Mastery In Motivation by JD Clark - HTML preview

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction: Motivation and Procrastination

Chapter 1: Why You Need to Get Motivated

Chapter 2: Kicking the Habit

Chapter 3: How to Recharge

Chapter 4: Change Your Motivation Style Change Your Life

Chapter 5: Action Steps to Greatness

Chapter 6: What Is Time Management

Chapter 7: Tips to Recapture Time

Chapter 8:Conquering Your Fear

Chapter 9: Positive Self Talk

Chapter 10: Set Your Goals In Motion

Chapter 11: More Meaning and Purpose

Chapter 12: The Heart of Self Improvement

Chapter 13: Your Mental and Physical Health

Chapter 14: Prosperity

CONCLUSION

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INTRODUCTION

Motivation is literally the desire we have to do things.

It is the difference between waking up before dawn to get started on a particular project and lazing around the house all day watching TV.

It's the crucial element in setting and attaining goals.

Research shows you can influence your own levels of motivation, but far too often, we fail to do so. Staying motivated can be a real struggle.

When trying to maintain motivation, our drive is constantly assaulted by negative thoughts and anxieties about the future.
 

PROCRASTINATION

What is procrastination?
 

Procrastination is the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, and thus putting off impending tasks to a later time.

In order for a behavior to be classified as procrastination: it must be counterproductive, needless, and delaying.

 

 

Chapter 1: Why Get Motivated And Stay Motivated

Why should you bother to spend your valuable time to learn how to get motivated and stay motivated?

Here´s why.

Your quality of life will change dramatically when you take charge of how motivated you feel in any given moment.

Family and friends will respect you more and see you in a whole new light. And deadline frenzy will be a thing of the past.

There are several good reasons to learn the secrets to getting motivated and staying motivated.

What Learning How To Get Motivated And Stay Motivated Can Do For You

1. Earn the respect of your boss and colleagues. As a dependable and productive member of the team, people will appreciate you and seek your valuable advice on important matters.

2. Understand what motivates you and enjoy greater success. When you discover your unique motivation blueprint, getting ahead will never be a mystery again. You can fire up your motivation engine whenever you choose to.

3. Save money by getting things done on time. You will eliminate those late fees, fines and charges that procrastinators waste their hard earned money on.

4. Enjoy a more harmonious home life. Imagine hearing praise and gratitude for all the little things you get done around the house. You will enjoy a satisfying feeling of accomplishment at the end of each evening.

5. Feel in charge of you life. As you get more done with ease you will have order where you used to have chaos. You will know what you want and feel compelled to move ahead and get it.

6. Start new projects with enthusiasm and stay motivated over time. When you can see things through to completion you will have renewed confidence in your ability to succeed.

7.Stay motivated in the face of challenges and negative people. Setbacks and unsupportive colleagues or friends will make you even more determined when you know how to stay motivated.

8. Avoid the criticism, endless nagging and moaning of those around you. When you easily and effortlessly get things done you give people little reason to criticize you. In fact they are likely to give you more freedom to do things your way.

9. Stop things getting any worse. When you know how to be highly motivated in a matter of seconds, you can turn around situations you have neglected in the past.

10. Develop leadership skills and positively affect those around you. Your drive and enthusiasm will touch everyone you deal with. People will turn to you for leadership and guidance.

11. Eliminate problems while they are small. You will deal with potential problems and concerns sooner rather than later. This habit alone will put you back in control.

12. Put an end to regrets. Become the kind of person who jumps on opportunities. And enjoy the excitement and passion you feel when you are giving 100%.

13. Move ahead quickly in your career. When you can calmly and efficiently get your work done, you position yourself for more responsibility and a higher salary.

14. Feel fantastic about yourself. As a motivated self-starter your self-esteem will soar. You will accomplish much more, have greater success and live a full life.

Motivation is an essential life skill and you can discover how to be motivated and stay motivated.

Although some lucky people seem to be born highly motivated, if you are of at least average intelligence you can learn how to be motivated. No matter how unmotivated you have been up to now.

The secret to being motivated is to discover the motivation blueprint that is right for you.

 

Chapter 2: Kicking the Habit

A survey (by the University of Chicago) suggested that those who relish challenge are more likely to live up to 10 years longer than those who spend their lives inhibited by timidity.

