On Staying Motivated

At our age, we as boomers have seen and done a great deal, but life still has a way of interfering while we are going after our dreams. It distracts us from pursuing things that really matter and even convinces us that nothing really matters. It can attract us to adopt a defeatist attitude – lacking on enthusiasm and interest – ultimately sapping out our sense of purpose. 

But there are ways to stay motivated, no matter how you feel about everything around you. These are not easy, far from that, but are nevertheless very helpful in keeping yourself fired with motivation.

Develop the attitude of interest. Find the thing you are most passionate about. The happiest people, they say, are those people who do the things they love the most. It is not coincidental that they are the most motivated people as well. After all, passion and motivation go hand in hand. They are closely intertwined to create a person who is full of zest about everything. 

Nearly every successful people are very passionate about what they do. We are not saying that it has to take some forceful circumstances in our lives before we find the thing we are most passionate about. In most cases, this very thing is right at the tip of your nose. You just don’t want to see it, to accept it. 

Find the thing that can spark and sustain your enthusiasm. Then channel all your energies towards that thing. This sparks motivation, productivity and satisfaction. 

But what do you do when you are stuck with things that you are not truly passionate about? In times like this, when passion is lacking and your zeal is at its all time low, interest will suffice. Be interested in everything you do, no matter how boring, tedious or nonsensical it may seem. Find meaning in everything. Take the time to be engrossed, to be interested. Otherwise, your life will seem and feel like a living hell. 

Having said that, always find reasons to be happy about the things you do, the goals you are pursuing, the dreams you are trying to realize, and the life you are trying to live. Never lose sight of happiness and never let it slip away.

Maintain an elevated level of energy. The mere act of smiling at yourself can recharge your energy. Having no energy almost always ensure that you won't feel as motivated as you need. Always take the time to recharge yourself – sleep, eat, breathe, relax, and rest. Do whatever it takes to always keep your energy high, if not sustained. 

Act like it. Translate positive emotions into actions. If you are not feeling positive about anything, try to act like it. Sometimes, despite of lacking motivation, you can still feel motivated when you deliberately act with enthusiasm. 

Motivation - Practical Tips To Get Yourself Up and Going

People have different issues with motivation. I find it hard to begin, while others find it excruciatingly hard to finish. Both ends of the tasks are often the hardest to accomplish. It could be because the task is unpleasant, uninteresting, or lacks the thing that makes you feel motivated to get off your butt and start working. When having troubles with getting or staying motivated, try these following tips.

Kick the habit of procrastination - Procrastination is very enticing, that is why many people are led to its path. But, never for a second believe that it is satisfying. Procrastination eats up a lot of your time while leaving nothing for you to get ahead with your task. Procrastination also leaves that lingering, powerful guilt feeling that saps the energy out of your body. 

The unwashed laundry. The unfinished business plan. The project that lays idle on your table. All these are reminders that you haven’t done anything with your habit of procrastination. And all these produce that same sense of half-pleasure, half-guilt feeling produced by not doing the task on time. 

Push yourself – Over pampering yourself is a bad habit, and a fatal one too. You may not lose your life while procrastinating, but you can lose your job, opportunities and the chances of success whenever you hesitate and delay your tasks. No one wants to miss out on these things, so just do the opposite of pampering, try to push yourself. 

If you think you can do a task in one hour, try to finish it in 30 minutes. Add more outputs every day. Make yourself extra productive. There is a certain sense of pride and accomplishment in being able to defeat your worst enemy – yourself. 

Be careful not to push yourself too hard though. Always leave time for rest and relaxation as these can charge your mind and body to keep your energy and interest in the things you do at the highest. 

Stop talking yourself out of it - There are always two parts of your head that are battling for your attention. One part convinces you to start working on your task; the other gives you all the convincing arguments to delay your work. In most cases, the second part wins. But for people who have no serious issue with motivation, the good, inspiring side always wins out the debate. Always try to listen to that part that talks you into doing your tasks, not to the one that pulls you back to that cozy bed where you can steal a few minutes' worth more of rest. 

Envision the completion of the task - Think like you have already finished your task. Few people appreciate the benefits of creating mental images of finished tasks. The reality though is, this can help a great deal in motivating you to get on with it. Think of the euphoria of not having anything to make you feel guilty. Or the sense of pride in being able to accomplish something. The more you think of the benefits of finishing your tasks, the more convinced you will become to get ahead with it. 

Where do I find the time?

On this late Friday in August as you move into the long labour day weekend, here are some tips to get you thinking about motivation and to help you see that you have the resources to help fix your own problems. 

