Motivation is simply any force that inspires or otherwise prompts a person to take action, accomplish tasks or achieve certain goals. For instance, an approaching storm provides motivation to take cover. A manager may use incentives to motivate employees to work hard. A person may visualize his or her goals in order to motivate him or her to get the necessary work done to achieve them. This last example is more specifically known as self motivation.
Self-Motivation
The type of motivation that we are particularly interested in here is self motivation. This is the inner force that helps us as individuals to actively pursue our goals and reach our dreams. Our self motivation gives us the power to make things happen and get the results that we desire.
This motivation comes from within. It depends on many other internal factors such as self confidence, self esteem, tenacity, perseverance and self discipline. We do not always want to do the things that we must do in order to achieve our goals. Our self motivation defines our inner drive to do it anyway.
Tenacity
Our levels of motivation will also be responsible for helping us deal with the many obstacles that we may encounter on the path to our goals. If a person is highly motivated, he or she will be less likely to give up.
His or her tenacity will help maintain the motivation needed to press onward. This person will be reactive in a positive manner using creativity and work to keep moving forward and overcome these obstacles. The person who lacks motivation or has lower levels of motivation will be prone to allow things like self doubt, fear and difficulty impede his or her progress or stop it altogether.
Motivation and Success
We all have goals or dreams that we wish to accomplish. Unfortunately, for many of us, wanting to achieve those dreams and actually motivating yourself to achieve goals are two different things. If you want to actually produce results, you must make a conscious effort to develop a strong sense of self motivation.
This is what sets the people who achieve apart from the people who do not. Time and time again, the past has showed us that more often than not, our motivation is in direct proportion to our success.
Never Say Die
Motivation is the positive initiative that keeps pushing us to go on. In many arenas, the difference between those who reach the top and those who fall short is nothing more than the simple fact that those who made it, never quit. Motivation is what makes that happen. Knowing this, it is easy to see that motivation is yet another crucial tool for achieving success in life.
It’s Complicated
Self motivation is not necessarily a single personal trait. In fact, it is a bit more complex than that. It depends on your faith in your own abilities to achieve, your feelings of self worth, your ability to make yourself do things that you may not want to do and your ability to stay positive and focused on tasks.
Because of these contributing factors, you will need to have high levels of self confidence, self discipline, self esteem and any number of other skills that help you to maintain a happy and productive effort.
External Motivation
Normally, people are motivated by a number of external factors as well. If we can learn to utilize some of them for internal motivation, it can make things easier with regard to self motivating.
For instance, people are motivated by consequence. Avoiding negative outcomes is a great motivator. When trying to motivate yourself to do something, make sure to bring to mind any negative outcomes that may result from not taking action. Often, remembering these things will be enough to get you moving and stop procrastinating.
Reward Yourself
Another good one is reward. We all have reasons for chasing specific goals. There is an outcome that we desire. Visualize that positive outcome as vividly and as often as you can. Use it to keep you focused on the prize and moving forward.
Extra incentives are another great tool for spurring yourself onward. Plan your progress in small steps and promise to reward yourself with extra pleasures each time you accomplish one.
Read also: 3 Outrageous Self Motivation Techniques that Work
If you really like hot relaxing baths, allow yourself to take one each time you hit a new milestone in your endeavor to meet your final goal. If you really like ice cream cones, use those. It can be anything you want and it works.
Keep it Simple
Often our true goals are huge, complex, life-long undertakings that seem quite overwhelming when approached with the wrong mindset. Break the goals down into a detailed and simplified plan of attack. As you approach this goal, focus most of your mind on only the next task.
You can save a little awareness for foresight but focus on getting just one more step completed first. If the entire process needs to change along the way, so be it. At least you will always be making progress (and getting those hot baths, or ice cream cones along the way).
Another great external motivator is other people. Surround yourself with positive, motivating people and draw on their energy often. Whenever you are really having trouble getting going, call one of these people up and discuss your goals and progress, compare notes, ask them about their own goals and solicit some advice about getting moving again. You may be surprised how much insight other people can provide.
Challenge Yourself
Challenge is another good motivating factor. Sometimes we simply get bored with some of the mundane or tedious facets of our work to achieve bigger goals. This boredom works to rob us of our vital motivation. Create something challenging to spice things up.
Learn a new skill that makes other work easier. Build a new tool to simplify or speed up a process. Try to break your own record for work done in a single hour. Get creative and you will find many great ways to challenge yourself and stay motivated.
Enjoy Yourself
Enjoyment breeds productivity. Everyone knows that the person who does it the best is usually the one who loves it the most so find ways to make your task more enjoyable.
Enjoy a nice cup of coffee and your favorite music while you work. Complete your tasks in new locations if possible. Create a work environment that you can enjoy more than a stuffy cluttered room with fluorescent lights, stained carpet and yellow walls. Brighten up your workspace, put pictures of your goals and dreams around you, play your music and block out unnecessary stresses.
Find ways to increase your self motivation and work at them every day. As your ability to self motivate increases, you will find that your confidence, self esteem and over-all sense of happiness and productivity will improve. You will make your way to your goals with ever increasing speed and one day you will reach them and you can give yourself a huge pat on the back.