To increase motivation, simply improve self confidence – But How?... |
Self
confidence and self motivation, or the lack of it, are very closely
related. If you lack in self confidence, then it goes without saying
that you'll probably have problems in the motivation department...
So...
If this applies to you, than you need to improve self confidence first, and this will naturally increase motivation. Add this together with some of my other motivation techniques, and you'll be bursting at the seems with motivation.
Before I talk about how to increase motivation, if you haven't done so already, then have a quick read of my article about motivation techniques. This should be your starting place before reading this article. Click here to have a read.
Onwards and upwards...
Make a habit of it
The following, is an insert from my Theories of Personality Development article. It's a really good real world example of a method I use all the time to increase motivation. Let's take a look...
I can be a bit lazy at times - the misses will tell you ALL the time, but ignore her... Women... just kidding, I love the ladies ;-)
Anyway...
When I wake up in the morning, I just like to get ready for work, which means bed spreading has to take a back seat - really, it doesn't have a seat, it never gets done, and the misses is not going to have that :-(. To cut a short story even shorter... Every morning I wake up, the first thing I do is...
Yep, spread the bed...
And through repetition, it now comes second nature to me, and it's not such a big effort any more...
Apparently, it takes 30 days/attempts at doing something repeatedly, for it to become a habit.
So, by making bed spreading a habit, I increase motivation towards doing it. I suppose 'increase motivation' isn't the right words to describe it, but it still works really well. The trick is, to just do it without thinking about it. And make sure you are consistent for the whole 30 days/attempts...
In other words, don't do it today and then skip tomorrow and Sunday, remember we're trying to burn in a habit, a GOOD habit. Also, do it every time with the exact same quality that you want your new habit to be at the end of the 'burning in period'.
Don't believe this can increase motivation?...
Well have you got any bad habits? More than likely you do. How do you think you picked up these bad habits?...
Through repetition...
So why not pick up some good habits through repetition?...
Still not convinced?...
Why not try it out yourself then. Go on, put your money where your mouth is!
Final Destination
Another powerful way to increase motivation, is to focus on the pleasurable feeling you get when the 'job's' done. I'll give you an example of how I use this technique to increase motion in my own life...
Keeping fit is like Marmite, you either love it or hate. That's why it helps to have a personal trainer. But anyway, we're trying to increase motivation ourselves. So here's what I do...
By now, you should know the importance of a plan. That's an absolute must, because without one, I can find all the reasons under the sun why I should do 5 repetitions of an exercise when it really should be 10. A plan eradicates this - well sort of! Anyway...
So it's time for me to go to the gym, but I can't be bothered. Why? Because it hurts so much. I know you've been there to, right? But the feeling I get when I've finished a grueling workout, is very gratifying. So by focusing on that feeling, it makes it much easier to get the job done...
Comprendez? ;-)
This also works great when you're at that really tuff point in your workout, where your muscles are really burning, and you hear this voice in your head say, "OK you've done enough now, STOP!". Don't listen to it, remember, focus on how great it will feels when you get the job done...
Each time you do this, you get stronger and stronger. I couldn't resist the PUN - SORRY! ;-)...
I'm not talking about physical strength, I'm talking about mental strength. It's just like a muscle, each time you work it, it gets easier and easier.
Aside from working out at the gym, where else can you apply this technique to increase motivation in your own life?
The power of inspiration motivation
I spoke of inspiration motivation in my motivation techniques article, remember?...
You know, when I told you how the song, "Eye of the Tiger" from the Rocky films, really gives me the courage to step up. By the way, I use this music when I'm working out sometimes.
I also told you that music has a very powerful ability to change your stare in a nano second. Inspiration motivation is a very powerful tool that will definitely increase motivation, if used correctly of course.
Rocky inspired me, and the music reminds me of the film and how Rocky stepped up. So guess what, all of a sudden I feel inspired into doing the same. Inspiration motivation isn't just limited to music. Think about people that motivate you...
Think back to times in your life where you was inspired by something or somebody. Is there a way you can remember this moment in the future, whenever you need to increase motivation? It might be a picture, music, a film, a place, a story, a smell etc...
Collect whatever you can that helps you to feel inspired, and use it to inspire you when you need it most. I've got a picture of me and two friends, in front of a foot tall Lego man that 'we' built together when we was in primary school, I must have been about 9 years old. Here's how it inspires me...
I had this
great idea to build man out of Lego, I remember it vividly. I
approached all my friends with great excitement and asked them if they
wanted to help me make it. They all said no. So being the independent type guy I am (even at that age) I proceeded to built it myself...When I built upto the waist, as you can imagine my Lego man was taking great shape. You'll never guess what happened next. Suddenly EVERYBODY wanted to help. I would have so many different people offering me 'that' red piece that I needed. Just talking about it puts a smile on my face :-))...
That picture inspires me into action when nobody else believes in my idea. It reminds me that sometimes, I need to build my idea until I get to the 'waist' before people will be able to see the potential of my idea.
Inspiration motivation can also be achieved with the use of inspirational quotes. Click here to look at some really effective inspirational quotes.
Improve self confidence
As I said earlier, a lack of confidence is not going to help you increase motivation, in fact it works against it. So you need to improve self confidence first. The main reason, if not the only reason, for a lack of confidence, is Fear...
If you've read my emotional intelligence article, you will know my unique way of dealing with emotions. If you haven't than please read it now, it's very relevant to what I'm about to say...
You see, fear can be your best friend or worst enemy, so you have to know how to deal with it. To improve self confidence, you must know how to deal with fear, and recognise what it is trying to tell you. We all are fearful at times throughout life, so we need to learn to live with it, because it ain't going away...
Listen to your emotions and with the help of my emotional intelligence article, you'll know how you can use your emotions to improve self confidence, which in turn will increase motivation.
If you think back to a time in your life where you were very motivated to achieve something, was you confident about achieving it?...
Yes?...
I rest my case ;-)
Still not confident?
It's important to understand that we CAN'T be perfect at everything, but that's cool! Sometimes it makes sense to focus on your pluses and NOT your minuses. Obviously, if your minuses are really serious, then you need to address it.
Remember, a good plan can also give you confidence. Would you travel to an unknown destination without a map or a sat nav? And if you did, would you feel confident about your way? How much more confident would you feel with precise instructions of how to get there?
You should know by now that with clarity comes confidence and this will definitely increase motivation. A good plan helps you to see that you CAN get to your destination, and even if you don't, you can still enjoy the ride!
I'm a perfectionist, but that's been a thorn in my side over the years. Why? Because perfection doesn't exist in many things in life, so you'd be wasting you time looking for it. This is one of the number one causes of procrastination..
Remember, it's OK not to be PERFECT, you CAN still succeed...
Moving forward...
I do hope you now understand how to increase motivation through the various techniques we've covered in this article. They are very powerful, in the right hands! If at anytime you need to increase motivation, perhaps you should come back to this page and refresh your memory.
Happy motivating!
Please take 5 minutes out to sit my personality test, if you haven't done so already, it will evaluate your foundations and give you an indication (according to me) on whether they are weak or solid.
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