Motivate Yourself

How do you motivate yourself? Here are three ways to get you started, including some self-experimentation you can try.

Read Motivational Books and Quotes

People complain that the motivation they get from speakers, books and quotes they read doesn't last. Neither does the fresh taste in your mouth after you brush your teeth - so you brush them again! Read something motivational as often as you need to.

You not only motivate yourself by reading inspirational thoughts, but you also train you brain. You are installing useful programming - at least if you are reading the right things. We can probably all benefit from a few motivational thoughts and sayings, so here are a couple for now:

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. - Carl Bard

Some men see things as they are and say, "Why?" I dream of things that never were and say, "Why not?" - George Bernard Shaw

A small trouble is like a pebble. Hold it too close to your eye and it fills the whole world and puts everything out of focus. Hold it at a proper distance and it can be examined and properly classified. Throw it at your feet and it can be seen in its true setting, just one more tiny bump on the pathway of life. - Celia Luce

Motivate Yourself with Your Own Thoughts

Play with your own thoughts until you find a way to use them in your own "motivation recipe." If you're in a difficult situation, for example, and don't feel like dealing with it, you might play around with the idea of opportunity coming from difficulty and discover that it pulls you out of your slump. You might find that it works to think about yourself in the future.

The idea is to simply note what thoughts help and keep using them. Perhaps that means imagining yourself explaining to a friend how you turned the difficult situation to your advantage, or imagining yourself being interviewed someday about how you overcame this difficulty. You should keep track of the thoughts which work for you, which leads us to our third way to motivate yourself.

Experiment on Yourself

I've found that more than just thinking about something, if I explain it to someone, I get motivated. For example, if I'm having a had time writing, all I have to do is explain to my wife an idea I have for some article. Before I even finish I feel ready to get back to work. You might try this or any other techniques you can think of.

Be creative. Maybe thinking about being poor makes you get up and get to work. Perhaps a visual thought is more motivating than a mental conversation. Imagine a scene in your head to see if that gets you going. If you feel the need to prove people wrong when they say you can't do something, imagine them doing so.

When it's a truly uninspiring task, try promising yourself a reward. Keep that thought in your mind to see if it helps. Maybe bowl of ice cream or a trip to the beach is what you need to motivate yourself. Experiment, note what works, and keep using those techniques.