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Got yourself them bad
old post-summer, chilly winter motivation blues?
Don’t worry, here’s how you can avoid them.
I’ll bet a large number of you reading this came back from your summer holidays refreshed and ready to climb new peaks. You may even have set yourself new goals: maybe a change of job or a push for promotion. You may have drawn up a clear set of actions, and even taken the first few steps.
So where are you now the nights are drawing in and that holiday is but a faint memory?
I know where I am. I’m writing this with a runny nose, sore throat, and aching limbs. The dreaded winter cold is upon me early and I’m very aware that those autumn blues are knocking at my door. This is a time of the year when many of us are feeling the challenge of staying motivated. The current chilly wind blowing through the business world is more reason than usual to see a half empty glass.
So what can you do to stay motivated?
Tip 1. Recognise that staying motivated is a struggle and that everyone faces doubt and depression.
It’s not just you! I heard the successful entrepreneur and founder of Yo Sushi!, Simon Woodruffe, speak the other day. He admitted that for years he was under the misapprehension that successful people were successful every day and all day. He then explained what a relief it was to find they failed just as much as he did.
However, what separates the really successful, is their ability to keep moving forward.
Tip 2. Be prepared for a letdown.
Accept that the natural human emotion is peaks and valleys. Our initial momentum can and will evaporate in an instant. This is normal.
Instead of giving in to negativity, step back and analyse. Look at the causes. Are you tired, burned out; disappointed by the results? I’ll give you an example by explaining my negative thoughts in the early days of this newsletter. I was completely new to writing newsletters and regular mailings. As the first few went out I worried whether people would receive it. I convinced myself I would get no feedback that the activity would have no effect. I started to find faults with my writing and wondered if it was worth the effort.
One reason I was able to overcome this loss of motivation was that I prepared myself for a letdown. Before I began the newsletter I researched the topic and found that the successful practitioners did it because they really enjoyed it. They saw it as a way to build long-term relationships. Knowing the lack of resounding initial feedback was perfectly normal helped me to deal with it.
Tip 3. Re-evaluate your strategy and motivation.
Passing through the emotional peak is a blessing in disguise because it allows us to re-evaluate our plans from a fresh perspective. When we lose motivation we can see gaping holes in our plan.
In my case, I dragged myself out of the hole I was in. I went back to my negative thoughts and applied them to improving the newsletter content. Having a pessimistic attitude opened my eyes and made me realistic about my abilities and expectations. Emotional valleys bring us back to reality. The loss of motivation spurred me on and I realised I was enjoying the writing as an end in itself. That alone makes it worth the effort.
This reality check is good because if you start doing something for the wrong reasons you are likely to lose motivation. Giving up sometimes might be the right decision. Listen to your feelings and judge what is really motivating you. If this means a new or revised focus, then go ahead and sort it. Don’t fight self-doubt; use it to your benefit. Trust your feelings.
Tip 4. Developing tangible focus.
This builds on the previous tip. It involves setting concrete goals that you can measure yourself against. Ask yourself ‘how will I know that I have been successful?’ Be wary of goals that are all about activity instead of outputs. Avoid being a busy fool and focus on measurable outputs that automatically define a set of actions. When you know what you want, you become motivated to take action.
Tip 5. Developing direction.
If focus means having an ultimate goal, direction is having a day-to-day strategy to achieve it. A lack of direction kills motivation because without an obvious next action we succumb to procrastination.
The key to getting direction is to identify the activities that will lead to your goals. When motivation starts to wane, regain direction by creating a plan that contains two actions. The first needs to be a small task that you have been meaning to do. The second should be a long-term goal. Do the smaller task immediately and this will create positive momentum. After that, take the first step towards achieving the long-term goal. Doing this regularly is great for getting long-term plans moving.
Go on. Do this now. If you don’t take action now, how likely are you to do this later?
One of my favourite sayings goes like this:
‘
Is what I am doing, or what I am about to do, helping me achieve my objectives?’
Avoid the busy fool syndrome and get back on track. Make it an early Christmas present to yourself. Now that is something the winter is good for.
And here’s a little bonus. Click
here if you want to receive
my 21 tactics for maximising motivation in yourself and others. [PDF
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