Silencing the Voice of Over-Rationalization

By Gregory John "G.J." Vitale on September 20, 2012

You know that little voice that pops into your head when you half-wake up to your alarm for your 9:30 class? It sounds so convincing and rather smart, too. You begin a process of rationalization that becomes a tidal wave of excuses and assumptions.

Oh, you’re right that is a good point, I would fall asleep in class anyway.

I did read that it was going to rain today.

If I sleep in now, I’ll be more productive for the rest of the day.

I can get the slides online.

I’ve heard them all. I’ve largely been able to tell this “voice of over-rationalization” to shut up so far this semester. I can’t say the same for my freshman year. Part of it had to do with freshmen festivities and just general not knowing how to live like a college student, but most of it was just plain stubbornness.

C’mon, super-scholar James Franco can’t even stay awake for this lecture!

If it’s not too cliche, I’d like to now present the 5 ways I power through the unavoidable defense mechanism of rationalization.

1) Remind yourself why you are there in the first place. College, despite what people may have told you, is an educational institution designed to EDUCATE, shockingly enough. If you did it right, you chose the school that would best help you learn about your field(s) of interest. Beyond even that, however, is the conscious effort to sort of finish what you started and not half-ass your way through school. You are there to LEARN.

2) Take pride. If college is all about learning, then why not learn as much as you can as best as you can. Instead of fighting for grades, fight for knowledge. Institute that drive, even if it sounds like a political slogan for someone running for school board president. When you graduate, you should be able to look back and be proud of the things you learned. Although grades are very nice to brag about and reaffirm your belief that you are the smartest person alive, they don’t reveal much about the process. I can certainly say I learned more in my freshman psychics class (C+), then I learned in my freshmen writing class (A-).

3) Just say the word “tuition.” If it hasn’t hit home yet, maybe you should make a call to home and ask how much mom and dad are paying for you to sleep through class. I remember one of my friends–because these are the kind of friends I have–literally calculating the cost of one class at Tufts. Don’t quote me on this, but I think he found it’s around $200 for classes that meet three times a week. Try to sleep with that on your conscience.

4) Think ahead to how you’ll feel afterwords. Well rested, right? Wrong. The guilt will silently eat away at your mood for a day, then find its way to embed itself in your memory. It’s not like skipping a class is a horrendous crime, and in some cases, it’s not even that big of a deal. I agree, but repeated offenses are many times due to holding this claim as truth.

5) Earn your stripes…er, diploma. When you walk at graduation, you want to feel confidence in your body of work. Don’t get through college. Relish in it.

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