Improving Your Motivation in 2013

 

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential.

-Ellen Goodman

Goodman's quote smacked me in the face when I read it January 1st. Like most people, I, too, focus on my areas of deficiency and ones needing improvement instead of looking at the potential that already exists. It's much easier to build on the positive than to try and correct a negative.

To improve your motivation to get better results in 2013, look at areas of your work or life where you already have momentum or resources available. What can you do to keep things moving in the right direction in 2013?

The "Trick" of Successful Change

I came across an intriguing quote by Leonardo Da Vinci. It reads:

Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.

As I read the quote I thought, "That's the "trick" to successful change, too-doing something else." If you are struggling with a professional or personal change, maybe you need to employ some "tricks" of your own to move forward. They might include:

• Maintain a vision of the most positive outcome of a successful change and the most negative outcome of not changing. Granted, neither will probably be the actual outcome, but you are creating a gap and uncertainty that encourages movement. We crave comfort and normalcy.
• If the change involves others who are resisting the new direction, show them how the change is really their idea. They may not have suggested the change, but something they said in the past probably supports the change-and they have forgotten what they said earlier.
• Over reward yourself for taking the first steps forward with the change. As you continue making progress, your motivation will move from extrinsic to intrinsic as you see the desired results becoming a reality.

Just don't trick yourself into thinking that you don't need to change.

Is It The "O" or the "E?"

In my experience I use the word with "o" too often and not the one with "e" in the middle. The words...got and get.

When evaluating my list of tasks for the day I frequently say, "I've got to.......________________." (insert task here) instead of saying, "I get to.............._________________." I see the task as a burden instead of realizing how blessed I am to have the opportunity to work, live and even breathe. That doesn't mean I am looking foward to every task ahead of me (I get to go to the dentist and have a root canal), but I would be much more motivated to make the right choices if I was more intentional about recognizing my place in life.

A few months ago I spoke to an older gentlemen working in a grocery store. I said, "I hope things are going well for you today." His response told me that he knows the value of the "e" over the "o." His response was, "I woke up on this side of the dirt this morning. It's going to be a good day."

May your Thanksgiving holiday be filled with moments of realizing the incredible number of "gets" you have in your life.

Leveraging Your Assets In Times Of Change

Last Sunday afternoon a rite of passage occurred at my home. I taught my younger daughter how to play Monopoly. I learned the game at an early age and played it frequently throughout my youth. The board game is such a recognizable part of our culture and for many people, is their first formal exposure to spending, saving and investing.

As the game progressed I did not want to confuse her too much with strategy, but instead let things simply unfold. Sydney had accumulated 2 extremely valuable groups of property and a significant amount of cash. Being the seasoned veteran, I had very little cash because I was investing in as many houses as possible in the hopes she would soon land on one of my properties. And yes, she did.

Her interest in the game strongly waned as her pile of cash was depleted. I took this teachable moment to remind her again to invest that money in houses and hotels so she could regain the monetary upper hand. She invested a little, but it was too late. Landing on New York Avenue one more time wiped her out.

My daughter's reluctance to leverage her financial assets to improve her situation reminds me of how many people approach change. They are so happy with their accumulation of comfort that they aren't willing to give it up for something even more beneficial-security. Yes, it can be scary to live on the edge, but the edge is where real life happens.

Where do you need to invest more of your assets in your journey to achieve better results?

Having A Visual Sense of Accomplishment

This picture may not invoke a strong emotional response from you, but I develop a HUGE smile on my face each time I look at it. This is my fall garden. For those of you who are not from the South, the plants on the left are collards and the lighter green leaves on the right are mixed greens. These two vegetables are a common addition to a "southern style" meal, and the taste is superb when they are freshly harvested and prepared. Just take my word for it.

Even before I sit down to consume these delicacies, I have a strong sense of accomplishment about the work to grow them. There's the quality time my younger daughter and I had when planting them along with the satisfaction of knowing that taking the time to bring water to the plants on a regular basis was worth the effort. And I also get a kick out of knowing that two other families have already enjoyed them at a meal.

Too often we don't take time to embrace a visual of what our hard work has created. A manager might reflect that their team is working more effectively together, but what does that LOOK like? You might comment to yourself that you had a productive day, but never stop long enough to create a strong emotional picture of your day's accomplishments.

If you, or the people around you seem to be lacking motivation, maybe it's time to start creating stronger pictures in your mind-or theirs. Aristotle said it best, The soul never thinks without a picture.