Motivating Yourself

• What motivates you? – what gives you a buzz, gets you excited, energises you and leaves you feeling satisfied and content? For me on the work front it is working with clients running workshops or coaching. Out of work it is a mixture of being with others, having fun and having time on my own. The energy I get from doing these things enables me to do the things that I might not be so motivated to do.

What about you? Are you spending time in and out of work doing the things that give you a buzz? If not what changes can you make that will bring in activities that you will enjoy and that will energise you. Some people choose to get their stimulation from outside of work, which is fine. However, others can often end up not enjoying work or their outside activities.

‘An image of a future worth living will provoke those actions that help create the fact.’ William James

• Choosing the right action to take – I use Robert Dilt’s model of the Logical Levels Of Change on a lot of my programmes. I won’t go into details of the model here, but the following questions relating it to motivation are based on this model:
• Environment – think about when and where you do things. The time of day, week or month might influence how motivated you are to do certain tasks, sometimes you can’t change the timing, and sometimes you can. Where things take place can also affect your motivation. For example I started writing my book on my laptop in cafes. I found it easier to tap away and not get distracted, whereas in the office there would always be other things to do.

When is the best time for you to do certain tasks?
What environment supports and motivates you?

• Behaviour – are there things that you can do to inspire and motivate yourself. I was discussing this topic with a client, and remembered that a colleague and I used to sing the Banana Split song in the car if we were not looking forward to a particular meeting. Somehow engaging our playful child, having a laugh released the tension and we felt more energised and motivated about the task ahead of us.

What behaviours can you use to support, energise and motivate yourself?

• Competence – in Robert Dilt’s model this is about how you represent things in your brain in terms of pictures and messages that go through your head when you think about something. This affects your feelings and your behaviour. If there is something I do not want to do I will often imagine myself having finished it.  I imagine how good it will feel having got it out of the way and this gives me the impetus to get on and do it. I also find this useful if I don’t feel like exercising!

What pictures and messages do you have in your head when you are feeling demotivated? What can you do to change these to help you to feel more positive, energised and motivated?

• Beliefs – your beliefs about yourself, the situation or task in hand affect how you feel and behave. If you believe that an activity will be boring or difficult or that you will fail at something, you are setting up a self-fulfilling prophecy. Explore your beliefs.

Are there more positive and empowering beliefs that would help motivate you?

‘It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.’ Seneca

• Spirit – what raises your spirits, what motivates you? Is it nature, people, music, meditation, time on your own, time out with other people – whatever it is, make sure that you have a healthy dose of it each week to keep your spirits up.

What action can you take today to raise your spirits?

• Go where the energy is – A colleague of mine once mentioned the idea of ‘going where the energy is’. This was something I did not do at the time. Instead I would slog away at something because that was what I was meant to do that day, even if I was being unproductive. So I started to practice doing this and found that by ‘going where the energy is’ I am more productive and motivated and can come back to other things later on. In fact as I start to write this edition of ‘Inspire’ I realise that I had put aside this afternoon to focus on preparing for a workshop, and my intention was to just jot down some ideas for this newsletter, then before I knew it I was busy writing the bulk of it!

‘Action is the antidote to despair.’ Joan Baez

• Motivating yourself when times are hard – As I write this one of my dear friends was rushed into hospital last week and they have found cancer. And life feels somewhat challenging at the moment. But there are still things to be done on the work and home front so what can you do when times are hard?
  • Pacing yourself – it is important to honour what you are going through and the feelings you are experiencing rather than just ignore them and attempt to power through. Pace yourself – look at what you can delegate, postpone or drop in order to do some of the following to help motivate yourself
  • Support & listen to yourself – whether this is speaking to a good friend, a counsellor, writing in a journal
  • Pampering & nurturing yourself – our inner critics can often tell us off for taking time out, for having a bit of comfort food, but done in moderation this is OK, you need to nurture the soul in some way
  • Rewards & treats – I was offered a last minute theatre ticket on Saturday and having seen my friend come through his operation I decided a bit of fun would be good for me.

What can you use as healthy rewards or treats to keep yourself going when the going gets tough?

‘You will pass through storms and heavy rains, and at times you may suffer defeat. The essence of the creative life, however, is not to give up in the face of defeat, but to follow the rainbow that exists within your heart.’ Daisaku Ikeda

Want more Inspiration? If you want any support in Motivating Yourself either for yourself or your team, we can offer 1:1 support or group workshops to assist you in doing this. Just call 01865 377334 or email mg@grovelands.org.uk  to arrange a time to speak in confidence. For more information about Grovelands visit our website: www.grovelands.org.uk

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