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Self-Motivation and You

If you are a person who is disciplined, goal-oriented, and organized, it is quite likely that you have the skills to motivate yourself. It is possible that you have realized what  motivation is and have used it to become the person that you are today.

Staying motivated is not easy especially when we face obstacles or uninvited trouble that dampens our spirit. Negative thoughts and anxiety come into play and we can become unmotivated and doubtful about our future. However, there are some people who have learned how to pick up the pieces and use their challenges as a stepping-stone to move forward. That is what makes these people successful. They view failure as a lesson in life and not as a personal vendetta against them.

Self-motivated people know that there is no simple solution to hanging in there after a disappointment, but they also know that if they PERSIST, then they will be stronger the next time another obstacle comes along.  Self-motivated individuals realize that their thoughts are what control their emotions. Learning how to nurture their thoughts into a positive outcome helps them to pull themselves together and keep focused on the immediate goal instead of on the problem that is trying to distract them. 

Understanding Self Motivation

About a decade ago, the legendary comedian George Carlin quipped that self motivation is an illusion. His statement regarding it was “either you want to do something or you don’t” and with this statement Carlin essentially completely blew off the notion that self motivation was, for lack of a better word, reliable.

There is also an underlying notion here that the problem that causes a lack of motivation is laziness and such people are to be derided. So, in essence, Carlin is yelling at the people in the audience to get off the couch and DO SOMETHING. While Carlin’s means of describing self motivation is hardly accurate, he does provide a certain logic within the framework of his routine. That is, a person is ultimately the captain of the proverbial ship in terms of providing the source of motivation.

Underlying Causes

Before one can take any steps to increasing motivation, there needs to be an understanding as to what is causing the lack of motivation. There can be many causes for a lack of motivation and these causes may include depression, lack of sleep, poor diet, the inability to maintain a proper exercise program among many others. So, if there are areas in a person’s life that can be the cause of a poor lifestyle or any possible causes of stress then correcting these problems may allow one to correct the problem.

Making Changes

There are a number of ways one can look for tips in changing one’s perceived lack of motivation. There are a number of excellent self motivation resource materials available in the form of books, DVDs, CDs, online resources, etc. Because of this, the ability to locate practical advice on the subject is readily available and should be taken advantage of. However, simply reviewing resource material – while helpful – may not be enough o adequately effect change.

Charting Progress

Probably the best way to gauge a successful and noticeable change in one’s motivation, it is also important to record progress or regression. In other words, if you had previously been procrastinating with your responsibilities how are you doing now? Better? Is it about the same? Has there been a vast improvement? One of the great mistakes people make when it comes to trying to improve a situation is not paying attention to the changes in a situation when modifications are made. As such, a littler self motivation is chartings one’s progress is highly advised!