Self motivation is what gets you to perform tasks even if there is nobody to egg you on. How many times has lack of motivation stopped you from reaching your fullest potential in a given situation?
Have you often found yourself daydreaming in your cubicle rather than getting started on a key report or presentation? If so, you are allowing your mind to rob you of precious productivity, drive and focus.
Self motivation is not only about getting work done in the office or chores squared away at home. It is also the quality that will make you sign up for a membership at the local gym and actually go there thrice a week.
It is what makes you put other stuff aside and write that letter to your mother. It is the attribute that makes all the difference between smoking and quitting. Not having enough drive to boost you from inertia into action can actually have serious consequences on your health, social life and career.
How can you motivate yourself? There are some fairly simple techniques that you can try. If you are a long-standing procrastinator and fence-sitter, you should begin by setting yourself simple, achievable goals. Don't bite off more than you can chew - keep it manageable.
Instead of deciding to lose twenty pounds a month, settle for two or three pounds a week. If you need to write a 2400-word college thesis, break it up into easy 300-word segments and tackle it on that basis. In this way, the magnitude of the task before you will not overwhelm you.
One of the most effective self motivation methods is to write your goal down and place it where you can see it regularly. It can be a plaque on the wall, a screensaver on your computer's monitor, a note stuck to the refrigerator or a message recorded on your digital alarm clock. Make sure that your goal is kept on the front burner of your awareness at all times.
Making a beginning is the hardest part, but it is extremely important to make that first effort. Don't think of the novel - just write that first page. Don't give your mind a chance to ponder about the long, grueling road ahead. Your mind needs tangible proof that you mean it - once it has such proof, things get progressively easier.
To motivate yourself further, announce the fact that you have set out to finish that report, quit cigarettes or clean the yard. If you are an inveterate putter-offer, prepare yourself for expressions of disbelief from colleagues or family members. Train your mind to see such statements as challenges.
If you find yourself indulging in negative self-talk such as "I can't do this", "I'll do it later", immediately squelch the thought as you would a poisonous bug. The second such a thought strays onto your mind's horizon, take one small step further towards the attainment of your goal.
You will find that self motivation is a simple matter of retraining your self-belief system so that you are perfectly capable of progressing from 'can't' to 'can', and finally to 'done'.
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