🎯 The Motivation Trap: It’s Not Laziness — It’s Misalignment

Many people blame themselves when they lose motivation to study TOEIC Listening.
But motivation isn't just about willpower — it's about meaning.

If your study doesn’t feel connected to your real goal, your brain shuts down.
And listening, more than any other part of the test, quickly exposes this disconnect.

🎮 Imagine a Game With No Clear Objective…

You’re dropped into a game.
No explanation. No mission. No reward.
You run around. You push buttons. You get bored. You stop playing.

That’s what TOEIC Listening feels like for many learners.
You’re listening to announcements and business conversations — but you don’t know why.
You don’t know the real reason you’re doing it. It just feels like noise.

🚫 Motivation Dies When There's No Feedback

With reading or vocabulary, you can see your improvement.
You understand more words. You solve questions faster.

But with listening, improvement is silent.
You don't feel smarter, even when you are.
That creates doubt:

“Am I even improving?”
“Why is this still so hard?”
“Maybe I'm just bad at this…”

That doubt kills motivation.

💡 Reignite Motivation with These Shifts

1. Make It a Mission, Not a Mystery

Before you listen, ask:

• What’s the speaker’s goal?

• What kind of answer are they probably leading to?

This gives your brain a reason to listen.

2. Track Progress You Can Feel

Instead of just checking answers, track your:

• Number of questions you understood on the first try

• Ability to predict answers before the choices

• Time taken to finish each section

Real progress builds real motivation.

3. Stop Isolating Listening

Listening doesn’t grow in a vacuum.
If you haven’t prepared with vocabulary, patterns, and strategies… listening will always feel too fast.

Motivation fades when the challenge always feels out of reach.

🔓 Motivation Isn’t Missing — It’s Blocked

You don’t need to “try harder.”
You need to remove the friction.

That’s what Accelerated Learning Technology (ALT) does.
It removes the invisible blocks — the ones that tell your brain,

“This is pointless”
“I can’t keep up”
“I’ll never get it”

When those disappear, motivation comes back.

Not because you forced it.
Because now, your effort feels like it matters.

Want to Learn More?

Our blog is full of practical strategies that help test-takers like you build better habits, overcome common blocks, and improve TOEIC scores through smarter, easier methods. Try our free TOEIC Block quiz now!

The Courage to Be Average: Why Comparing Your TOEIC Score Will Make You Miserable

You check your friend’s TOEIC score.
They got 850. You’re still at 680.
Suddenly, your own score feels small. Weak. Not enough.

So you study harder, trying to catch up.
But instead of feeling motivated, you feel tired. Frustrated. Stuck.

This is called Score Stagnation — and comparing yourself to others is the fastest way to get there.

The Problem with Competing Against Everyone

The book The Courage to Be Disliked has a powerful idea:
“The Courage to Be Ordinary.”

It means this:
You don’t need to beat anyone.
You don’t need to be “the best.”
You just need to be you, moving at your own pace.

But when you start comparing scores with friends, coworkers, or random strangers online,
you create a race that never ends.
No matter how high you score, someone will always be higher.

That cycle will exhaust you.

MTC Truth: Your Only Rival is Your Last Score

At My TOEIC Coach (MTC), we say this clearly:
Stop comparing sideways. Start comparing forward.

Your goal isn’t to “win” against your classmates.
Your goal is to improve on your last performance.

If last month you were 650, aim for 660.
That’s it.

Progress is a quiet, personal game.
And it’s the only game where you will always win — if you keep going.

The “1% Better” Habit — How to Break Score Stagnation

Here’s a simple MTC drill to stop the comparison loop and focus on real progress.

✅ After every practice session, write down one small improvement.
Example:

• “Today, I answered Part 2 questions faster.”

• “I noticed more signal words in Part 7.”

• “I reviewed yesterday’s mistakes.”

✅ Forget the score. Track the habits.
The score will follow.

This habit turns your attention away from others and back to where it belongs — on you.

Why This Works

• It builds a success loop. Every small win counts, keeping you motivated.

• It protects your energy. You stop wasting time on other people’s numbers.

• It gives you control. You always decide your next move.

You Don’t Need to Be “Better Than Them.”

You Just Need to Be “Better Than Yesterday.”

The courage to accept being “average” isn’t weakness.
It’s freedom.

When you stop competing sideways, you’ll notice something powerful:
You’ll start moving forward, quietly, but surely.

That’s real success.
That’s MTC style.

Want to Learn More?

Our blog is full of practical strategies that help test-takers like you build better habits, overcome common blocks, and improve TOEIC scores through smarter, easier methods. Try our free TOEIC Block quiz now!