How to Motivate Yourself and Mean It

Self-motivation is the act of giving one’s own person incentive or encouragement to do something. In other words, it’s the way you get yourself up and moving, as well as to keep going when the going gets tough. Different people motivate themselves in different ways. I have found that before you can motivate yourself, you have to know what drives you. Effects of Motives Are you the kind of person that thinks about the long-term effects a certain action will have? If so, you can motivate yourself to get either the positive result or to avoid the negative one. For example, if you must report into work by a certain time, one the negative effects of getting there late would be some kind of disciplinary action. By the same token, a positive effect of being on time would be you continue to receive a paycheck. Whichever one of these motivates you more depends on which compels you more, the positive or the negative effect. Visualization Perhaps you are a visual kind of person. The best motivation would be to literally visualize your goals or dreams. I would go as far as to advise you to find a physical image of your goal or dream and put it up somewhere you will see it everyday. If you want to live in a big, fancy house, then find a picture of a big, fancy house. Cut it out and hang it up over your desk, on the refrigerator, or anywhere it will be a constant, visual reminder of your goals and dreams. Then write down everything you want to have in that house. Hang that up next to the picture. The more detailed you are the more real it becomes, until that house goes from being a dream to a "one day soon" reality. Healthy Competition Well, if you are not one of the above-mentioned types of people, than you are probably one that likes a little healthy competition. This can also be a very effective way to motivate you. For example, if you are going to be running a race you would probably push yourself harder in order to win. You would workout more, and practice harder and longer in order to be faster, stronger, and smarter than your competition. When you are motivated to win you will do whatever it takes to achieve that. Planning In order to motivate yourself, and keep yourself motivated, you need to determine what your personality is and what your goals are. Then you have to come up with a plan to reach those goals. At initial stages, it is important that you should judge your capabilities impartially. Once you are able to judge your abilities, set realistic goals. Chalk out your strategy to achieve these goals. Often "Yes I can do it!" approach do wonders. Believe in yourself, in your own abilities. Have optimistic approach towards every aspects of life, strive hard to achieve the success, reach your targets and you will come to know the magic of self-belief. Ultimately, if you believe in yourself, you can motivate yourself to do anything!
By Shashi RaiPublished: 9/28/2007 www.buzzle.com