Keeping motivated
2008-10-07
Last month was fantastic. I gave 3 talks to expat spouses - in expat compounds and schools - and a corporate talk at the Rotary Club. This left me very excited and really positive about what INSPIRED is all about.
Today is Tuesday, I feel exhausted from having visitors during the October break and I am getting a cold. On top of that, I lost badly a tennis game yesterday and I was expecting to have more people registered to tomorrow discussion group.
So, how do I keep myself motivated?
How do you keep yourself motivated? I am sure you have some personal goals (improve your tennis levels, lose 3 kgs, learn survival Chinese…) and/or professional goals (enrol in a course, find a job…). But what do you do on those low days to bounce back?

Because I love Google, here are a few ideas that I have found on the Net.
Brandon Thomas in “How can you use motivation to achieve your goals” gives a few guidelines on how to identify your greatest motivators, and use them effectively to reach that goal, no matter how distant or lofty it may seem.

1. Desire & motivation
Before jumping into achieving one specific goal, Mr Brandon recommends that you need to be honest with yourself about why you are seeking out a specific goal. What is it you truly want? Why is this goal so important to you? Which of your values or fulfillment drivers will it honour?

2. Internal motivation vs. external motivation
To achieve your goals, Mr Brandon explains that you must sustain yourself with a steady supply of internal motivation.
So what exactly is internal motivation? Internal motivation is linked with passion and drive. If your goal is related to a deep and abiding passion and you have a strong desire to achieve something, you will eventually succeed.

Fair enough. Most of the time, I do have this internal motivation, but just not today. So what do I do?

Let’s see what external motivation is. External motivation may refer to the motivation you receive from friends, family members and colleagues. It may also refer to the feeling or satisfaction you get by moving steadily towards you goal.
When you are feeling frustrated and down, getting some kind of external motivation can fill you with a renewed sense of vigor and energy.
Which means for me, I guess, registering to this Chamber of Commerce networking event, calling my friend Sarah and asking my husband for a big hug.

3. Break up your goal into smaller steps
You have all heard about this, but do you actually do it?

4. Using creative visualization to locate your motivation
Take a few minutes every day to imagine what it would be like to have your goal realised. In my case, it could be the satisfaction of working on a regular basis with 5 corporate clients or just having my own credit card (ah!).