Crocker
♦You’re capable of doing something you don’t feel like doing.
♦Empower yourself – acknowledge your feelings AND take action.
♦You’ll feel motivated once you begin the work.
♦If you don’t feel like doing what you should be doing most of your day – take the steps to make a change.
♦You can train yourself to do things you don’t feel like doing.
♦ Motivation is actually a luxury. You DON’T have to have it!
♦ The reason you can do things you don’t feel like doing is simply because you decide to do them.
♦You allow yourself to be accountable to others.
♦You can train yourself to be accountable to you.
♦The consequences of waiting until you’re motivated are.... nothing.
♦ Get your mind right. Acknowledge that you don’t feel like doing something and do it anyway – it’s a winning mindset.
Motivation myths
Myth 1: I have to be motivated before I start working
Not true! See Chapter 2. I just don’t feel like it. Almost every day of your life you do things you don’t really feel like doing. Think of days when you haven’t felt like going to work but you still did. When you believe this statement, you put off doing tasks because you don’t feel like you’re motivated – even though you are quite capable of doing the task.
Myth 2: My boss/company/spouse/another should motivate me
Not true! Take responsibility for motivating yourself. Saying that it’s the company’s fault that they aren’t motivating you is disempowering (for you). You’re NOT likely to get far in life if you believe this. Is your success in life really that dependant on others? Be accountable and responsible for your own success, your own motivation and your own choices.
Myth 3: Fear is a good motivator
Not entirely true! Fear certainly does motivate and can get results. However it’s not always sustainable. And, when fear loses its power, you may start floundering. Fear motivation often causes cyclical successes. For example, let’s say you have a fear of being fat and ugly. You wake up, look in the mirror and you say to yourself, “That’s it, you look dreadful. All that weight is revolting. If you carry on like this you will be obese and no-one will want to be with you.”
Your fear motivates you to do something. You decide to join a weight-loss group and you’re highly motivated. The weight starts dropping slowly and steadily. One day you look in the mirror and you say, “You’re looking great! Look how good those clothes look on you – time to celebrate!” And off you go to a slap-up meal with your friends. You have a little extra over the weekend. You “need” a glass of wine after a hard day at work. Slowly but surely the weight comes back. What happened? The moment you looked in the mirror and decided you were fine, the fear of being fat was not there – and your motivation to diet was GONE. Without the motivation, there’s not much incentive to diet. So you start putting on weight until one day you look in the mirror and say “That’s it, you look dreadful. All that weight is revolting. If you carry on like this you will be obese and no-one will want to be with you….”
And so the rollercoaster starts – motivated by fear, you spring into action. Fear goes away, you lose motivation. Fear comes back, and you’re back in action, etc., etc.
Fear may motivate but it’s not the best way to create success in your life.
Myth 4: I am not motivated
Not true! (Unless you are severely clinically depressed.) Everyone is motivated about something – even if it’s to lie in bed on a Sunday morning. Ever “desperately” wanted that glass of wine at the end of the day? That’s motivation. You believe you aren’t motivated when you don’t want to do the things that you feel you SHOULD be doing. When you feel like doing something that you believe you SHOULD be doing then you say you’re motivated.
Motivation is merely a strong desire to do something (whether you feel you should or shouldn’t). You ARE experiencing that feeling on a regular basis.
Myth 5: Motivation is only for work tasks
Not true! People are motivated to do all sorts of different things: play sport, build strong relationships, to be more spiritual, to sleep on the couch on a Sunday afternoon, to climb mountains and swim in freezing rivers….. The list is endless.
Motivation is merely a strong desire to do something.
Myth 6: Giving rewards motivates people
Not entirely true! Like fear, it can result in getting people to do things that they may not really want to do. This way of motivating is called extrinsic motivation.
The problem with this method of motivating people is that they’ll focus on getting the task done as quickly and effortlessly as possible because their eye is on the reward and not on the task. They’re motivated to get the reward. They’re not motivated to do the task well – simply to get it finished.
For example, when I’m filing papers (which is something I hate doing), I set a timer for half an hour. I file furiously and when the half hour is done, I sit down with a nice cup of tea and do something that I enjoy (like writing this book). The problem is that sometimes I file documents in the wrong place because all I want is to get it over with and have my tea. I don’t intend changing my way of getting the filing done because most of the time this method works for me. However, this may not be a useful method to motivate myself when I am coaching someone. “Let’s get this done as quickly as possible so that I can go shopping” would not add that much value to my coaching practice!
Think about the way you run your life. Write down all your extrinsic motivators – as many as you can. What motivates you to keep healthy? What motivates you to see your family and friends? What motivates you to go to work? What motivates you to watch TV for hours? Be HONEST! For example:
♦When I avoid conflict it’s because I fear losing my job.
♦When I avoid doing a report I don’t understand it’s because I don’t want my boss to know that I can’t do it.
♦When I reach for that glass of whiskey I tell myself it’s because I had a long week and deserve it. What I really want is to forget all my troubles.
♦You’re quite capable of doing a task even if you don’t feel like it.
♦You’re responsible for your
