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Bite-Sized Training

Get Motivated!
Get Motivated! Bite-Sized TrainingTM | Mind Tools

Get Motivated!
Bite-Sized Training
This e-book is published by:

Mind Tools Ltd.

Copyright Mind Tools Ltd, 2007-2012. All rights


reserved.

Version 1.3

This e-book is protected by international copyright


law. You may use it only if you are a member of
the Mind Tools Club. If you have any queries,
please contact us at
members.helpdesk@mindtools.com.

Cover image iStockphoto/ermingut

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Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 4

2. Build Self-Confidence.................................................................................................................... 5

3. Find Focus .................................................................................................................................... 7

4. Define Your Goal ........................................................................................................................ 11

5. Reward Yourself! ........................................................................................................................ 14

6. Key Learning Points .................................................................................................................... 15

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1. Introduction
If youve ever tried to motivate someone else, Now, if youre thinking that you are a highly self-
youve probably quite quickly found the truth in motivated person already and you really dont
the saying, You can lead a horse to water, but need this type of training, we urge you to think
you cant make it drink. You can provide all the again. Like most highly self-motivated people,
necessary elements for a motivating environment, there may still be a few areas where you find it
however, if the persons internal motivation is harder to motivate yourself, and our tools and
lacking, your efforts risk not being entirely strategies will help with these. Or perhaps there
successful. are just a few times when your self-motivation
wavers? This is where its useful to know how to
Motivation is what drives us to keep working to put yourself straight back into the fast lane of self-
accomplish a goal or task. While there are motivation.
external things that can be motivating, finding
motivation within yourself, and knowing how to This Bite-Sized Training session helps you
tap into it, is an essential skill for success. give yourself a kick-start and improve your
internal motivation. Here youll learn about the
Motivation levels do tend to go up and down. You three key elements of self-motivation and
can be all fired up about something one day and participate in exercises that will help you discover
then find it hard to put pencil to paper the next. what motivates you, and how to create motivating
While there will be moments where fear motivates objectives. Well cover:
you and looming deadlines are often a big call
to action most of the time, you simply have to Building self-confidence and thinking
find it within yourself to commit to doing what positively.
needs to be done to make your goals a reality. Finding your focus and knowing what you
need to do to get motivated.
And its really important to understand the Defining your direction and setting goals
sources of your motivation so you can use them to take you where you want to go.
to dig yourself out of a slump.

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2. Build Self-Confidence
To get where you want to go in life, you need to In order to keep a continual flow of self-motivation
believe in the one person who can make things you should check in with your strengths and
happen for you: you! Self-confidence and a successes. This reminds you that you can be
positive attitude are prerequisites for success. successful.
Positive thinking helps get results. Negative
thinking only buries you. Action: Take some time and fill in the following
chart with as many of your positive skills and
All too often, when we are focused on a goal, we experiences that youve had to date. These can
see everything that needs to be done in the be strengths and advantages in any area of your
future, without appreciating what we have already life, not just work. To help think about your
accomplished. Whether you need to motivate strengths ask yourself the following questions:
yourself to start or continue on a path of growth
and development, or you simply need to get the What do I do for which I am consistently
budget completed by next week, if you only think complimented?
about the things you have not yet done, you put What rewards and accolades have I
yourself in a negative space. received?
What things do I do really well with little
This allows more negative thoughts to enter, and effort?
soon youre telling yourself that you dont have What opportunities are open to me right
what it takes to get the job done. Past failures now?
creep in and small issues become What would others want that I have?
insurmountable obstacles. What have I done, that no one else knows
about, that makes me really proud?

Positive Aspects of My Life

My Strengths My Current Advantages My Successes

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The intention of this exercise is to get you thinking Tip 1:


positively about yourself right now, as well as to For more practice looking at your situation from a
give you a tool to keep your confidence high in positive perspective, you can also complete our
times of doubt. Personal SWOT Analysis Bite-Sized Training
session.
We encourage you to keep a copy of this list
close by and to add to it regularly. There really is Tip 2:
nothing like the boost it will give your positive We also have an article on building self-confidence
thinking! here.

