Get Motivated Stay Motivated

Preparing for a goal is one of the best things to do.  It is like preparing for a battle.  If you are not prepared, you are more likely to lose the battle or fail in your goal.  But waiting for everything to be perfect before you take onto it is another story. Let’s be realistic, perfection is far and is rarely achieved. A friend of mine has been planning of a business since more than a year ago.  But until now it hasn’t still materialized because she’s waiting for the perfect time.

We even almost forgot about it until I came across of a site that reminded me of her business plan.  I then asked her about it and told her that the perfect time would be now.  So the plan has been alive once again.  But this time, she’s more active. She is now preparing all the materials and the resources, unlike before that everything was just a plan.

Waiting for perfection is a form of procrastination.  It is like a painter who never finished his painting for trying to pursue perfection.  Surely we’ve all heard the cliche, “Nobody is perfect?” What we need to remember is that perfection is not a prerequisite for success.  If you want to know when you’re ready, why not start achieving your goal? Once you started it everything will go with the flow and you might just realized that you started at the perfect time.

Goal setting is a powerful practice that helps people in achieving their goals.  It gives them direction on how to accomplish it.  But when goal setting is practiced poorly, aside from failure, you will see that you have only wasted your time on that.

These are some of the things that one must avoid in setting goals:

• Setting unrealistice goals – this often happens if a person lacks crucial information and didn’t realize his resources and capabilities.  An example on this is when you set a goal of losing 20 pounds in 5 days.  Realistic goals are achievable goals.  So you have to set realistic ones to be able to achieve it.
• Too Many Goals – Most of the time, people would categorize their goals according to their priorities. They would set aside those that they think are not much of a priority to them.  What might happen here is that they do not know what to accomplish next.  There would also have some instances when they would “check” one of their goals off the list even before they have accomplished it.  Too many goals will tend to disorganize you.  Having one goal at a time will give you more focus in accomplishing it and even faster.
• Setting Goals to Impress Others – obviously, this won’t work because the real goal here is not the one you set but rather, the goal to impress others.  They may be impressed with your goals but the question is, is it really what you want to achieve?  Remember that people will be more impressed with your accomplishments rather than the goal you have set.

Goal setting is very helpful in reaching your dreams.  But if you fail on it, it might lead to even negative results.  So be careful when setting your goals.  The three things given above are just some of the causes on why you fail on your goal setting. But don’t let this discourage you.  Just be realistic and follow some guidelines in setting your goals.  Be sure also to be motivated and stay focused on your goals.

Have you ever felt tired or burned out in your life?  With all the stress and pressure that your job could have given you, its no wonder to feel tired and burned out.  We need to have a break at times for us to re-energize ourselves and get motivated once more with our jobs.  We need to enjoy life so that we won’t feel the burden that it gives us.  Isn’t childhood the most carefree, enjoying, and stress-free phase of our lives? We can learn a lot from our childhood days that would help us enjoy life and become worry-free.  Here are five things to learn from them:

• Children smile a lot and you can see the happiness in their faces with those smiles.
• Laughter is the best medicine as the saying goes.  Observe how children laugh.  They laugh heartily that even you would smile or even laugh as well when you see or hear their laughter.
• Children are open to learn things and are keen learners.
• Children are very creative.  You may sometimes be surprised on how and where they get some of their ideas.
• Failure is not an option for children.  They are eager to succeed or achieve in what they do.

We always say that we must be a good example or a model to children.  But children can serve as a model for us, adults, too.  Because of being so much of a work-a-holic, we sometimes need to be reminded that we should also smile often, laugh a little, and enjoy life once in a while.  Aside from getting a youthful glow, these simple things will also help us to relax ourselves amidst the stressful life we are in; help us energize ourselves from our life’s daily routine which includes our job.Another thing that we can get from those things mentioned above is that we can get ourselves motivated in doing our jobs and in accomplishing our dreams.  Children do not opt for failure so we should not opt for it, too.  These little children could serve as a stress-reliever for us, a model and an inspiration for us in achieving our goals.

