Recognizing and Responding to a Problem

 Recognizing a problem is tough. I have a bad habit of browsing through Quora instead of listening to online lecture. Perhaps part of the reason behind this problem is that I don’t ascribe enough value to lecture time. School environment and home environment have become so similar, that they have blended together, and have lost their independence.

Back when I used to go to school, recognizing the distinction, and focusing in class wasn’t too much of a problem. Electronics were mostly out of the question at school, and the situation in which I was placed made it difficult to become distracted. Not the same in the online learning environment.

So, I’ve recognized that this is a significant and recurring problem that I’ve been facing, and now must make a conscious decision to work against this bad habit in order to break free of it. I recognize its importance, as I prioritize my school work above all other work. In my life right now, my top priority as far as work is concerned is to excel in my courses, or, at minimum, to dedicate myself completely to the pursuit of this goal.

So, in order to meet this end, I must make according changes to disrupt the obstacles that hinder the fulfillment of this goal. It has been difficult to isolate other problems that have arisen in my life. For example, I have come to realize that, in my chess playing habits, I didn’t limit my playing amount, and the habit of playing chess was something I resorted to out of a desire for entertainment, or an end to my boredom.

It was a habit that I didn’t care enough to restrict to the necessary extent, though I had set forth a guideline for myself to play in one day: 3 blitz games, 5 bullet games, and 1 rapid game. So, the problem grew to the point where my parents began to speculate as to whether I had an addiction, and more extreme measures had to be taken on my end to stop the problem.

So, I feel that identifying the problem and being courageous enough and true enough to oneself to acknowledge it as a problem are difficult but necessary first steps.