Instead of saying the words, “I’ve lost my motivation, try saying the words, “I’m going to find my motivation.”
One sentence is defeatist, and the other is hopeful.

The truth about motivation is that it is actually a lot easier to find than you might realise.
Motivation is what gets you off the starting line. That’s all it needs to do. If you have clicked on a course link, laced up your walking shoes, picked up a book – you ARE motivated. Something moved you to perform those actions. Take heart in that. You’ve made the first move.
Motivate: from the Latin “motivus” meaning “to move”. Maybe you lack momentum, but at least you’ve made a move. Now it’s time to continue that initial action until you’ve created good and powerful habits.

There are a lot of theories of motivation.

The Drive Theory
The Arousal Theory
Maslow’s Theory
The Self-determination Theory

In past blog entries we’ve discussed some of them. Different needs for different people at different times. No matter what theory works best for you, I believe there are at least 6 actions that you can take to find and/or maintain your motivation.

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Review your goals and how you are progressing with those goals regularly

Create new goals.

Stay consistent in order to maintain momentum.

Find yourself a mentor.

Avoid toxic people and instead surround yourself with positive beings.

Move your body regularly.

Let’s talk about these actions.

REVIEW GOALS

Why?

Achievements bring with them a sense of accomplishment which boosts confidence. Even relatively small accomplishments. I love sitting on my patio overlooking a freshly mowed lawn or weeded garden. Small accomplishments but so damned satisfying. If in reviewing our goals, we find we haven’t completed something we can then consider with positive criticism the “whys” which can be followed up by “what next?”

CREATE NEW GOALS

I illustrate this point to my students like this. Let’s say you’ve just climbed a mountain. You’re super happy and proud of yourself. You’re enjoying the view. What next?

You have a choice.

1. Stay where you are.
2. Climb back down and then climb up again.
3. Look for new mountains to climb.
Goals are like that, and I recommend the 3rd option. You can always come back to that 1st mountain and if you sit up there for too long, you’re bound to get knocked off eventually. What you can learn from creating new goals and having new experiences is immeasurable.

STAY CONSISTENT & MAINTAIN MOMENTUM
As I mentioned at the start, motivation gets you off the starting line. You need to keep running until you break the finishing tape. If you stop and shut down the engines, the energy it takes to restart adds to an overall effort that exceeds what you would have expended should you have maintained momentum. That’s not to be confused with healthy recovery methods which include proper rest. That will come up later in the book.
FIND YOURSELF A MENTOR
A mentor doesn’t have to be the “Great Ruler of Kingdom Know it All”. You don’t need to find Confucius or Socrates. A mentor right for you is someone who is a few levels above where you want to be at that present time. They have experience and knowledge that you would like for yourself. They are not necessarily “lifers” either. I know that there are students of mine who I have mentored, some of who still call me their mentor, but who I know have exceeded my experience and knowledge and are now in a position to mentor others.
AVOID TOXIC PEOPLE & SURROUND YOURSELF WITH POSITIVE BEINGS
This is obvious right? Are you aware of the “Crab Mentality” or the “Crabs in a Bucket Mentality”? The crabs in a bucket mentality is a metaphor taken from observing the behaviour of crabs when they put into a bucket. It is considered that if they were to work together, they could stack, climb and pull up to save themselves and each other but instead, they spend their time pulling each other back. Avoid the people that pull you down, even if they are doing so unwittingly simply by having bad attitudes, and instead surround yourself with the type of people that are willing to work with you, to find the best way forward for all.

We could follow the advice that Mark Twain gave to a young girl, “keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

MOVE YOUR BODY REGULARLY
Movement is not just for physical health but mental health as well. It has been proven that exercise improves mental strength. You’ll need that mental strength to find and hold on to motivation.
“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” – Paulo Coelho

Is something moving you to find new paths to travel? What brought you here today? Attaining a TAE40116, Certificate 4 in Training and Assessment is a great way to maintain your work and life skills and experience and direct them towards training others. Talk to one of our friendly consultants today!