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3. Find Focus
When we talk about positive thinking, it is Getting Our Needs Met
important to remember the power of thought in
general. To achieve a peak level of performance, we need
some of these core personal needs met. In
"Whatever the mind of man can conceive and practice, this means that you need to know what it
believe it can achieve." Napoleon Hill, American is that drives you to work hard and persist.
author Because that is the essence of personal
motivation in the absence of any external
We become what we think. Everything that motivators, you need to know What will you work
happens to us, and every action we take, starts hard to accomplish? The things you will work
with a thought. So, to make anything happen you hard for are your core needs.
need to start with an idea, a notion, or a desire.
After the idea you have a whole lot of work ahead If you have a core need for acceptance, you will
of you, but you plant the seed with your thoughts. work to get that need met. You are compelled to.
The question is whether you get that need met in
The flip side of this is that you have to know what a positive and constructive manner, or in ways
you want before you can actually go out and get that are destructive and unhelpful for your overall
it. The good news is that getting these needs met success.
is a powerful motivator.
When you know the needs to focus on, you can
Maslow and Herzberg both talk about the critical help yourself build an environment that fosters
nature of satisfying needs. Some of these needs your self-motivation, and makes achieving your
are the basic survival needs that we share in objectives that much easier and satisfying.
common; after these are met we turn our
attention to the personal needs that are as Here is an exercise designed to show you just
different and individual as all of us. how powerful your needs are and how they
impact your behaviors.
Tip:
For a complete discussion of personal and Action: Think about a time when you acted
professional needs, see our articles on Maslows poorly. Maybe you argued with a colleague or
Hierarchy of Needs, and Herzbergs Motivators took your frustration out on a sales person.
and Hygiene Factors. Describe the incident in the box below.

A time I acted poorly was

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Action: Now think about why you acted the way Love.
you did. What need was being neglected at the Mastery.
time? Arguments might stem from a need to Morality.
control or be respected. Look at the list of needs Opportunity.
below, to help you identify what most resonates Peace.
as your unfulfilled need at the time. Highlight one Pleasure.
of these or define your own unmet need. Power.
Quiet.
Accomplishment.
Recognition.
Acceptance.
Respect.
Adventure.
Responsibility.
Authority.
Safety.
Balance.
Security.
Belonging.
Spirituality.
Clarity.
Trust
Connection.
Control. Action: Now, using the list above and others you
Discipline. can think of, identify the top five needs that drive
Duty. you to act, work hard, and persist. For each need,
Freedom. think of one example where that need was met
Honesty. and the corresponding positive experience, and
Influence. where that need went unmet and the related
Justice. experience.
Knowledge.

Need Need was met when Need was unmet when

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Need Need was met when Need was unmet when

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Need Need was met when Need was unmet when

By focusing on getting your needs met, you are You cant simply stop at knowing what you need
able to put self-motivation to work for you. When and thinking positively about the outcome.
you are clear on what you want and need, your Napoleon Hill did famously imply that we can
brain automatically begins seeking ways to get it. Think and Grow Rich! in his book with that title.
Your needs are the connection between However; the book reveals it also takes a whole
motivation and action. lot of work and commitment to back up your
positive thoughts and clear focus.

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4. Define Your Goal


There are many places along the path to success if the goals you set for yourself are fundamentally
that will sidetrack you. To avoid this happening, unattainable.
you need to be clear about where you are
heading and what you are focused on achieving. For instance, if you need financial independence,
You also need to have daily directions to follow setting your sights on a big win at the poker table
that will keep you on track. This is where the or picking the right lottery numbers is not a
importance of goal setting comes in. realistic or probable goal. Going back to school to
upgrade your education with an eye to furthering
Self-motivation relies on reasonable and your career progression, on the other hand, might
attainable goals. There is little point in working for well be a reasonable goal for your circumstances.
something that has a low probability of success.
Remember how important self-confidence is to Action: Using what you have learned about your
the self-motivation equation? You need to build needs and desires, write down one clear and
your successes and prove to yourself how much attainable goal you want to achieve in the next 12
you can accomplish. You wont be able to do this months.

