You walk in the door from work and a sense of despair rolls over you. Your list of thing to do at home starts running through your head and you start to feel overwhelmed. Thoughts of what you should be doing haunt you as you sit down to another night of sitcoms and reruns. We've all been there at some point.
Some of us feel this way all the time and some of us experience periodic times of discouragement. Of course, there are times that relaxing is exactly what we need to do, but more often we are trying to escape because we don't feel like doing anything else. We tell ourselves things like, "I'll do that when I feel like it." Or "Maybe when I am inspired or motivated it'll be easier." Dr. William Glasser once said, "If you want to change attitudes (motivation) start with a change in behavior. In other words, begin acting the part, as well as you can, of the person you would rather be, the person you want to become. Gradually, the old, fearful person will fade away." What wisdom! I think if you look at your own life, you will find times that you did something even though you weren't motivated - you didn't feel like it. Do you remember the sense of elation you felt and the confidence that came from "just doing it" instead of being a victim of your feelings? You were more motivated to accomplish other things you hadn't felt like doing up until then. Action really is the mother of motivation! I have put together a list of 3 action steps that help me to stay motivated. Put these into practice and watch your motivation soar.
1. Listen to motivational material in your car or while you are working out. Think about all the time you could "redeem" this way. How many hours do we Americans spend in our cars on our daily commute or shuttling our kids to various activities? What if you turned that time into an action step by listening to stories about successful people or tips to improve your life or career? Or listen to good stuff on your mp3 player while you are working out. There is a great website that I love that will let you download motivational material in mp3 format and they'll even send you one FREE mp3 every week if you ask. There are also plenty of other resources out there for motivational audios. I have found some great material at my local public library.
2. Subscribe to motivational emails. There are may great websites out there that offer free motivational and inspirational emails. Get on google and find some sites that appeal to you and subscribe. I just recently got a Motivational Kit from a website called motivation123. It was free and I got some great ideas for staying motivated. I also subscribe to a newsletter by a guy named Rene Godefroy. He has a very interesting story to tell. Check out his website at www.villagehero.com.
3. Post motivational tidbits around your home and office. Posters are great! Find some here. Or try our Motivational Memos (below) every week for great mini index cards you can post anywhere.
To access links, visit www.careercalling.com/Archives.htm and read the original article in the March 11, 2005 edition of The Coach’s Career Tips and Resources!
"Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly." - Stephen Covey
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."- Mark Twain
Jonathan R Taylor is the author of The Coach's Career Tips and Resources. He helps his clients Love Their Work! You can subscribe at www.careercalling.com/ssubscribe.htm.
