but that you accept it as a step towards success and decide to make the most of it.

How To Stay Motivated

From there, the Student Body President, Evan Reichard, took over. He shared ten steps to staying motivated with us. Most of them are pretty obvious. Well… you’d think they’d be, but how many people actually do them? So, as you’re reading through them, really think about them and how well you’re doing at them. Keep in mind that needing to improve is nothing to be ashamed of! After all, we’re all human. 🙂

Step 1: Get Up Early

Get up early? Really? Yup! And for good reason too: staying up late and then sleeping in is the perfect recipe for a sleepy day, with a side of brain fog. Of course, everyone needs their sleep, and teenagers need 9-11 hours. So, make sure you’re getting enough by getting to bed early. And of course… easier said than done. But hey, we’re Burgers! We live intentionally, not controlled by a lack of sleep.

Step 2: Take It One Day At A Time

Living in the moment –AKA, one day at a time– is important. Don’t wallow in regret about the past, don’t worry about the future. Just live your life! But at the same time, you need to make sure that you’re also in context. Live proactively by making sure you know what’s coming up and doing what needs to be done. So, take it one day at a time –but make sure you’re living in context.

Step 3: Plan, Set Goals, and Dream!

Goals and plans are very important. Without them, you don’t know where you’re going. As the video shared at the beginning of class shared, “A dream without goals is just a dream.” Bravo, well said!

Step 4: Take the Opportunities That Arise

Throughout the day, the week, the month, semester, and year, opportunities will arise for you to do new things, do old things better, and generally become a better person. Whether or not you actually take them or not is up to you, but taking them will improve your life. For example, I participated in the dance-off. This is way out of my comfort zone, and normally I would. Never. Have. Done. That. But I did, and it felt really awesome! I was proud of what I had done and that I had stretched my comfort zone a little.

Step 5: Surround Yourself With Good Support

Keeping good people who help you keep going close is so important! Everyone has been warned about the ‘friends who drag you down.’ Maybe you have one… maybe you don’t. And I know, cliché. But really. Your friends do make a difference, so make sure you pick good ones.

Step 6: Learn From Failure

As said before, failure is not bad. And we need to recognize that. It’s simply an opportunity for growth. Failure is not the end, but the beginning. It is the launch pad, the gate, the keystone, to success. Accept that it’s going to happen, and prepare to make the most of it.

Step 7: Believe In Yourself

Definitely easier said in done! But, none the less, true. As teenagers, we struggle with this especially. We’re surrounded by comparisons. We’re not yet sure who we are. But please, you are awesome. You are amazing. You are capable.

Step 8: Reward Yourself

This is huge! Rewarding yourself is so crucial to maintaining your motivation. A treat, a nap, a good book, almost anything is a good reward. Except procrastinating that one piece of homework that you’re absolutely dreading and is three weeks overdue…

Step 9: Pursue What You Love

DUH! Does this one even need explaining?

Step 10: Ask For Help

This should be another ‘DUH!’ but it’s not, unfortunately. Teens seem to think that asking for help means they are dumb. Nope. Nada. Zilch. Totally inaccurate. Asking for help means that you are smart enough and responsible enough to realize that you can’t do it on your own. And being unable to do it on your own is not a condemning thing. No. Even the Wright brothers did it together. Not alone. Together. James Madison had Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson had George Wythe. George Washington had Lord Fairfax. You have your teachers, your peers, your parents.

Wrapping Up

After Evan spoke, Maddie Harmon took over and shared with us some music to help us remember these steps. On the student leadership page in homeroom, the Student Body Presidency shared, “We created a Spotify playlist for you!” (You can find it here) For those of you without a Spotify account, no fear! The Burger Gazette is totally on top of it all. As a result, you will find a list of the songs at the end of this article.

Then, of course… the dance-off. We all survived that, luckily! Some of us even enjoyed it. 🙂

Again, if you would like to watch this inspiration hour, you can find it here.

15 Songs To Help You Achieve Awesomeness (Compiled by the Student Body Presidency)

Good Day, by DNCE

Almost There, from the Princess and the Frog

Bet On It, from HSM

Try Everything, by Shakira (from Zootopia)

Nothing Ever Happens, by Rachel Platten

Look Up At The Sky, by Us The Duo

Pick Yourself Up, by Nat King Cole

Shake it Off, by Taylor Swift

Get Back Up Again, by Anna Kendrick

Lunatic, Andy Grammer

Hey Look Ma I Made It, by PATD

What Do You Love, by Seeb

Together, by Us The Duo