The first step is to recognize your problems to be open, honest, and transparent, If you do you will be taking the steps you need to overcome those obstacles.


Set aside sixty minutes to answer these questions as soon as you can, like this weekend

Time Management 

1. What does your current daily workday look like? 
2. How often do you check email? 
3. Outline a perfect workday if everything went right - in terms of maximum productivity: 
4. When is your Magic Time (the time of day when you get more accomplished in an hour than you do at any other hour of the day)? 
5. What activities and environment foster maximum productivity, creativity, and well-being? 
6. What is your current daily diet and exercise routine? 
7. What are your biggest weaknesses when it comes to productivity and time management? 
8. What are the "time sucks" in your life? What gets you off track each day? 
9. How can you fix them? 
10. What internal resistance stops you from changing any of the above? 
11. If you were to stop working today because you had all the money you needed, how would you spend your day? 
12. What are your top 3 priorities to improve in your time/energy management? 

Vision 

1. What is your purpose/mission in life? 
2. What is your personal philosophy on life? What are the rules for your life?
3. What is stopping you from living the life you need to? 
4. What is the legacy you want to leave behind? 
5. What is your 10-year vision for your family? 
6. What relationships do you want to improve? 
7. What steps are you taking to improve these? 
8. What are the things that you need to say YES to more in your life? 
9. What are the things that you need to say NO to more in your life? 
10. What steps are you taking to improve your health? 
11. What are the 3 most influential books you have read in your life and why? 

FINALLY... 

What is the ONE thing that has to happen in the next 12 months in order for you to say that it has been a BREAKTHROUGH year? 

Hopefully a question or two led to a significant mindset breakthrough for you

Thought for the day

There's a great Chinese proverb that goes:

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."

What have you been putting off, that you could do today?  Well since today is the second best time to start, what is holding you back?

Simple Rules of Motivation

You can drag yourself up the same way you can drag yourself down. It is a choice you have to make every, single day. Whenever you are faced with this conflict of choices, bring with you these tiny nuggets of wisdom on motivation.
Never mind that you're not this or that.
It all begins with little excuses like 'I don’t feel good', 'I am not that smart', 'I don't have enough faith in myself'. Then you start believing in these things like they are written in stone, then these negative beliefs become a part of your system, a part of who you are
.
Don’t give a second's worth of recognition on these negative self-talks. Whenever you hear that part of your brain tell you things that can pull you down, shut it out and listen to that less powerful, but oftentimes ignored voice that says 'you can!'.

Try to have a little faith - in yourself, in what you can do, and the things you believe in. It doesn't matter if you fail, everyone goes through that hurtful process. What matters is that every time you do, you bounce back, rebuild yourself, and give the world a better you.

Be very careful when choosing your side.
You can either talk yourself into doing the task or not, which means you can either be a part of success that one part of your head says you can be, or take part in the downfall the other side of your head tries to go to. Always take that side of your brain that believes in you, that cares about your well-being, and pushes you to be the person you are trying to be. 

Try to win the debate with yourself every time. Remember that sometimes, the act of doing something is not really difficult. It's the few minutes of mental chatter leading up to doing the act.
Hold on to that something that matters to you.

There is nothing more meaningful in life than that something that we dearly hold on to. Some people call it their passion, others call it their cause. What do you call yours?

Cause, passion, or whatever it is that propels your inner drive to accomplish something is a very powerful source of motivation. It never runs dry. It flows so long as you hold on to that thing you care about. Sometimes, it is what makes people do the impossible in the face of difficulties. And it is that thing that gives them the courage to face and get through the biggest difficulties life throws at them.

Dream big.
Big dreams inspire. It makes people work harder, with even more passion. What would happen to people if they have nothing to shoot for? Nothing. If there are no Olympic medals and several hundred Olympians to compete against, the champions will never exist. If Mount Everest is not the highest mountain, there will be no mountaineers and hikers who struggle everyday to reach the peak.

If you don’t dream big, you would stay forever in that nook of the world where everything is mediocre, where sense of achievement is an abstract concept, and where success is all but inexistent.