Trying to realize our ambitions, even if we don't always meet them, is preferable to not having the courage or motivation to take the risk. So not making any resolutions because we fear that we'll break them is having a defeatist attitude, as we allow procrastination to become an insidious habit which stops us from leading more fulfilling lives.

1. Personal values development.

Take the time to find out what you really want in life, what your personal values are.

Do you want more time, more money, better health, greater self esteem and confidence, more fulfilling relationships, a different career, set up a business?

When we procrastinate it's often because what we are planning to do is not really aligned with what we truly want.

We may be scared of our skills (or perceived lack of) or fear ridicule from others.
 

2. Make health and high energy levels a priority.

Without good health we are less likely to have the energy and dynamism needed to make positive changes in our lives and it's easier (and necessary if you're very ill) to procrastinate. So ensure that you have a nourishing diet, sleep well, exercise and meditate. Incidentally, it is thought that regular meditation helps delay the worst effects of the aging process.

3. Visualize your life without procrastination.

See and feel the benefits in your life if you didn't procrastinate. What could you do and achieve? Begin to act as if you're not a procrastinator.

Write down, draw, imagine your life as a film. Use affirmations to help you.

4. Banish the Gremlin.

That little voice which runs on auto in your head - that dismisses any idea that you might have. It says things like "I'm not in the mood" "I don't have time" "I can't do this". Stop running on auto, replace the "should've" "ought to" "have to" with "want to" "desire". You have a choice.

Acknowledge your choices and banish the Gremlin. Again, using affirmations can help you replace the Gremlin with more positive alternatives.
 

5. Over commitment.

Saying "yes" to everything - often leaves you feeling tired and without the energy to focus on what is most important to you. This leads to procrastination as projects and tasks are dropped. Identify what is most important to you and only focus on those areas which will make the biggest difference to your life. It will enhance your focus and motivation.

6. Set personal and professional goals.

It's hard to motivate yourself when you don't have a good idea of what you want to accomplish.

So when setting goals think about what you want to achieve in the short term and long term.

Techniques for doing so include the SMART strategy. S = specific M = measurable A= Action R = Realistic T = Time based. Use goal setting software to help you in goal planning and setting.

 

7. Prioritize Your Goals.

Develop a plan or schedule to help you reach your goals. In doing so you will begin to identify whether some elements need to be included or enhanced or dropped completely. Also remember to be flexible, revisit your goals regularly and modify or drop if appropriate. Just because a goal is written down doesn't mean that it is set in stone!

8. Divide and conquer.

Once you've prioritized your goals, divide them into smaller chunks. Sometimes we procrastinate because a project seems really large that the scale of it overwhelms us and puts us into a temporary form of paralysis - you don't know where to start, so you don't start at all! Approach each project - especially large ones - on a step by step basis.

9. Reward yourself.

Once you start to complete tasks, reward yourself by giving yourself something that you want. So instead of seeing a film before you complete a task, see it afterwards and make it a reward for you.

 

10. Just get started.

No excuses. Don't wait until you're "in the mood". The mood never comes! It is a clever camouflage and a delaying tactic. Start with what is easiest, so that you experience immediate success, which will give you the fuel and motivation to upgrade and take on larger projects.
Do any of the above and you'll be well on your way to Kicking the Procrastination Habit. And if you're procrastinating over doing any of the above :.), then remember that life is the biggest deadline of all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3: How to Recharge

Even the most mild-mannered of us have days when we want to spray paint over happy face buttons and strangle the next person who comes close to suggesting that there is always a silver lining.

Even those of us who are completely dedicated to doing WHATEVER it takes to reach our goals have days when all feels hopeless and it seems as if our ability to achieve these goals is rapidly spinning out of control.

While being on track and on target certainly feels better, these kinds of days are going to happen to each of us. The real trick is not to let those days turn into weeks or months or, even worse, to let those days deceive you into believing that your goals are unachievable.

1.      Allow yourself to acknowledge your feelings

As much as I would like to tell you differently, ignoring how you are feeling only gets you into more trouble! The sooner that you learn to recognize that you are starting to get out of sync, the easier it is to pull out of a downward spiral. Continuing to push forward anyway, just means that you will be falling much faster and harder when the bottom drops out.

 

 

2.      Take a Day Off

When you have ‘lost ground’ feeling bad or unmotivated, the last thing you think you have time for is to take a day off from activities that will lead you to your goal. BUT, how effective can you really be when you ‘gut it out’ day after day after day after day? How much more could you get done if you gave yourself a small break? Instead of pushing harder, consciously take a step back. I promise that it isn’t the beginning of the end – it is only a pause.