One thing that keeps us from achieving our goals is the negative emotions.  It keeps on defeating us and makes us weak.  Some of the things that gives us negative emotions are criticisms against us, negative emotions, rejection, and many more.  But have you ever wonder why other people still manage to achieve with their goals? Simple.  They view these negative emotions as a feedback to themselves and use them to become a better person.

The criticisms, negative emotions, rejections, etc. can help you become a better person so why not choose that way instead of getting yourself miserable and/or hopeless with your dreams? If you think too much of these negative emotions and live with it, you’ll become miserable, depressed, and such.  Take it as a way to become a better person.  That’s what successful people do.  They accept these negative emotions and criticisms and analyse it.  That way, they will know which part of themselves they need to improve or change.

These successful people use negative emotions as a feedback in such a way that if what they are doing is not working, they stop it and think of an alternative that might just work for them.  Never expect that these negative emotions will just disappear sometime soon because they will not.  So view it in a different manner and become a better you – more motivated, determined, and confident to achieve your goals.  Take it from the high achievers.  They don’t let these negative emotions affect them negatively but they use it positively.

Procrastination is an obstacle to one’s success in life.  Some would even consider it as a disease, an illness that needs to be cured because its becoming a problem that affects his/her life and relationships with his/her family. So here are 5 facts that may help us understand procrastination better:

1. Procrastinators are made not born.  I have mentioned it here in my previous posts and it is true, procrastinators are developed with in time and we cannot make it an excuse that we were born as one.  There could be several factors on how it is developed.  For instance, parents tolerate their children’s laziness.  The advent of technology can also be a reason because most children becomes more of a couch potato rather than going outside and get themselves active.
2. Procrastination is not a matter of time management or planning.  Procrastinators can plan for their activities or they can manage their time. The problem is that they don’t do what they have planned or have put on their schedule. If only we do what is set on our schedule, we can finish it early or just in time.  The problem is, we do other things which are usually of less importance.
3. Procrastinators have a lot of reasons on why they have to delay their work.  One good example and most commonly used is that they are not in the mood to do their task in that moment that is why they do other things.  But if we wait for the time when we get in the mood to do it, it might just be too late already.
4. Procrastinators distract themselves as a way of regulating their emotions.  They look for activities that does not usually take a lot of commitment.
5. Procrastination can be stopped. For procrastinators, they should know that they can stop it and instead, get themselves motivated to work. They should work on overcoming it before it gets worse.

As a leader of an organization or company, you are somehow bound to motivate your people. A motivated person works harder and puts dedication and love towards his work.  Motivating them will also help in building a strong relationship with them.  It is a fact that having a good relationship with them helps in improving your company’s performance and success. Motivating your workforce will result to a more productive and successful team.  So how do you motivate your team?  Here are some helpful guide on how to motivate them:

• Most people feel motivated when they know that they are making a contribution in the progress and success of the company.
• Being heard is one of the things that is most important for a person.  Effective communication means listening to them – to their ideas, opinions, needs, etc.
• Acknowledging you people and the things that they have done for the company will help them feel important and most especially a part of the company.
• Helping them develop their skills will surely be appreciated by them.  Developing their skill will help them improve themselves and be motivated to work and use these new skills.

If your people are not motivated to work, it is a loss to the company. It will result to low production rate, a not-so-good atmosphere, and a negative energy within the company.  Some mistakes that leaders make is to assume what their people needs or overlook some important thing such as motivating them.  People or the workforce is a company’s most treasured assets.  They can either help the company succeed or they can destroy it. True motivation is not an occasional matter but is part of our life.

During the American Civil War, President Lincoln had trouble with General McClellan. He was a great organizer, but indecisive. Fear of making the wrong decision can lead you to make no decisions.

Or, as a wise old saying says: he (or she) who deliberates fully before taking a step, will spend all their life on one foot.

Here are some steps to help you deal with worries about making mistakes:

1. Accepting failure

One of the old movie moguls was once asked the secret of his success. He replied:

‘I was right fifty percent of the time’.

The message is simple: no-one is perfect, so don’t worry about making mistakes; you’re going to make them.

