Summary: Do you need some techniques on how to get motivated? This article will surely help you to find a way and to stay motivated since motivation is an emotion. And emotions are temporary. In this article you’ll find a way to stay motivated in a more sustainable way.
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It’s the beginning of the week and for many of you it’s the first week of work after a nice holiday.
I can imagine that you’re having a hard time getting motivated to go to work, making calls, reports and participating in (long) meetings.
This article will help you to get motivated after the weekend, holidays or when you are low in energy and do not know what to do.
It contains some of my favorite techniques on how to get motivated. Make sure you’re going to read it up to the end because it gives you the ultimate secret on how to stay motivated.
About motivation
According to the Oxford dictionary, a definition for motivation is:
A reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way.
When you’re motivated, you have the feeling that you can do anything. You’re full of energy, focus, joy and believe in yourself. Do you recognize this?
You’re not motivated when you do not know what to do or don’t believe in the results of what you’re doing (so why bother?). This is negative self-talk. Also, you might be overwhelmed by all the choices you’ll have to make during a day (who to call, where to start, what to wear, what parameters to use in a calculation, what to eat,…). This also can be demotivating.
So what to do to get motivated? Here are some of my favorite techniques:
Set goals
I believe this is one of the most important techniques to get motivated. Without goals it will be difficult to get motivated let alone get started to go somewhere. There must be a reason as the dictionary suggests. Do you have difficulties finding your goals? Start by describing your perfect day or checking these 8 tips to be more productive.
Set the bar low
Don’t set big goals but define small clear goals which are easy to achieve (this will motivate you more).
Focus on feelings
As you’re working on your goal, focus on working on the goal instead of reaching your goal. But do envision how you feel after completing a task to reach a certain goal. My goal with these articles is to give you information so you can have new insights and grow. I always feel proud, happy and content after publishing a new blog post. This feeling alone makes sure that I keep my fingers on the keyboard and type.
Plan it
My goal is to write 26 articles a year. That is every other week. In my calendar there’s a reminder for getting my blog ready by Monday. This helps me to stick to my goal which I did set more than 2,5 years ago.
Shout it out!
Well, some of you are following me on social media (LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook). Every 2 weeks I announce my next blog for the day after. I am making myself accountable for reaching that task. This surely motivates me to finish that article!
Have a reward
And give yourself a reward after completing a goal or task. This might be something small like having a delicious snack, watching a short video (see below) or calling a dear colleague or friend.
Ask for help
If you’re having trouble getting or staying motivated, ask for help. Don’t do it alone! I am sure you have enough people in your network who would love to help you (if not, contact me!). Others can challenge you to stay focused, give you tips on how to reach your goals faster or might simply do some of the work with you.
Listen to music
Music helps me to experience more joy, to energize myself and to focus. Find a list of my favorite music to perform at peak level here. They will surely motivate you.
Move
And while you’re listening to this music, dance! By moving you’ll get more oxygen in your body so you can release energy. A walk (with a colleague) will help as well. We have a trampoline in the garden. Jumping for a few minutes helps me to get new insights, self-confidence and plenty of motivation. If you don’t have a trampoline in the office you can do jumping-jacks.
Listen to stories of successful people
Plenty of stories of the struggles (you’re not alone!) of successful people can be found in Podcasts. Here’s a list of my favorite podcasts. They will inspire and motivate you.
Read books
Books are an excellent resource for inspiration and motivation. Here are some books I read last summer (2017) but you also might read “Don’t look down” by Richard Branson (read my review here) or “Originals” by Adam Grant (read my review here). Finally, you can read blogs to motivate you. Try http://www.blogsearchengine.org/ to find an article on any subject or browse through my blogs.
Watch these video’s
I used to watch tons of video’s on YouTube to inspire and motivate me. They did cost me a lot of time to watch and to find good ones (while listening to podcasts you can do something). Here 5 of my favorite video’s:
Baz Luhrmann – Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen
Neil Gaiman 2012 Commencement Speech “Make Good Art”
Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie addresses Harvard’s Class of 2018
I Gotta Feeling- on Oprah Winfrey Show Chicago 2009
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSLTHjsIp5o
More motivational videos can be found here.
Secret of staying motivated
I’ve discovered that motivation is an emotion. Just watch the last 2 music video’s above. At first you’ll feel great. Then you do your task. The emotion (motivation) fades and you’ll want to watch it again or do something else (like procrastination).
Since emotion is energy in motion (e-motion: think about that one…), motivation is only temporary. You’ll have to apply one of the above mentioned techniques over and over again to stay motivated. This takes a lot of energy and time. And it is not sustainable in the end at all.
I believe that if you live your purpose you’ll have an infinite amount of energy to stay motivated for what you’re doing. Living your purpose is living your WHY. Your WHY is who you are, what you stand for and what you believe. It’s not something you would aspire to be but what you are doing when you are at your best at this moment. Your WHY answers the question of what contribution you make and what the effect of this is on the world. For more information read my article on how to find your WHY.
My purpose is to facilitate in order to elevate. I verify every action, every task or assignment with my purpose, my WHY. For example, this article helps to motivate you and therefore it is in line with my purpose. This gives me the infinite energy and motivation to write this article, to give a talk, training and to produce a podcast. It also makes it easier for me to make choices in in what to do and not during a day.
What is your favorite technique to get motivated? Let me know in the comment box below. I, and other readers of this article look forward to read from you!
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