<p>To me, motivation means to force yourself to work diligently towards a defined goal without much prodding from others. As a parent, I try to be a good example to my daughter by walking the talk. For us helicopter parents, I think there is a strong tendency towards pushing too hard at times. According to my daughter, she mentioned that this is a real “turn-off” and can cause the opposite of the desired result.</p>
<p>So, I posed the question to her about motivation. She viewed motivation as a means to improve oneself, to be better, or best in her classes. I suppose she got this from us who have always encouraged her to do the very best in anything you tackle, whether it be in academics, dance, music, sports, etc. Our motto is that anything worth doing, is certainly worth doing well. </p>
<p>Another very important influence is the type of friends she hangs out with. Although a junior, many of her friends are seniors who are highly motivated and college bound to good schools. I think the successful seniors have been a very positive influence on her attitude. In high school the peers seem definitely to have much more influence than the parents. So, cultivating top students as friends can really help!</p>