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Ten Key Steps to Motivate Yourself

Motivation is literally the desire to do things. It's the difference between waking up before dawn to pound the pavement and lazing around the house all day. It's the crucial element in setting and attaining goals—and research shows you can influence your own levels of motivation and self-control. So figure out what you want, power through the pain period, and start being who you want to be.

"Look at yourself and determine who you are? Answer the following questions:"

Question Yes No
You have a strong desire to accomplish something important
You have a strong motive to achieve
You are more motivated to avoid failure
You don't worry about what others think
You feel that setbacks and obstacles as part of the game
You always give your best effort
You always take responsibility for your actions
You believe that your success is dependent on your initiative, effort, and persistence
You feel that you can always improve your performance
You see demanding tasks as challenges or opportunities
You view a failure or setback as another step in the process
You view tasks that require effort are fun
Do you like to track your spending, food eaten, steps taken, or calls made

 

If you have more yes's than no's, you are a naturally positive individual that lives a motivated lifestyle.

Do this exercise designed to reveal insights about what drives you. Below you will find a matrix with 'Passion' on the X axis and 'Confidence' on the Y axis.

In the upper right quadrant puts an activity for which you have high passion and high confidence; in the upper left quadrant affix an activity for which you have high passion and low confidence. In the lower quadrants you place an activity for which you have low passion and high confidence, and one for which you have low passion and low confidence.

High Passion High Confidence

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High Passion Low Confidence

Low Passion High Confidence

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Low Passion Low Confidence

 

It becomes clear that those activities in the upper right quadrant are ones we spend considerable time doing. Practice results in mastery and confidence, and confidence reinforces our passion.

The upper left quadrant includes things we say we want to do, but usually don't do, or things we have just started learning. We lack confidence because we haven't spent time practicing these skills. Whether the activity is singing, skiing, or learning a new language, there is something holding us back from getting fully engaged. It is only by ramping up our commitment to this task that we will put in the time and effort required to pull it into the upper-right quadrant.

Those items in the lower left quadrant are activities we don't have any interest in pursuing. We are neither passionate nor confident about them. These are great things to outsource to others who enjoy these tasks. Alternatively, if these are tasks that we need to accomplish, there are ways to reframe how we think about them. We can focus on the outcome as opposed to the process, find ways to make the activity more pleasurable, or plant rewards along the way.

The final quadrant includes items for which we have high confidence but low passion. This is the most interesting square since it includes items that we have already mastered but don't enjoy doing. One option is to probe why we aren't motivated. For some things, we give up on pushing ourselves once we reach a minimum level of skill or get bored with the repetition.

It is up to each of us to actively decide which items we want to have in each quadrant, and to determine what percentage of our time will be spent pursuing tasks that fall on one side of the matrix or the other.

To move from the left-hand side of the matrix toward the right-hand side requires an increase in confidence. The only way to increase confidence is with actions: practicing skills leads to mastery and confidence. And, to move from the lower half of the matrix to the upper half requires an increase in your drive. The only way to increase your drive is to change your attitude. This might mean making a pursuit a priority, throwing off anxiety that the goal is out of reach, or giving yourself permission to fail on the road to success.

We each control our attitudes and our actions, and thereby are a master of our own motivations.

But how do we improve our motivation?

Get Positive

"Focus on emotions. Knowing something isn't enough to cause change. Make people (or yourself) feel something."

When do we procrastinate the most? When we're in a bad or down mood.

If you start the day calm it's easy to get the right things done and focus.

But when we wake up and the fray is already upon us — phone ringing, emails coming in, fire alarms going off — you spend the whole day reacting.

This means you're not in the driver's seat working on your priorities, you're responding to what gets thrown at you, important or not.

Studies demonstrate happiness increases productivity and makes you more successful. Start your day with either exercise, yoga, or meditation; this will greatly improve you mood and motivation.

"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive one, you'll start having positive results" Willie Nelson

Hold Yourself Back

When I start with a new exercise program, or any new goal really, I am rarin' to go. I am full of excitement, and my enthusiasm knows no boundaries. Nor does my sense of self-limitation. I think I can do anything. It's not long before I learn that I do have limitations, and my enthusiasm begins to wane.

Well, a great motivator that I've learned is that when you have so much energy at the beginning of a program, and want to go all out — HOLD BACK. Don't let yourself do everything you want to do. Only let yourself do 50-75 percent of what you want to do. And plan out a course of action where you slowly increase over time. For example, if I want to go running, I might think I can run 3 miles at first. But instead of letting myself do that, I start by only running a mile. When I'm doing that mile, I'll be telling myself that I can do more! But I don't let myself. After that workout, I'll be looking forward to the next workout, when I'll let myself do 1.5 miles. I keep that energy reined in, harness it, so that I can ride it even further.