2. Be prepared

That’s the motto of the Boy Scouts and it applies in nearly every aspect of your life. The better prepared you are in whatever field of endeavor you are embarking, the less chance of a mistake.

So, if you’re building a swing set, read the instructions and get all the necessary tools. If you’re going on a job interview, get directions to the location, and leave early enough to get there on time.

3. Plan ahead

This has to do with scheduling. Whether you are painting a house, writing a report about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan or taking your daughter to fencing class you have to set things up ahead of time.

How much time do you need to adequately complete the task? You can’t write a fifteen page report in a few hours. If you try to do so, you’ll fail.

Do you need some special equipment or materials to complete the job? Can you get it easily, or do you have to order it? Failure to plan ahead can lead to failure as surely as self-doubt.

4. Relative importance

As stated above, you will make mistakes in your life: they’re impossible to avoid. So, you have to learn to ask yourself just how important the issue is.

Often, the easy thing to ask is: in twenty years, will I look back and remember this issue? If not, then don’t let the fear of mistake rule your decision-making process.

5. Limitations

This is a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, you need to know your limitations and not try to take on more than you can handle. That will most certainly lead to failure.

Yet, on the other hand, unless you try to move beyond the realm of the possible into the impossible, you will never know what you can achieve.

This can mean dealing with failure, but that can also be a step forward; as the next point illustrates.

6. Take a tip from Thomas Edison

This is the man credited with creating much of the 20th century technology . Yet, he dealt with failure constantly.

When asked how he could do that and still find the strength and determination to go on, Edison just smiled.

The incandescent light bulb took hundreds of experiments to perfect. His attitude about each failure? Each experiment was merely one more he didn’t have to do again.

This is reflected in the Billy Joel song, ‘Second Wind’. In it, Joel says that you learn more from your mistakes than anything else in your life.

7. Avoiding risk

Making mistakes is one thing, taking genuine chances with personal safety – whether yours or someone else’s is quite another thing. Always be mindful of any risks connected with what you do.

Skydiving can be exciting and fun, but review the above points and be sure you’re ready to take such a chance.

Some people say that a hero is nothing more than a person who does what he knows is right, in spite of his/her own fears and self-doubts.

Be striving to make use of the tips outlined here, you can be the hero of your own endeavors.

So many times we are pestered by a lack of confidence in the things that we can do, hindering us from moving forward and accomplishing our goals.

Those feelings may come from things like losing your job, settling into your routine or simply boredom.

Other times, distractions and just a general feeling of complacency pushes us into a place of laziness, keeping us from doing our best and performing at our most effective.

Never fear! There are ways of countering that lull in energy and lack of confidence. Some of them may be easy to do while others may seem like they are a little bit more difficult to achieve. But they’re worth a shot, especially when you’re stuck in a rut.

1. Get out of bed, or the couch, or the house….you get the picture!

When we are unmotivated, it’s very easy to just stay home, under the covers, or on the couch…you name it. All the more reason, then, to get off your behind and move.

Go for a walk.

Get in your car and go for a drive.

Go visit friends, or buy some flowers, or go pay some bills.

Anything to get you out of the house and absorbing some sunshine.

2. Run errands

Face it: the electric bill isn’t going to pay itself. The packages you need to mail won’t hop to the post office on command. Your groceries won’t magically arrive at your doorstep.

Running some errands will not only get you moving, but it will inject in you a real sense of urgency and need.

If you don’t get these things done now, you’ll have to do them eventually. So why not do them now, when you need some motivation anyway?

3. Keep a positive things journal

Create a journal in which every day, you make a list of ten things that you are good at, things that inspire you (people, places or things: anything that inspires you), things that you see yourself doing in ten years, ten months, ten days, ten hours, even ten minutes!

The idea is to create a positive flow of thoughts and feelings that keep your confidence up.

4. Post a bulletin board in your house or your office with things that inspire you

I have one in my home office that has everything from phrases and headlines from magazines, to poems, to articles about inspirational people, to comic strips and even notes and drawings given to me by friends.

I look at it every day and add to it when I see something worthy. These things remind me that I have reasons to remain confident and they keep me from gravitating towards laziness.

