There are moments in life when work comes easily and naturally; one feels completely absorbed; there’s no laziness; you are driven by a great desire to get things done. This is a state in which you remain motivated and complete your daily tasks easily or study hard without any interventions. To achieve this systematically, one needs to have certain skills in self-motivation.
What are the advantages of self-motivation? In this state, there is almost no need to put an effort to start doing anything. If you force yourself to work, the process will not give you any joy or pleasure. With the right motivation, however, you can do more things and do them better while still being in a good mood. It sounds tempting, but it is hard to achieve it on an ongoing basis. And you need it in the today’s competitive world, especially if you are working, for example, in one of the companies in the UAE, as the UAE is the place where high performance at work is really valued and paid back in form of promotion and financial benefits.
Basics of self-motivation
To learn how to motivate yourself, you should go through three steps. Here they are.
- Initial enthusiasm. For instance, you’ve read a motivational article, watched a video, talked to a person who inspired you, and you feel a strong emotional drive. You are happy to get down to things, and everything is working out for you, it is just right, you feel light, the mood is uplifting, just keep going forward. There is a lot of inspiration and no laziness yet.
- Regression and laziness. Sooner or later, your motivation to move on starts vanishing. The regression will come in any case; you should remember this not to feel disappointed by the initial idea. And this is true for any kind of activity – your everyday job, sports, courses, training, etc.
- Self-motivation. To go through the previous stage without abandoning your business halfway, you will need motivation, or rather self-motivation and discipline. We often lack the patience to complete a certain task. If you have decided to do something small and simple, which can be done in a day or two, you’ll most likely be able to do it without self-motivation, but if you have set a difficult or long-lasting task for which takes up to several months or even years, then you will need additional incentives when work becomes truly difficult to execute due to missing inner motivation.
As you can see, self-control, discipline, and self-motivation are necessary to succeed in a particular business. These skills can be fully developed to become successful and to bring things to a close. But how can one increase self-motivation?
Tips on how to improve self-motivation
Here are some recommendations which can help you achieve the desired level of self-motivation:
- Be positive. It seems simple and obvious, but on the other hand, the simplicity of this advice requires serious work and the change of your way of thinking. Being positive will allow you to be able to deal with the problems quickly and easily, find the best solutions to tasks, and make good networks; moreover, it will be easier for you to cope with problems and difficulties. You should always count on an excellent result; otherwise, why to do something? Pessimists need no motivation; it doesn’t make sense for them.
- Change your activity. There are moments in life when even the most successful occupation in your favorite area does not bring the required amount of motivation. This happens when doing the same thing takes too long. In this case, the change of activity will help. Turn your attention to another task; it may even be something very different. The main thing here is to give your brain a break from the main activity. Thirty minutes will be enough to get an extra charge of cheerfulness; you will be happy to notice that you will return to doing your ordinary work with greater motivation and enthusiasm.
- Make life simple. Do not pay attention to unnecessary things. Society often forces us to pursue goals and desires that do not correspond to our real need. Therefore, you need to set priorities and goals for yourself. Do not chase status. There is no need to show off. Live for your own pleasure. Fill your life; you’re your own meaning.
- Use motivational materials. Articles, videos, communication with people who have achieved success in a particular area will help you get the right boos and the emotions you need. This will give you inner strength, uplift you, and cheer you up. Yes, the effect of this will last only a few days, but it is enough to start working on something important.
- Proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. How does proper nutrition affect motivation? A lot depends on how well and comfortable we feel. Can you really think of something else when you don’t feel well? No, you will most likely focus on what is bad and how to deal with it. Proper nutrition helps to stay in good condition.
- Stop wasting energy on unnecessary things. There is no need to waste your energy on those things that bring no pleasure or distract you from other more essential things. TV shows, useless communication in a social network, reading materials of doubtful quality, gossiping with colleagues – all of it takes time, which you can spend with the benefit. It is much better to focus on yourself, our goals, and make a plan on how to achieve your targets. It will raise your motivation and help you concentrate on what is crucial.
- Do not be afraid to make a mistake. Allow yourself to error. There is nothing wrong with it. Each failure should be treated as a valuable experience, new knowledge. Since childhood, we have been taught not to make mistakes, as a consequence, we are afraid to stumble, and we often choose to do nothing. Consider each mistake as the next step that brings you closer to the dream, and you will no longer need motivation.
- Do not forget about the other parts of ife. In the modern turmoil, due to the fast pace of life, we often have no time to spend time outdoors. It is a pity that we don’t do it more often. Each trip, each hiking tour is very useful. Nature gives you a surge of strength and energy to achieve greater heights in work.
If you feel that you cannot cope with the task of finding self-motivation, you can attend a specialized self and time management training or some other general skills course or, if you are fine with self-motivation but need to motivate others - the course dedicated to HRs and Management for employees motivation.