Chapter 1: Uncover Your Purpose of Learning & Make the Learning Content Meaningful to You
At PolyU, we encourage you to learn for yourself, for the ultimate goals that you want to achieve, for the dreams that you want to bring to life.
Every person has dreams. You are no exception. When you were small, your dreams might be having your own living place, making a lot of money, helping people in need, becoming a doctor, etc. Now, you may have forgotten your dreams and the things you want to pursue. It is time to uncover them and think again what you really want to do and become.
Finding your dreams and where your passion lies is particularly important for your learning. Most of us want to get higher grades, but what do grades mean to you? What things would you expect to gain from studying at the University? There should be something that drives and motivates you to do certain things, take certain actions and make certain decisions.
Your dreams drive you to do almost everything. Your dream is composed of your interest, curiosity, passion, inspiration and imagination. No matter how big or how small your dream is, it gives you the power to achieve your goals. Chasing dreams could be a challenging and exhausting process but your aspirations and dreams will help you walk through the difficulties and anxiety. In the end, you will find the experience quite motivating and rewarding.
In case you do not know what your dreams or aspirations are, don't worry. The questions below are prepared to guide you. Try to think about your previous experience and focus on a particular incident that means a lot to you. Then, ask yourself:
- What things matter most in my life?
- What things do I want most? (Focus on your wishes, not what others expect of you)
- What really matters to me?
- What do I like to have more in my life?
- What do I want in my career?
- What are my dreams?
- What would bring more happiness into my life?
- What do I want my relationships to be like?
- What qualities do I like to develop?
- What issues do I care about?
- What are my talents?
- What legacy do I want to leave behind?
- What does my ideal future look like?
- What do I want to achieve in this subject/ programme?
We would easily forget our aspirations if we do not write them down. Write down your aspirations and give them some thoughts. Don’t turn your aspirations into a do-to list only. Below are some suggestions to help you consolidate your thinking:
- Write down your dreams or use photos or images to show your aspirations.
- Make a vision board or dream board where you can pin something that you want to see realised.
- Keep a journal of what you have planned and done.
- Talk with your friends and share your goals and dreams to stay motivated and excited.
What are your aspirations?
Click on the link below to open the file. This exercise will guide you to talk about your aspirations and think about the connectuion between your study and your aspirations.
Make the Learning Content Meaningful to you
When you see the relevance of the learning content to you, you are more motivated to learn and you learn better. However, sometimes, you may not see this relevance in certain contents or activities and wonder why you need to learn them or do them. In this case, you can explore the elements of the learning content, such as transferable skills, and draw line between them and your learning or developmental needs. Then, you will see how they can help you achieve your goals, and there you see the relevance. Another way is to put yourself into the content. Try to attach your personal experience to the content, or use your personal experience to explain your understanding of the content. This can help you make meaning of the content. Also, keep an open mind about learning the things that seem irrelevant to you because you may find them very helpful in the future.