My goal for the next 12 months is

Now that you have written it down, you have Tip:


increased your chances of attaining your goal After you are finished this training, try and find
significantly. The simple act of putting a goal in pictures that represents you and your environment
writing is one of the most crucial steps in self- when your goal is accomplished. Cut out as many
motivation. pictures as you can find and create a collage.
Display this in a prominent place and look at it
Visualize Success often. Use this visual cue to remind yourself to
keep visualizing your future success.
To further enhance your self-motivation, you can .
use visual cues for your goal. When you make Action: Start the visualization process by seeing
your goal visual, you make it more real in your yourself in the future achieving your goal. Close
mind. your eyes and picture yourself this goal
completely satisfied. Then answer the questions
on the next page:

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Picture yourself finally achieving this goal. What do you see?

What do you feel about yourself?

How do you act?

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How do others respond to you?

Make a Contract Tip:


Where your goal is large and involves a number of
Next, it is a good idea to make a contract with smaller objectives to meet first, break down your
yourself. This is a further reinforcement of the goal statement into smaller, more manageable
commitment you are making. Motivational pieces. Then tie them all together using the
research shows that writing out your intentions contract. Our article on goal setting describes how
has a higher rate of success than simply telling to do this in detail here.
yourself you will do something. Because we all
relate to the notion of contracts and the binding Action: Turn your written goal statement into a
nature of legal agreements, the self-contract is a contract. Print out the blank contract template
powerful motivational tool. below and fill in the first part of it.

I, do hereby commit to

by _____________ , 20___.

Upon successful completion of this goal, I will

Signed: ____________________

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5. Reward Yourself!
The final piece of setting your direction and goals rewards as well. This is especially helpful with
is the reward. It is very important that you reward longer term projects.
yourself for your accomplishments. We all work
for reward and when there is no one around to Action: Think of your reward and write into the
give us the recognition we desire, we need to do contract you created earlier.
it for ourselves.
All that is left is to bring your goal full circle. Use
Giving yourself a pat on the back is just as your powers of positive thinking and self-
important as acknowledging the good work of confidence and live like you have achieved your
others. As with any reward, you need to choose goal already. Try to feel the way you envision you
one that is important to you and that will inspire will feel when you are successful. Live in the
you to press on even when you dont want to. shoes of the you you want to be and eventually
your feelings and perceptions of yourself will be
Money isnt usually the determining factor. Try to genuine.
think of something that you will really appreciate.
That might be a night off simply relaxing with a Sure it means faking it for the first little while.
couple of movies and good bottle of wine, or you Youll need to remind yourself to smile and walk
may buy yourself that new tablet computer you with good posture. Youll need to give yourself
really want. pep talks and build your confidence. After a while
though, you will have experienced a few
Try also to make the reward fit the goal. Larger successes on the way to your goal and you wont
goals that require more time and effort should be have to fake it anymore. Then with that renewed
rewarded with more significant rewards. sense of confidence and esteem, its off to tackle
the next goal, always remembering to celebrate
Build your reward into your contract to make it the wonderful you of the present as well as the
real and official. You can give yourself periodic great you of the future!

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6. Key Learning Points


Self-motivation is what you need rely on when the what you need and want that will drive you to your
going gets tough. When you really dont feel you success.
can persist and you start letting deadlines roll by
or losing site of the end objective, self motivation All of our needs are different and the specific
will help pull you out of the slump. things that will motivate us will vary. The process
of motivating ourselves is the same. Think
There may be some people who are naturally positive, identify your needs, set goals, visualize
more self-motivated than others. Everyone, your success, and put your expectations of
though, benefits from formal self-motivational yourself in writing. These five main actions will
tools and techniques. The key to the process is help you realize anything you set your mind to.
feeling good about yourself and understanding Remember, what you think, you can do! Think
positive and you will get what you want.

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