Determination to study

In one of my blogs, I have written about the passion for learning and how some people possess an almost unnatural ability to be interested in the world around us. Those are the people I consider true scientists with an unquenched thirst for knowledge and a clear advantage in medical school.

But we all have different motivations for finishing med school. Not all of us can be that driven to understand the world around us. Maybe we weren’t raised in that way, or we developed different philosophies to govern the actions we take toward learning about ourselves and the world. Since that is true for most of us, I present to you the second quality I see in top students who paved my way to success. A quality that produced one of the best doctors and scientists in the world and helped those of us who lost that childlike curiosity for the world.

That quality is the unbreakable will and determination to push through every obstacle med school puts in front of you.

But to have that unbreakable will, you have to have some sort of motivation instead of mindlessly aiming for your goals without real purpose. While it is true that you cannot be motivated every day of the year, there are a few tricks to help you motivate yourself and push through your obstacles.

1) The first tip is setting up a routine.

While some of us work better under pressure and amid chaos, most people are far more productive if they have a certain routine to follow.

The reason for that is the fact that your brain loves routines and familiar patterns. 

Your brain is responsible for processing countless information, and you make its job a lot easier if you follow a certain routine. Once you stick to that routine, your brain can automate many processes instead of spending its fuel and energy on constantly analyzing them.

The second reason your brain loves a good routine is a psychological one. If you develop a routine, you will feel much safer and confident in case something goes wrong. Since things almost always go wrong, why not be prepared?

“It is better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war.”― Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings

The most important routines I personally really benefited from are studying, time off, and a sleeping routine.

Studying routine directs your brain to focus more on the task at hand instead of wandering around aimlessly. Instead of pretending to study for 5 or 6 hours, you become aware that you have only 3 hours to complete your work and consequently, put much more focus and effort into it.

Parkinson’s law:

“Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”

Time off routine gives your brain time to recharge and prepare for the next study session if you planned it for later in the day.

But to truly consolidate everything you learned, you must have a proper sleeping routine, meaning lying down and waking up at approximately the same time every day. You will feel much more confident and energized, and maybe even manage to wake up without an alarm clock after some time.

It is important to note that you will most likely fail if you try to implement all three routines at the same time. You will get bored and quit halfway through. A much better option is to add in routines one by one and make time for adjusting to them. That way, your newly added routine will stop being a chore and transform into a healthy ritual like brushing your teeth.

2) The second tip I can offer is to talk to yourself.

To find what motivates you and how to motivate yourself further, you have to spend some time talking to yourself.

You have to get to know yourself and why exactly you want to finish med school. As I already said, we all have different motivations and goals we want to achieve at some point in our lives. But you have to be true to yourself and have to know how to negotiate with yourself to set an achievable goal. 

A goal that is not too distant so that you quit early on, but also not a goal too close so it fails to motivate you to push through med school’s hardships and obstacles.

"The Goldilocks Rule refers to the idea that people experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are just the right level of difficulty—not too easy, not too hard, but just right."

Once you set up the right goal, you will be able to crystallize the correct paths to take to make it a reality. 

3) The third tip is to put in the work.

You can have all the strategies, routines, and set-up schedules, but without diving into your work material, it will be all for nothing.

Well, not really, since a sleeping routine will bring incredible benefits to almost all aspects of your life, but without putting in the work, you cannot pass your med school exams.

All of the previous tips are meant to hack your brain and psyche in a way to motivate you to do your work, but it is up to you how much work you will put in.

And while there are great techniques to maximize your studying potential, don’t confuse actual studying with excessive planning and strategizing.

If you don’t have a strategy, there is a chance you won’t be as successful, but if you don’t put in the work, you won’t be successful at all.

Summary:

💡 Core Message:

While curiosity and passion for learning are powerful motivators in medical school, unbreakable will and determination are what truly carry most students through the toughest challenges, especially for those who may not feel innately driven by curiosity alone.

🔥 3 Pillars of Willpower and Success:

1. Build a Routine

• Your brain thrives on patterns—it saves energy and increases focus.
• Key routines:
  • Studying routine: Focused, time-limited sessions are more effective than long, unfocused ones.
  • Time-off routine: Essential for mental recovery and avoiding burnout.
  • Sleep routine: Crucial for memory consolidation, energy, and focus.
• Start small. Implement one routine at a time to build lasting habits.

2. Talk to Yourself

• Self-reflection helps identify personal motivations.
• Be honest about why you want to finish med school.
• Set realistic, motivating goals—not so distant they feel unreachable, but not so close they feel insignificant.
• Once your goal is clear, your path becomes clearer too.

3. Do the Work

• No routine or strategy matters if you don’t actually put in the effort.
• Avoid the trap of over-planning—progress comes from action, not endless preparation.