How do I become more motivated?

How do you become more motivated?

• Answer:

  In order to be more motivated, you first have to have a goal. Think about what you are trying to achieve - this can be short term, like doing homework or getting a job done, or it can be long term, like buying a house or graduating from school. Once you have a goal, here are some tips to help you get more motivated to move towards that goal: write your goal on a card or paper and post it somewhere that you can see it every day take short steps - don't try to do the whole thing in one big chunk because that way you just feel hopeless! If you're studying, study for 15-20 minutes and take a 5 minute break. If you're working on a job, break it down into small steps and take one step at a time until you're done. If you're cleaning your house, do 15 minutes and take a break. have a positive outlook. The big problem with motivation for most people is that horrible little voice in your head that says "you can't do this!" Learn how to shut that little voice down - any time you notice a negative thought crossing your mind, STOP (you might even stop physically and "freeze" in place if it's a really bad thought) and deliberately think the word "REALISTICALLY..." Then finish the sentence with a positive statement. For example, if you have a thought "I'm a failure," STOP yourself and think "REALISTICALLY ... I have done the following things successfully (list everything you've ever done well)." This helps you to re-train yourself to think positively instead of negatively get a friend. Often, if you can't seem to get started on your own, you can find a friend to come over and help you. Make a study group to help you get that school work done; have a friend over to help you clean house and feed them a nice meal as a reward; get a coworker to help you with that project and then help them with one of theirs. Here are some ways to motivate yourself to do things: Give yourself a little reward. Make up something small -- like for every X minutes you do something you don't like, you'll do something else you do like for X minutes; or every time you do one chore, you get a star or X points, and when you have a total of Y points or stars, you can buy something you want, or go out and do something special. Set a time limit. Do whatever it is for 15-20 minutes, then take a rest break. If you're trying to motivate yourself to do chores or work that is always piling up, like housework or laundry, tell yourself you're just going to do 15-20 minutes. Often, just getting started is enough that you'll end up finishing the chore -- getting started is the tough part. Schedule it. Pretend the chore is a job -- put down a time to do the work every day, write it on your calendar, and pretend you're going to work! This way, you're more likely to take it seriously. Praise yourself. Motivation is a problem for everybody. Whenever you get something finished -- or even if you just get started on it! -- pat yourself on the back and step back to look at what you've done. It feels good to see how far you've come, or how much of the job you've done. Don't think "Look how far I still have to go" -- think "Wow, I've already finished that much!"