Staying Motivated Through Today’s Trying Times-6 Key Behaviors for Doing So
There are a plethora of books and papers written on the art of motivating people. And eversince November 5th 2008, there have been at least double that amount written on the subject, as the world anticipates change that should make life better for us all. Now, pause for a moment and ask yourself, “what if there was no President Barack Obama, or any other leader you can think of, to motivate me to GET OFF MY BEHIND?” The answer is, you’d have to do it yourself. Here are 6 essential behaviors for keeping yourself motivated.
1) The first and most important key behavior to staying motivated is watching what you say to yourself. Negative thoughts bring negative results. Those that have been a part of a fraternity, or other organization focused on unity amongst its members, have experienced positive self-talks that help fufill the organization’s goals.
“Through my brothers, I can accomplish all things,” and, “My sisters are my backbone and together we conquer all obstacles,” are examples of statements meant to positively influence the mind to accomplish goals.
“I am too fat,” and “I will never meet the kind of connections needed to be an actor,” are examples of statements made to yourself that hinder success. The next time you find yourself talking/thinking to…huh, yourself, replace the negative thoughts with statements such as, “today I will accomplish all that I set out to,” or, “I am the best dentist in town.” Whatever your profession or passion, tell yourself that you are what you want to be, and over time, you will become that person.
2) The second behavior you must practice is to visualize accomplishing your goal easily. Don’t stop at talking to yourself; visualize doing the activities that lead to accomplishing your goal. In all honesty, I go to the batting cages more frequently than my close friends do, however, not as frequent as someone trying to make a team. My reason for going is purely exercise. But without fail, every time I go, someone young or old asks me about my background and skill level. I have never in my life taken an official batting lesson, nor have I played on an organized baseball team, yet I visualize myself hitting the ball and I connect. Admittedly, the net and lack of outfielders keep you from seeing exactly the outcome of said hit; as well, you know the pitch speed coming at you. But it is through this knowledge that I am able to step up to the plate, confidently, and swing for a home run.
3) Stay educated in your field. I read an entrepreneur somewhere print the phrase “mind your own business” as a mantra to live by. Meaning to continually keep up to date with the happenings of your business sector. I love it, and I use it to this day to drive home a point. Education takes time and the more time you spend on other peoples activities (given that they aren’t congruent with your own: ie, gossip) the less your chances of succeeding in your venture. You must dedicate your time to what matters most! Education should be at the top of your list, always.
4) Procrastinate, however, creatively. How many motivational speakers have you heard tell you to procrastinate? If not, let me be the first. However, in explanation, creative procrastination involves you doing minor tasks revolved around the major tasks that you may have mental blocks on. Doing this keeps your cause moving forward while not wasting too much valuable time. The key is to always have an end goal in sight. As you come across obstacles, you can maintain momentum with lesser tasks while you mentally figure out your way around them.
5) Strive to be different from those around you. I’m sure you have heard the phrase “opposites attract.” Whether you believe it or not, it’s TRUE! If there was multiple same personalities in one group or organization, they would fight for voice and eventually one would decimate. A couple contrasting voices headed towards the same goal will accomplish more than a multitude of voices all in agreement of the next step, and having a plan full of fallacies which no one has contemplated. Learn from the mistakes of others and dare to be different. It will pay off eventually.
6) The final behavior, but no less important than ‘watching what you say to yourself’ is tell others what you are working on. Seriously, I know some that have moderate success with their business by keeping their dealings secret until execution. However, I always find myself staying motivated when others ask me about the venture that I told them I was working on week’s prior. I have to give an answer and I hate sounding like I gave up. The best thing to do is keep pushing. In addition, the person you tell may be the one with that piece of wisdom needed to overcome your obstacles.
These 6 behaviors are not negotiable; they must be practiced in order for you to succeed on the level needed to compete in today’s global economy. Don’t hesitate any longer.
