How to Study Smart

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Why do some students study very hard, spending most of their time doing their revision but they aren’t the best in their study group? And why are there some students who only spend a fraction of the time studying but they often get good or even outstanding results? This was not due to the lack of natural talent in studies but it simply means that they have not found an effective tool which acts as a knack for understanding concepts and learning new ideas. One of the smart study habits is by using mind-map to promote effective and accelerated learning experience. A mind map is a useful web-like structure which emphasizes visual imagery that helps to engage in critical thinking and seeing a bigger picture. Empirically, mind-mapping is proven as an effective method of note-taking as an active learning (Abi-El-Mona and Abd-Ei-Khalick, 2008; Liu, Zhao and Ma et al., 2014). Mind mapping makes learning more vivid, thus promotes creative thinking and encourages brainstorming. Th...
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Are you happy?


“Are you happy?” One of my good friends asked me this question when we were having gathering with the high school friends last week. It’s good to catch up with a bunch of school friends sharing our high school memories and laughing over at our crazy yet childish act when we were immature. I answered: “Sort of, yup. I am fine and happy.” Before I answered the question, I started to rapidly flash back of what’s been happening these days: money is good, relationship with friends and families is good, study is good, and so, I am happy. This simple question transported me to the past and back to where I am now.

When I was young, happiness was simple and we were easy to get satisfied. We could be happy for a lollipop for 3 days, or being excited to go to the roller coaster ride for even a week! Not to mention those trips to playground during evening time and ice-cream! But now, after I have grown up, things changed. We demand more, so much more as compared to what makes us happy when we were young. And so, the happiness factor is no longer on the surface of the matter.

There are studies shown that a happy individual tends to be more successful across multiple life domains, such as marriage, friendships, income, work performance and health (Lyubomirsky, King & Diener, 2005). It is not merely because success brings us happiness, but indeed our positive affect engenders success. The related positive affect includes confidence, optimism, sociability, self-esteem and effective coping with stress and negative influences. Positive moods and emotion lead us to think, feel and act in the way that we can encounter every circumstances as desirable. It also prepares us to seek out for new challenges and undertake new goals.

I have learnt to accept myself, in order to stay happy. To turn things around, I first made peace to my situation. Forget about the blames. Forget about the guilt, and forget about the “what ifs”. To me, acceptance isn’t about giving up, but it actually means this is part of my journey, and this is where I am, and now I will move on to what I want. Progress has so much dependent on your acceptance. The earlier you accept your current situation, the faster you can get rid of it.

Positive feelings about a person or an object get us to approach to it, while negative feelings get us to avoid from it. The delicious odor of the fresh baked cupcakes pulls us towards the oven, while the repulsive smell of the vomit pushes us away to the other side of the sidewalk. Since you know that your natural reaction will be to walk away from it, why not your negative thoughts? Find one thing to be happy about and you will break the sad cycle and soon you will feel better.

I hope that my happiness has helped you get from where you were to where you want to be. Hereby, I wish you lots of success and happiness, and SMILE!

Reference


Lyubomirsky, S., King, L. and Diener, E. (2005) The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does happiness Lead to Success. Psychological Bulletin. V.131(6), pp.803-855.
By: Yau Che Yan, BAF1541
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