How to Improve Self-Motivation

First of all, let’s define motivation. What is it? A feeling? An action? Or maybe something else… Basically, it is a process that induces action aimed at satisfying needs. It is a reason why a person does concrete actions, the psychophysiological process that controls human behavior, sets its direction. Motivation (motivation) is at the heart of all the actions we do. Progress is impossible without motivation. It is this feeling that allows you to overcome laziness and inertia in relation to the surrounding reality and yourself. Where there is no motivation, there is no progress, no movement.

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Motivation has two types:

— external (prompts a person with external stimuli)

— internal (encourages you to do work for yourself, your self-realization and satisfaction from your work)

External motivation operates on the principle of getting a reward or avoiding punishment, while internal motivation helps us to do things that we really enjoy doing.

How to correctly motivate yourself?⠀

1. Get rid of things that bother you

In the process of work, notice what actions bring you discomfort, what events make you respond in a negative way, and try to bypass these actions next time (the scheme is simple: work — work — trigger — end; by removing the trigger you increase the likelihood that the work will last even longer). For me it was my phone, or rather notifications that I get quite often and that distract me from work. The simple solution for this was to turn my phone on flight mode, so that I could work for a long time and effectively.

2. Focus on success⠀

It's very simple: write down what you've already done well, even if the action seems petty to you. Very often we forget what we have already done or what we have achieved, which, of course, can play a cruel joke in the next attempts to implement our plans. Also, it can help you to track your performance: you can see what goals you have accomplished, so you do not blame yourself for wasting time.

3. Reward yourself⠀

Think of the terms for rewarding, amount of reward and conditions of it. The main thing is not to devalue yourself, your successes and achievements, and try to find a commensurate reward for the actions performed. Sometimes it can really help you with both difficult and repulsive tasks. If you have no motivation, desire and power to do something, but you know, you should, try to state for yourself, what will you get for accomplishing even half of it. For instance, when I needed to pass my German language exam, I had to prepare hard almost every day. That was undoubtedly tiresome, so at the end of each day I rewarded myself with my favourite cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows, and after passing the exam I went on vacation.

4. Learn to deal with defeat correctly⠀

Do not forget that without good there is no evil, just as without defeat there is no success! Discard the fear of making a mistake or doing something wrong, otherwise you will constantly focus on avoiding problems and not on correctly implementing your affairs

5. Set up a competition

If you are a gambler, this recommendation is exactly what you need. The key aspect is to set higher and higher goals and imagine like you are completing levels of a game. Each one is more difficult than the previous, but motivation works perfectly here. You already know you managed to accomplish let’s say 3 out of 5 levels, so more than a half, right? Just a few tries and the golden key is in your pocket!

Finally, it is fine to feel demotivated sometimes, have no desire to stand up and get stuff done. Give yourself time to have a rest. However, always choose correct ways of relaxation. Workouts in the gym, cleaning the house, doing laundry is what people commonly call "rest", but in fact it is not. Relaxation is something that does not take away your energy, but fills you with it. Healthy sleep, clean food and fresh air should be among your daily routine.

"Do what you love and you will love what you do!"