Getting Up The Motivation

Posted on November 16, 2007 in Motivation by byronb

Where do I get the time? Where do I get the energy?

How many times have you used one or both of these questions to justify your inaction?

Where do you find the time and energy? We’ll tell you. For starters you can take some away from the activities listed below. According to Louis Lautman, professional motivational expert, the average American in life spends:

8 mo’s. opening junk mail
9 mo’s sitting in traffic
1 yr. looking for misplaced items
17 mo’s. drinking coffee and soft drinks
2 yrs. on the phone
3 yrs. dressing and grooming
3 yrs. shopping
3 yrs. in meetings
3 yrs. “sick”
4 yrs. cooking and eating
5 yrs. waiting in line
7 yrs. in the bathroom
12 yrs. watching TV
24 yrs. sleeping

Next time you want to find the time to do something you want, take it from here.

The other excuse we like to wave around like a Free Pass whenever we can is that we’re not sure what the right next step is, and we’re just waiting until we “figure it out”.

Listen here: the next step is any step. Any movement forward is forward movement, and if that sounds absurdly obvious to you - then you get it! Inaction only breeds more inaction.

The following are some fun and helpful ways to get yourself motivated:

Give yourself a change of pace. It could be your perceived monotony of your routine that keeps you from getting things done, the dread of getting back on the same old treadmill. If this or boredom is your excuse for staying idle, then spice things up a little. Just like rekindling romance in the bedroom, rekindle your passion for your objectives by giving yourself a little change of scenery. There are two ways to apply this tip, both equally beneficial. For one, find a new way of doing something you’ve been doing the same way for years: put on music while you clean, do your bookwork at the library or an internet café instead of at home, make your phone calls from the park, anything to put a new spin on an old habit. The other is to take a break from your routine entirely and go do something that’s not even on your To-Do list; take a walk or a drive, see a matinee, anything to dispel the paralyzing charge of urgency and overwhelm about your life. This is only procrastination if it becomes a habituated avoidance tactic. But implemented proactively, an active break from routine to do something different can be a way out of procrastination.
Start a journal or diary. Keeping track of your progress is a fun and rewarding way to keep making more progress. The power of reflecting on our accomplishments each day and setting our sights on the next day is honed and enhanced by writing them down, and what results is an incomparably joyous experience. And that joy becomes the energy that fuels us into the following day. And it’s a great way of holding yourself to account.
Enroll a friend in holding you to account. Sometimes all it takes to get us motivated is the awareness that another person we care about knows what we’re up to all will be interested later on in how it went. The criteria for making this really work are that this be a person who desires to see you succeed in whatever you set out to do and who will refrain from judging you if (and when) you “falter”. This must be a source of support and encouragement; not another source of obligation and pressure in your life.