My first research paper topic was motivation
My first research paper was on the topic of motivation. It was for an undergraduate course in research writing, and I was a track athlete interested in the question, “does confidence make you a more successful athlete?” I was sure it did. As an athlete, I learned that if I believed I could beat my competition, I usually did. And if I believed they were better than me, they usually fulfilled that prophecy. I was that kid who lived out the motto, “if I can’t win, I won’t try.” I’m sure there is some therapy I could do to uncover the source of that particular trait, which I have worked to not pass down to my own children. But in order to succeed during my competitive running days on the track, I created a little internal dialogue as to why I was able to beat each person on the starting line with me. That girl is too skinny (I was also skinny). That girl’s hair is too mousy (my hair was also mousy). That girl is over-confident. Oh, the irony. Of course, none of these things actually deter