Even if you literally can’t take a full day off, consciously give yourself permission to step back from your goals. Allow yourself some breathing space.

3.      Get it OUT

Acknowledging your feelings is one thing – but how does that really help? Once you have some breathing room, allow yourself to work on letting go.

Angry at someone or a situation? Write an angry letter that doesn’t get mailed. Frustrated at yourself? Write it all out. Now read it as if you had written it to describe your best friend’s behavior – how does that change your view?

Can’t put words to it? Rent a movie that will make you belly laugh or sob the whole way through – that will release a lot of stuck energy.

 

4.      Shoot for neutral

Once it’s all out, allow your goal to be to come back to neutral. Sure, joy and optimism is where you eventually want to end up, but for now, allow yourself the gift of accepting neutral. After all, this is a long way from angry, sad, and frustrated ~ and much more attainable in this moment.

5.      Recommit to TODAY

Now that it’s all out and you are in a better place, re-commit to whatever part of your goal that you can accomplish today. Long term planning has its place. But, for right now, focus on this moment and this moment only. Then celebrate as you meet each accomplishment.

The way to meet any goal is to create conscious choices and actions. This formula is the same for times when you aren’t meeting your goals. Too many of us slip into beating ourselves up when we slip out of goal-achieving behaviors. This sets up unconscious resistance. The harder you push, the more resistance there is, and the farther you get from your goals ~ even though you feel like you are working twice as hard.

By making a conscious decision to put yourself through these steps the next time you feel like giving up, you will give yourself just the space you need to make a quantum leap ahead towards meeting your goals – and you won’t have to re-invest in new happy face buttons or mend relationships either!

Chapter 4: Change Your Motivation Style

If you are not as productive as you'd like or tend to procrastinate, you can become motivated by changing your personal style. The trick lies in making the activities you put off more interesting, easier, and less unpleasant.

One way to make a job easier is to break it into smaller jobs. If your task is to file your income tax return, you may view it as time consuming and tedious.

But if you break it into smaller categories such as gather records, download tax software, and prepare a rough draft, the tasks don't seem as difficult and you are likely to complete them in considerably less time.

Some other ways to make those undesirable jobs seem more bearable are to prioritize, use self-discipline, and reward yourself for small accomplishments...

Try to do the least desirable tasks early in the day so you'll look forward to having the rest of the day to concentrate on more pleasant jobs.

Keep in mind that self-discipline is something you do for yourself, not to punish yourself. Make a schedule and stick to it. Don't forget to reward yourself for each step you take in overcoming procrastination.

Positive reinforcement goes a long way in changing negative behaviors.

Here are a few more suggestions as to how you can get motivated and quit procrastinating...

1. Tasks will seem less daunting if you break them into several steps over a few days or weeks. Don't expect yourself to do everything all at once.

2. Don't worry about doing the job perfectly. Once you quit procrastinating, you'll have more time to go back and perfect each particular task. Allowing yourself adequate time to finish a task will give you more time for corrections later.

3. Find a supportive co-worker or friend to help motivate you to get moving.

4. Don't schedule important tasks at a time of day when your energy is low.

5. Reward yourself for reaching critical points in your least favorite jobs. Having something to look forward to is a great motivator.

6. Put the most difficult tasks at the top of your list and work from there.

7. All times of day are not equal. If you are a morning person, then tackle the most difficult tasks when you are at your best earlier in the day.

Reserve your most demanding activities for the time when your energy is at its highest. Save the small jobs that require little thought for the time of day when you are at your lowest productivity level.

Accomplish your tasks efficiently and you will see an improvement in your time management and motivational skills.

8. Start yourself down the road to success by setting clear, attainable goals. Break tasks into smaller pieces so they will seem less difficult. Get organized and prioritize your activities from most important to least important.

Eliminating the harder tasks will leave you feeling good about your work and motivate you to continue.

9. Keep focused on the end result instead of concentrating on how hard it will be to break your old habits. Having a light at the end of the tunnel will make your efforts seem worthwhile and the reward waiting for you will keep you motivated to achieve your goals.

Procrastination is unproductive and can even be harmful to your well being if allowed to get out of control. Stop making excuses, organize your thoughts and tasks, and be on your way to get your life under control and get motivated!