So what is motivation anyway?
Motivation is the driving vortex which propels you to overcome obstacles, achieve success or quite simply it is a force that causes you to behave in a certain way. Motivation can cause you to do something good and productive, or on the other hand, can cause you to do harm. Any way you put it, your success depends on it.
Motivation is required in order to excel in any area of your life whether it is to consistently perform well at work, be more productive, develop better relationships or to just to get out of your comfort zone. In the end though, your success at achieving anything in life is determined by it.
How can you be motivated?
There are two different types of motivation and that will vary from person to person. Some people are motivated by” towards” motivation and others are motivated by “away from” motivation.
Towards motivation is when you are motivated to strive towards a goal. Say for instance you want to make your bonus at work. You will then be motivated to increase your performance so you can reach your goal of attaining the bonus. Another example would be to better your quality of living. If you increased your productivity in order to be able to afford a new home or a new car because you wanted to live a better lifestyle, even though your lifestyle was already good for you, then that would also be an example of “towards” motivation.
On the other hand, if you are motivated to move away from something you consider harmful or a threat, then that would be considered away from motivation. Let’s use the work example again. If you decide to increase your work capacity in order to prevent yourself from being fired then you are practicing away from motivation. You are working to get away from the possibility of losing your job. Taking the quality of living example, you would look at your current situation and strive to get away from noisy neighbors or a vehicle that is costing you too much in repairs.
So, after you understand how you are motivated, you can then do certain things that motivate you to reach your success. Here are 5 tips you can utilize in order to light the fire and get moving.
1. Think how it will feel from the end.
This is a great emotionally charging motivating force. Just think about having already accomplished your goal or task and how good it feels on the other side. That feeling alone is enough to drive anyone into action. Again, depending whether you are motivated by “towards” or “away from” motivation you will either feel the exhilaration of attaining something or the relief of avoiding a pitfall.
2. Think about the excitement of setting another new goal.
If you make a commitment to hold off on your next project until you finish the current one, you will be motivated to finish what is at hand first. Thinking of a new and exciting goal to achieve that will boost your success will get you into gear to finish or maybe even start the first one on the list.
3. Think of how far you have come along in your journey.
Sometimes you just need to take a step back and look at the big picture. It’s like an artist stepping away from the canvas they are painting on and looking at what has been accomplished so far. When you stop and take a look at the progress you have already made the road up ahead gets a lot easier.
4. Think about how it feels to get it over with.
This is similar to the first point but instead of focusing on the positive aspect of the outcome, you are focusing on finishing task that you may be dreading to perform such as writing a work report or maybe even cleaning out the garage. Focus on the sigh of relief that it is now over with and you can move on to something you actually enjoy doing.
5. Think “focus”.
The more focused you are on attaining your desired outcome, the more motivated you will be at performing anything that needs to be done to get it finished. Let any other distractions go from your mind and focus on one goal at a time. Trying to focus on too many goals at one time will only hinder your success and leave motivation in a slump.
Try these 5 tips on for size to boost your success motivation. You will be surprised what you will be able to accomplish.