Compete with yourself.
Competing with others is good, but oftentimes it is sure-fire way to demotivate yourself because you will start to compare yourself with others each and every time. Run your own, personal race. How many times have you heard the saying, 'you are your worst enemy'

The original star trek and life lessons

THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD: THOSE WHO DIVIDE EVERYTHING INTO TWO GROUPS AND THOSE WHO DON'T. Kenneth Boulding 

While I agree with Boulding for this blog, I would like to think about this, there are those who believe that people can be divided into four types of people. So if you are taking on this Jungarian approach to life, then I would like to submit the following ideas. (These were first put forth back in the 1980's when I was helping business people understand how to sell to these people, in my seminars on "Starting your own Business}

As you read about the four types of people, I would like you to think about the old STAR TREK Television series. The main characters of this show may help you visualize the four types of people described below. Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Spock and Scotty, I believe, represent the four types as defined by the experts.


DOMINANT SENSITIVES: would best be represented by Dr. McCoy.
These people are very confident, and while being friendly and polite, tend to be very formal. They generally know what they like and want and they do not change their minds easily.

DEALING WITH THEM: To keep these people as friends, remember that they do not like small talk, so cut the small talk and give them factual and unhurried information, with all the facts and figures you have, they like people who are good at what they do, so establish yourself as an expert with credentials to prove it. If they like you, you will have a friend for a long time, as they are slow to change their mind.


DOMINANT SELF CENTERED would best be represented by Captain Kirk
These people bark, but they usually don't bite. They can appear rude, and will interrupt you frequently. They want you to prove to you that they are smarter than you are. They want you to agree with them.

DEALING WITH THEM: To keep them as friends, agree with them all along when they are correct, but do not wilt under their argument. Try not to interrupt them; let them have their say. Listen to what they say then point out how they could hurt their own best interest if they do not agree with you, and remember that they are always interested in something that will help them personally. Let them discover how you can help them solve their need or problem, show them how you can help them, and they will be loyal for life. By the way, most people are afraid of dealing with this type of person. They tend to intimidate others.

SUB DOMINANT SELF CENTERED is best represented by Spock.
These people tend to be insecure; they tend to be distrustful and are looking for reassurance all the time. They tend to be fearful if things are good, in case they suddenly get bad. And they fear bad things in case they get worse. Life is a real strain for them and they are very fearful of anything new in case it upsets their carefully arranged lives.

DEALING WITH THEM: To keep them as friends you have to keep reassuring them that everything will be all right. Do not try to get too close either physically or emotionally. If they are the silent type, ask them for their opinion and give them lots of time to reply. A rule of thumb count to yourself from 1 to 25 very slowly, each time you ask a question. If they chatter non stop, you will have to interrupt, but do so gently by excusing yourself. REPEAT THE POINT THEY JUST MADE and try to use that point to get on with the conversation

SUB DOMINANT SENSITIVE is best represented by Scotty.
These people are usually delightful. They want to be liked, and are not afraid to talk, and are always friendly. The key indicator is that they will frequently apologize early on in the conversation. They want to please. But they do not like pressure and they do not like cold people.

DEALING WITH THEM: If you want to keep these types as friends start with small talk, to build trust and in your discussions stay away from facts, focus on feelings. Assure them all the way that you will like them; always be friendly and warm. Keep getting back to the personal.

These people want you to like them, and will be a loyal friend from you because they trust you. They may have to be reassured from time to time that you are their friend.

They want to stay loyal, but will do so only if they can trust you by knowing you will do everything in your power to help them fill their needs

Many people dream of success.

Many people dream of success. To me success can only be achieved through repeated failure and introspection. In fact, success represents the 1 percent of your work that only comes from the 99 percent that is called failure. Soichiro Honda (1906-1991) Japanese industrialist

Recently I have learned of the theory of 10,000 hour rule.  Margaret Wente in her blog stated: A year ago, Malcolm Gladwell, the phenomenally popular Canadian writer published a book called Outliers, which took the world by storm. Outliers is an intriguing effort to explain how extremely successful people got that way. At its heart is something called the 10,000-hour rule, which is approximately the amount of time you have to invest in order to become an expert. Both the Beatles and Bill Gates put in their 10,000 hours (playing in seedy bars in Hamburg, or writing computer code) before they achieved greatness.
 
I am not sure how success is defined, and that is something to consider in the reading of the article and the book. Is success measured in popularity, monetary richness, or personal ideals or another way for you?  Does success equate to greatness or is it something more personal?

She goes on to examine the idea of the rule a bit closer and I think her column makes interesting reading. Is persistence the key to success, or is ability, luck and drive the key. I believe that hard work, luck and motivation are the keys life, along with the ability to learn from failure. Life is an adventure and in all adventures there are many paths, and experiences, I am not sure if these paths can be defined as success or failures. If one is motivated then some experiences means what lesson did I learn and how can I grow and continue. If one is not motivated then some experience means I was not meant to do this, what else can I do