5. Listen to some music

Find something that will keep you energized and ready for anything. Listen to feel-good, catchy songs. Cheesy pop music, as much as you may hate it, is great for revving up some much-needed energy!

Don’t worry. Go ahead and dance your butt off. You’re at home; no-one’s looking.

6. Drink LOTS of water

Why? This may not seem obvious, but the way we feel mentally often is affected by the way our bodies react to stress. Keeping yourself well hydrated will keep you energized and awake and will give your body some much-needed fuel.

Caffeine, while a quick energy boost, will ultimately dehydrate you, which will not only not help you, but it may also give you more issues like headaches and sudden drop in energy.

7. Surround yourself with motivating people

When I lose confidence in myself or get a little lazy, I have a list of about 10 people that I can call that will make me feel instantly better.

Some of them are gentle pushers; others are the ‘get-off -your-butt-and-do-something-already!’ sort of folks.

Regardless of their methods, sometimes family and friends know exactly what to say to get you going. Let them.

When life hits us with abrupt changes, or even when it just teases us with quirky little annoyances, it can be easier for us to fall victims to our own self-doubt and laziness.

The key is to have a plan of action so that we don’t succumb to those self-defeating vices.

It happens to the best of us: we have a job to do, we get ready to do it… in some cases, even starting it… and then we get a phone call.

Or our favorite show comes on.

Or someone knocks on the door.

We get hungry, sleepy, tired or any one combination of the three.

For whatever reason, we are more prone to distractions when we most need to focus. I don’t know of anyone more susceptible to this phenomenon than I am.

So I’ve put together a list of the methods I have used that have proven effective in keeping me focused on my assignments and on the tasks that need to get done. Some may seem a bit unorthodox, but believe me, they work!

1. Make a list

I used to never make lists. I thought they took up time and were pointless. Then I made my first list.

I found that once the things I needed to do went from being abstract to concrete, the sense of urgency turned itself up a notch and I found myself much more pressed to do what I needed to do.

It’s a technique that still works in keeping me from getting sidetracked. Plus, crossing things off my list always makes me feel very accomplished.

2. Take a cool shower

I don’t know if it’s because I live in a generally warm climate or if it’s just because I like the cold, but nothing helps me focus more than taking a cool shower before I start anything.

The cold water will wake your body up, making it more alert and helping you to focus on the task that follows.

I always do this right after I write my list. I take a shower and while letting the cool water hit me, I think about the list and how best to tackle it.

3. DO ONE THING AT A TIME!

Do NOT move on to something else until you have finished what you started. Period. The moment you do that, you are doomed to get distracted and, at that point, you might as well get up and go get yourself a sandwich.

Which brings me to my next point…

4. Have everything you can possibly need at your fingertips

That means EVERYTHING, including food and water if necessary.

If you’re cleaning your house and you need a drink of water or something to eat, don’t go into the kitchen until you are done with the task you are undertaking.

If you’re at work and you’re doing something for your boss, whether you work in an office or in a store, make sure you have a drink and a snack close by; if you have a desk, keep healthy snacks in your desk drawer. If you need a drink, have one at your desk.

That way, you don’t have an excuse to wander off.

5. Turn off your phone or put it on silent

Your cell phone can be both your best friend and your worst enemy. If you have a cell, turn it off. If you can’t turn it off because of family, work, etc., then put it on silent or ask people to text you instead of calling you.

If you simply can’t deal, then turn it off or have it go straight to voicemail. Ditto for work phones.

If you absolutely cannot turn the ringer off, have some take your calls or send calls to voicemail. Check the voicemail when you are done.

6. Away Messages are your best friends

Use them a lot! For e-mails, for social networking and for instant messengers.

Don’t be afraid to set up automatic messages that tell someone emailing you that you are busy, or doing the same for IM. Believe me, people understand.

While you’re at it, set them and…

7. GET AWAY FROM THE INTERNET!

Unless you need to use it for a project for work, you don’t need to be online. You just don’t.

The kitchen won’t clean itself while you check your Yahoo. Your car won’t wash itself or your work won’t do itself. You get the picture.