"Small steps may appear unimpressive, but don't be deceived. They are the means by which perspectives are subtly altered, mountains are gradually scaled, and lives are drastically changed."  Richelle E. Goodrich

Act like your heroes

Read about them, watch them, listen to them. Discover what they did that was special and what made them tick. But remember that they are people just like us. So let them inspire you instead of looking up at them admiringly.

Another thing that I have is a mentor group, people I look-up to and admire. When I have a question or small challenge I will ask the best one suited for the situation and have coffee or lunch with them. The times I have a serious challenge I will ask them all to dinner and share the situation. We help each other!

"Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory."  Benjamin Disraeli

Define your goal and your plan to achieve it

Now that we have you thinking in the positive, know what you're getting positive about. Instead of, 'I don't want to be homeless, poor, and live my life in a state of abject poverty,' you're thinking, 'I want to be financially secure.' Awesome. Now -- what's your plan to achieve that?

Well, for that specific example, you'd create some type of income plan. It would involve making a budget, possibly going back to school, or expanding your business. You have concrete steps toward your goal. But for whatever you're facing -- be it weight loss, doing well in school, or following through with a dream -- you need to figure out what it is you want and just how you plan on doing that. If you really want it, it won't be all that hard to figure out.

"People with goals succeed because they know where they're going."  Earl Nightingale

Look your excuses in the eye

Excuses are man's best friend and greatest enemy, says Bernie Roth, academic director of Stanford's School of Design and author of The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life. The trick is to look at them straight on (are you really too tired to work out, or do you just want to watch The Walking Dead?), and go from there.

If you see you're using an excuse, just correct yourself. Next time it comes up, you'll probably do it again—but after a few times, you'll stop. But if you believe your own baloney reasons, you'll never change your behavior, Roth says. "It's really a matter of telling yourself the truth."

'He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."  Benjamin Franklin

Do not compare yourself with others

Comparing yourself with others is an effective way if you want to become frustrated.  It will kill your motivation.  Even if you began with enthusiasm, you will lose energy quickly if you start to only focus on what others accomplished.

Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.  Coco Chanel

Post motivating pictures or slogans on your fridge or elsewhere

It is always uplifting to see pictures of people who have accomplished what you're striving for. It makes it attainable and realistic. Likewise, little slogans like 'go for it' or 'just do it' can give you the little boost you need. Be sure to also read inspiring and motivational quotes.

Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be. Zig Ziglar

Leverage the Chameleon Effect

Brian Scudamore, founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, You Move Me, and Wow 1 Day Painting

When focus fails me, I find an empty desk in the office and sit next to a focused employee who I don't really know. This approach keeps me focused in three ways:

It helps me feed off the person's concentration.

The well-studied chameleon effect shows that we unconsciously copy the postures, mannerisms, facial expressions, and other behaviors of people around us.

It makes me want to be a good role model.

We often try to please the people we know the least more than the people we're closest to. As the leader of our organization, I feel extra pressure to stay focused when

I'm sitting right next to someone I don't know as well.

It gets me out of mental ruts.

Many of our repeated behaviors are cued by everyday environments, according to studies conducted by Wendy Wood and James B. Duke, professors of psychology and neuroscience. So changing my workstation changes my behaviors.

Even if you don't have lots of employees, you can still find the right people to sit next to at co-working spaces and cafes.

"Imitation is not just the sincerest form of flattery - it's the sincerest form of learning."   George Bernard Shaw

Take a Daily 15-Minute Walk to Eliminate Brain Fog

Sevetri Wilson,, CEO of Solid Ground Innovations

I take a daily 15-minute walk through the neighborhood where my business is in order to clear my head. The extra space helps me creatively:

Reflect on my "why"

Think about "big picture" goals

Focus on critical, non-urgent needs

Counterintuitively, mental fatigue isn't caused by the exhaustion of the part of our brain that focuses. It is actually caused by the exhaustion of the part that blocks distractions. Studies show that taking a walk (especially in natural settings) helps restore our brain's ability to block distractions because it allows our mind to wander

"From time to time, one must release the grime built up inside them to free their emotions like the ocean."   Suzy Kassem

Help others

Share your ideas and help friends get motivated. Seeing others do well will motivate you to do the same. Write about your success, put them in your diary or blog, and get feedback from readers.

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another."   Charles Dickens



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