Anthony Everette
Plato’s Razor Coaching Institute
Anthony@PlatosCoach.com
Life Coach
3 Tips For Getting the All Important Naptime
In 2008, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reported that U.S. adults were getting less sleep than two decades prior. If this is the case, why are so many of us Americans getting less accomplished each day, or even each year? Do I dare label us, as a Nation, lazy? Or, is there a deeper reason other than lack of motivation that can be attributed to the wasteful use of time that Americans are stereotyped for?
Before the floodgate of opinion and self-justification flies completely open, let me share with you some findings. A different study conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed that the average South Korean employee works 2,357 hours per year (six-and-a-half hours for every single day of their life). This ranked them number one among OECD members for working the longest hours per year. Greece comes second in the OECD’s rankings with 2,052 hours worked on average each year, and just behind is Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. The U.S. is above the OECD average of 32 nations coming in at 9th, with 1,797 hours worked on average each year (about 5 hours for every single day of our lives).
Now, let’s assume that the average American is “awake” 98 hours each week (14 hours a day), leaving 10 hours for sleep. Going along with the aforementioned survey and only working 5 hours per day, what the heck are we doing with the other 9 hours? There are studies reporting the U.S. as the most obese Nation amongst developed countries, so we can’t attribute those 9 hours to exercise. Yes, we must account for travel time, to and from work and other places, as well as time spent with children. However, let’s get realistic, we aren’t spending enough time with our children. So I ask again, where does the other 9 hours of our day go?
Evaluating a typical day, how often do you find yourself sluggish and tired by early evening? Possibly you get up at 7am, drop the kids off at school, work an 8 hour day, make it home by 6:30p, cook dinner, help the kids with school work and come 9pm you are pooped! Correct? After a 5 day work-week schedule laid out as I just mentioned, the weekend comes and you rest for the better part of Saturday, maybe take the kids to the park and have some friends over for drinks. You deserve it, right? On Sunday you go to church, and again spend time with the kids as well as plan your schedule for next week, which doesn’t actually need planning because it’s the same daily routine. Well, in the spirit of being realistic, we don’t actually go to bed at 9pm on weekdays, much less weekends. Most Americans stay up doing, insert your favorite pastime here, activities until at least midnight. So, now the question remains, what causes so many of us to sit idle watching television instead of engaging in productive tasks that enhance our life fulfillment and give back to the world? The answer, in my opinion, is the lack of nappy time.
This conclusion I have come up with through personal experience, not through surveys or experiments with control groups. Taking an afternoon nap enables me to get more done! I find that not only do I have a better attitude towards others and life’s daily challenges, but I also find myself refreshed at early evening, therefore preventing me from just sitting idle. Granted, not everyone has the luxury of nappy time, or at least not everyone thinks they do. However, how much would your life change if you made time for a nap each day. We seem to make time for the things we want to accomplish everyday. Here are 3 tips for ensuring you get a daily dose of naptime:
-Try eating lunch in 30 minutes and then using the other half of your lunch hour to nap in your car or the break room.
-Take a nap immediately following work, before picking up the kids or grocery shopping.
-Schedule your nap time at the same time everyday and stick with it.
Again, it can take place in a car, van, library, heck I know a friend who sleeps in the bathroom stall for 20 minutes before leaving the office. I also know an indie band that takes naps before practice so that all members are focused on writing music. The idea is to make time for something that has been proven to improve your life and then stick with it. Google the advantages of taking a nap and you’ll find more than one article on the subject, and recently the U.S. News & World Report listed taking an afternoon nap as one of the top 50 ways to improve your life in 2009. If you just can’t seem to find the time to take a nap daily, I suggest reading a book or taking a course on time management. Alternately, you can employ the services of a life coach who will be able to delve deep into your personal situation and help you to remove obstacles keeping you from obtaining your goals and staying physically refreshed while doing so.
Anthony Everette
Plato’s Razor Coaching Institute
Anthony@PlatosCoach.com
Life Coach