And finally…

8. Develop a focus ritual; eliminate any and all distractions and get to work

Some people use music or turn on the television to give them some background noise to work with. Frankly, with me, that only works when I’m doing something mundane or repetitive, like typing something onto a spreadsheet or washing dishes.

But if I’m doing something that required concentration or focus, I cannot have any distractions. So I shut anything off that may be noisy or distracting and I get to work.

Everyone is different, so use whatever you can from this list of helpful tips, create your own ritual for getting things done, eliminate anything at all that doesn’t work into that ritual and get to work.

Once you’re finished with your tasks you will feel so much more accomplished and proud that you didn’t let anything stand in the way of getting it all done.

We have all experienced the familiar sting of burnout: the feeling of being mentally and physically exhausted, the fear that any moment now, you will drop down and not be able to get back up.

You’ve been going a hundred miles a minute and now that shifty, unpredictable rollercoaster is catching up to you.

You feel like you have to keep going but you don’t know if you can, and the crashing and burning is imminent.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Nine time out of ten, we have complete control of that burnout.

We know that it’s coming, we know that it can and will happen and yet we do nothing to make it better. We do nothing do stop the train from crashing into that brick wall.

We can stop ourselves from becoming burned out and remain motivated to do our jobs while doing so.

1. First: stop and breathe deeply

Deep breaths are not only good for the mind; they’re good for the body. Your body feels more energized when it takes in oxygen, and you force yourself to focus and…

2. Regroup

Sometimes we’re so concentrated on doing what we can to finish what we started that when something goes wrong, we’re thrown off and we get stressed out.

That’s when you know you’re getting burned out.

Before you get to that point, regroup and refocus. Take some time to step back and look at everything, and decide what you’re doing and how.

3. Ask for help

Don’t be afraid to ask family, friends, or co-workers to help you through rough patches. Ask for their advice, seek their guidance, listen to their thoughts and opinions.

They will be just as eager to help you through your crisis as you are to get out of it.

4. Take a break!

You’ve been working hard, so much so that you can’t think about anything else. Sounds familiar? It should, if you’re prone to burning yourself out.

It’s OK to take a break.

Take a walk, get some air, call a friend, go to the gym, buy a purse: whatever you have to do to get your mind off the task at hand, do it.

But when you come back…

5. Remain calm, focused and steady

There is no joy in doing something if you are neither motivated nor focused.

When questions arise, remain clear headed and organized. If you find that things are getting too out of control and you can’t seem to focus no matter how much you try…

6. Just go home

Seriously. You will be no good to anyone if you can’t keep yourself from breaking down under the pressure of burnout.

When you start to feel overwhelmed, the best thing to do is just to stop where you are, gather your things and go home.

If you are home, then turn off the computer, turn off the phone and just chill.

7. Showers are wonderful things

A lot of people swear by baths, but I am a shower fan.

Feeling the warmth of the water hit the nape of your neck, it is by far one of the most relaxing feelings on earth.

Always keep a special aromatic soap at home, something organic or natural that you can use on days like these, when you’re stressed out and ready to break, when you’re not motivated at all and you just feel completely burned out.

Eucalyptus, sandalwood, lavender and chamomile are always nice. Enjoy the alone time and just relax.

When that is done…

8. Get a good, natural, full night’s sleep

Slip into your most comfy pj’s, grab your favorite comforter, get your room nice and cool so you can snuggle under the covers, and get a good night’s sleep.

That means more than the four hours you usually get. A good night’s sleep is about 8 hours of uninterrupted, deep sleep. Your body will need the release and will thank you for the rest.

A lot of times we burn out because we have not given our body the proper amount of time out.

What a difference a good night’s slumber makes!

9. Put your well-being before the tasks at hand

Remember that you can’t do a good job if you’re not taking care of yourself.

Be proactive in keeping your mental, emotional, and physical state so that you can counter any feelings of getting burned out by whatever you’re trying to accomplish.

These are just some of the things that you can do to make yourself less susceptible to burnout and get back your motivation. The more you put these things into practice, the more you’ll be able to remain calm and focused in the face of stress.