Self-motivation
is complex. It's linked to your level of initiative in setting challenging
goals for yourself; your belief that you have the skills and abilities needed
to achieve those goals; and your expectation that if you put in enough hard
work, you will succeed.
Four
factors are necessary to build the strongest levels of self-motivation:
1.
Self-confidence and self-efficacy.
2.
Positive thinking, and positive thinking about the future.
3. Focus
and strong goals.
4. A
motivating environment.
By
working on all of these together, you should quickly improve your
self-motivation. Let's look at each of these factors individually.
1.
Self-Confidence and Self-Efficacy
Part of
being self-motivated is having good levels of self-assurance, self-confidence,
and self-efficacy.
Being
highly self-assured means you will set challenging goals for yourself, and it's
also a resiliency factor for when you encounter setbacks. If you don't believe
in yourself you'll be much more likely to think, "I knew I couldn't do
this" instead of, "This one failure isn't going to stop me!"
Self-efficacy
is defined as a belief in our own ability to succeed, and our ability to
achieve the goals we set for ourselves. This belief has a huge impact on your
approach to goal setting and your behavioral choices as you work toward those
goals.
High
self-efficacy results in an ability to view difficult goals as a challenge,
whereas people with low self-efficacy would likely view the same goals as being
beyond their abilities, and might not even attempt to achieve them.
It also
contributes to how much effort a person puts into a goal in the first place,
and how much he or she perseveres despite setbacks. By
developing a general level of self-confidence in yourself, you will not only
believe you can succeed, but you'll also recognize and enjoy the successes
you've already had. That, in turn, will inspire you to build on those
successes. The momentum created by self-confidence is hard to beat.
Take
these steps:
Think about the achievements in your
life.
Examine your strengths to understand
what you can build on.
Determine what other people see as your strengths
and key capabilities.
Set achievable goals for yourself,
work to achieve them, and enjoy that achievement.
Seek out mentors and other people who model the competencies, skills,
and attributes you desire.
As you
begin to recognize how much you've already achieved – and understand how much
potential you have – you will have the confidence to set goals and achieve the
things you desire. The more you look for reasons to believe in yourself, the
easier it will be to find ways to motivate yourself.
2. Positive
Thinking, and Positive Thinking about the Future
Remember
this…your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past.
Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you
make today.
Positive
thinking is closely related to self-confidence as a factor in self-motivation.
It's important to look at things positively, especially when things aren't
going as planned and you're ready to give up.
If you
think that things are going to go wrong or that you won't succeed, this may
influence things in such a way that your predictions will come true. This is
particularly the case if you need to work hard to achieve success, or if you
need to persuade others to support you in order to succeed. Your thoughts can
have a major influence on whether you succeed or fail, so make sure those
thoughts are "on your side."
Positive
thinking also helps you think about an attractive future that you want to
realize. When you expect positive results, your choices will be more positive,
and you'll be less likely to leave outcomes to fate or chance. Having a vivid
picture of success, combined with positive thinking, helps you bridge the gap
between wanting something and going out to get it.
To apply
"the power of positive thinking", do the following:
- Become aware of your
thoughts. Write down these down throughout the day.
- Challenge your negative
thoughts, and replace them with positive ones.
- Create a strong and vivid
picture of what it will be like to achieve your goals.
- Develop affirmations or
statements that you can repeat to yourself throughout the day. These
statements should remind you of what you want to achieve, and why you will
achieve it.
- Practice positive thinking
until you automatically think about yourself and the world in a positive
way, every day.
3.
Focus and Strong Goals
As
mentioned, a key part of building self-motivation is to start setting strong
goals. They give you focus, a clear sense of direction, and the self-confidence
that comes from recognizing your own achievement.
First,
determine your direction through effective goal setting.
When you
set a goal, you make a promise to yourself. Part of the strength of this is
that it gives you a clear direction. Part is that you've made this promise to
yourself, and you'll want to keep this promise. And part is that it's a
challenge, and it's fun to try to meet that challenge!
But don't
set just any goal. Your goal should have the following characteristics:
Clarity - Effective goals are clear,
measurable, specific, and based on behavior, not outcomes.
Challenge - Goals should be difficult
enough to be interesting, but not so difficult that you can't reach them.
Commitment - Goals should be attainable,
and should be relevant – that is, they should contribute in a significant way
to the major objectives you're trying to achieve.
Regularity
of Feedback -
Monitor your progress towards your goals regularly to maintain your sense of
momentum and enthusiasm, and enjoy your progress towards those goals.
Sufficient
Respect For Complexity - If the goal involves complex work, make sure that you don't
over-commit yourself. Complex work can take an unpredictably long time to
complete (particularly if you have to learn how to do the task "on the
job").
See how
each goal activity fits into the bigger picture of your overall objectives. If
you fully understand your priorities, you probably won't feel as pressured to
do everything at once. This can reduce stress and help you to concentrate on
the most important strategies.
4. Motivating
Environment
The final
thing to focus on is surrounding yourself with people and resources that will
remind you of your goals, and help you with your internal motivation. These are
external factors – they'll help you get motivated from the outside, which is
different from the internal motivation we've discussed so far. However, the
more factors you have working for you, the better.
You can't
just rely on these "environmental" or outside elements alone to
motivate you, but you can use them for extra support. Try the following:
- Look for team work opportunities.
Working in a team makes you accountable to others.
- Ask your boss for
interesting assignments with specific targets and objectives to help you
measure your success.
- Set up some goals that you
can easily achieve. Quick wins are great for getting you motivated.
- Buddy up with people who you
trust to be supportive, and ask them to help keep you accountable.
- Try not to work by yourself
too much. Balance the amount of time you work from home with time spent
working with others.
When you
start your self-motivation program, you may tend to rely heavily on these
external factors. As you get more comfortable and confident with your
self-motivation, you'll probably use them only as needed, and for a little
extra help.
Key
Points
Self-motivation
doesn't come naturally to everyone. And even those who are highly
self-motivated need some extra help every now and then.
Build
your self-motivation by practicing goal-setting skills, and combining those
with positive thinking, the creation of powerful visions of success, and the
building of high levels of self-efficacy and self-confidence.
Your
attitude and beliefs about your likelihood of success can predict whether or
not you actually succeed. Set goals, and work hard to achieve them. Examine
ways to improve your self-motivation, and regularly reassess your motivation
levels. If you actively keep your internal motivation high, you can
significantly increase the likelihood of achieving your hopes, dreams, and
visions of the future.
Achieve
your full potential and work with a Business and Life Management Coach who has
over 20 years’ experience empowering individuals, executives and business
owners to attain self-defined success in their professional and personal lives.
Book a complimentary session at http://www.denisedema.com to get started today!
