Imagine if Vincent van Gogh woke up one day and said, “I’m not going to paint again because it’s pointless.” Or if Sachin Tendulkar said, “I’m too tired to bat tomorrow.”
We wouldn’t have had the pleasure of knowing the beauty of their talent and skill. The world would’ve missed out on something amazing. This doesn’t mean that famous personalities never missed a day of work. But it’s their motivation and passion that helped them realize their dreams.
Self-motivation is the drive and desire to do what you want, how you want. It’s not an innate skill that you’re born with. It can be developed over time with practice and awareness. You can learn important tips for self-motivation in Harappa Education’s Interpreting Self course.
Your achievements are a measure of your skills and core strengths. With frameworks such as the Johari Window and the VIA Character Strengths Survey, you’ll identify your strengths, weaknesses and blind spots to learn how to self-motivate. Let’s discuss some essential tips for self-motivation.
Tips For Self-Motivation
Self-motivation is not a one-time activity. It’s a continuous process that can be developed with patience. You have to engage in positive self-talk, set goals and look ahead. It’s easy to feel dejected when things don’t go your way, but with a carefully-planned strategy, you can stay motivated even during tough times.
If you’re worried about how to stay self-motivated, here’s a list of useful self-motivation techniques to help you get started:
1. List Your Aspirations
Visualizing your goals and aspirations is helpful to stay motivated. You can fulfill your aspirations when you have a clear vision of where you want to be and what you want to achieve. Adopt a mindset that’s driven by a will to accomplish your lifelong dreams.
Your aspirations may be professional such as leading the next big project at your organization. Or they could be personal like adopting a rescue dog. Knowing what you want is the first step to realizing your goals.
2. Learn New Skills
One of the most useful self-motivation techniques is developing old skills and learning new ones. Enhancing your skills is never a bad idea. It adds to your repertoire of ‘things you’re good at’ which will encourage you to perform better in your endeavors. Skill strengths—strengths that you develop over time—will help you distinguish yourself from others and recognize your potential.
3. Celebrate Wins
No win is too small for a celebration. If you think about it as a journey, each victory—irrespective of scale—will help you stay on the right track. This can also serve as a reminder that you’re working hard to achieve something you believe in.
4. Identify Your Blind Spots
The Johari Window is a psychological tool that helps you understand your blind spots. Identify things you know about yourself and things that are unknown to recognize areas for improvement. Maybe you’re good at something you’re unaware of. Asking for feedback is one of the best self-motivation techniques. Approach those closest to you for constructive feedback that’ll help you become more productive.
5. Accept Yourself
The most important thing in life is to accept yourself the way you are. Self-motivation is about improvement; you don’t have to change your personality or discard your vision. By learning new skills, implementing feedback, and appreciating your efforts, you’re raising the bar to be better.
Remember not to compare your failures with another person’s successes. Engaging in negative self-talk can deeply affect your self-motivation. Stay focused on your goals to keep distractions at bay.
To achieve excellence in your career, you have to be mindful of your actions. Recognizing your blind spots can help you advance in many areas of your life. Harappa’s Interpreting Self course offers useful ways to help you identify your potential. With the Harappa Kaleidoscope Framework (Strengths-Aspirations-Development Needs-Values-Workstyles), you can evaluate your actions and formulate plans to refine your skills.
The road to success isn’t easy to navigate. But with self-awareness, passion and consistency, you can drive yourself to succeed.
Explore topics such as Self Motivation, Types of Motivation & Motivation for Work from our Harappa Diaries section and accomplish your goals in life.