Motivation Tips
Out of all forms of motivation, self-motivation is one of the most difficult ones. When we try to motivate our subordinates, we have a variety of tools and often substantial financial backing to do so. In the case of motivating your children to go to school, there are usually many ways or rewards which can make the little ones excited and make them change their mind.
However, what is there to do when the motivation process needs to happen between you and yourself? What then? If you are like the rest of us, you have days when motivation just "happens" and then there are days when it is nowhere to be found. And these are the days I would like to write about.
On the days when we are not as charged up as we would like to be, it is helpful to set our goals for the day in a way that we know we can achieve them. Each "failure" to meet your daily plans will send you deeper into despair, so, in order to avoid it, set your expectations a little bit lower and then enjoy their fulfillment.
It also helps to check on your long term goals during the day more often than usually and point out those parts of them that you have already achieved. If needed, go through a few magazines and add some pieces to your vision board; if you don't have one, create one; it's a great exercise for a "low motivation day"!
Most importantly, allow yourself to feel a little bit low, and understand that it is not the end of it all. It is merely a reminder that you are human, and thus prone to higher energy and lower energy days. In order to not remain on a low energy path for too long, work out a few rules that you keep on hand and apply to kick start your motivation as quickly as possible; for example take a different route for your walk, clean your clutter, meet a fun friend for a coffee or lunch, enjoy the sunset with a quiet moment.
There are many ways how to move back to your self-motivated you, as long as you develop your own ones which work for you over and over again.
Natalie Ekberg is an international personal and executive coach and offers self-improving, motivational and coaching e-courses and e-books as well as face to face or telephone coaching.
