Source: William Goosby / Ebony J Media LLC
Why do you want to motivate yourself? If you answer that question fully you will have demonstrated one of the better ways to get your daily motivation. Here are seven more ways that have been proven to work for others. There is a good chance that some of them will work for you too.
Seven Ways To Motivate Yourself
- Explain your plans. Find someone that listens well, and tell them what you want to do. If it is something that you really want, this will almost always get you motivated.
- Stimulate desire. Imagine the rewards of your effort clearly. Imagination motivates many to sign up for get-rich-quick schemes. A good salesperson can have you seeing yourself in your imagined dream home in minutes, and you’ll feel motivated to do anything to make it real. But the key to your motivation is to learn to be your own salesperson.
- Use pain. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) teaches us to link pain with failing to act. If you imagine your child, for instance, sitting in jail for drug possession – that might motivate you to have that talk you’ve been putting off. Linking pleasure and rewards to acting is only half of the formula. Remember to link pain to not acting.
- Develop a true interest. If you have no interest at all, it might mean you need to do something different. However, if it’s just a task you dislike, clearly relate it in your mind to the greater goal. You may not like driving, but if you have to drive in dangerous conditions such as mountain roads or ice and snow, you will become more motivated to drive, and carefully.
- Create energy. Coffee can help for a while, but one way or another, you need to have some energy to motivate yourself. Exercise, adequate sleep, and the reduction of sugary foods will help your motivation. On the other hand, the “sugar blues” will kill your motivation.
- Have the proper mental state. It’s unusual to be depressed and motivated. Resolve some of your negative feelings, and you’ll have more motivation. You might also strive to do your most important work when you are in a better mood.
- Make any small step. Commit to write one letter or one report at a time, and soon you’ll want to finish clearing your in basket. Any small step towards your goals creates momentum.
Now, you have seven more ways to motivate yourself. However, you have to actually use them., So how do you get motivated to do that? You have to figure that one out yourself. Humor, by the way, can be a good motivator. Laughing often breaks up the feeling of being overwhelmed. There’s your eighth way to motivate yourself. Have a success-full week. “I’ll see you at the top.”
* J Thomas Smith is host of “Sunday Morning Live” on KMJQ/Majic 102.1 (9-11 am). He is an attorney, author, keynote speaker and mental health consultant. Your comments are welcome: jtsmith@radio-one.com. Follow on Twitter @drjtsmith102.
