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Need to get focused? Follow these self motivation tips

Here are some self motivation tips to help you stay motivated. If you are responsible for motivating others, then it goes without saying that you have to lead by example!

Have a bad day (occasionally) - Its OK!

If things are going wrong for you, or you are just in bad form, don't be hard on yourself. It is not healthy to bottle up feelings and pretend everything is OK. At the same time, feeling gloomy for long periods isn't good, either! Go with the flow and accept you are feeling miserable, BUT tomorrow is another day and you WILL feel better.

Remember that your brain is a computer

If you keep telling yourself that you can't do this or you are afraid to do that, your brain will believe you. If self doubt and negative thinking are interfering with your motivation levels, a useful self motivation tip is to imagine that you have a sweeping brush in your head. Sweep up that negative thinking and get rid of it pronto!

See Problems as Opportunities

Some days, it is hard to stay motivated and problems have a habit of mounting up. Change your mindset so you view them as opportunities to learn and grow. Even in a recession, there are opportunities - just different ones to those you have been looking at up until now.

Avoid doom and gloom

If you are spending a lot of time being critical of others, for example politicians, bankers and so on, chances are your motivation levels will be affected. It is an easy trap to fall into, and sometimes we are not aware of it.

A useful self-motivation tip is to get yourself into a more positive, motivated mindset by thinking about the following questions "How would I like it to be?" or "What would I like to happen?"

Set short term targets and reward yourself

If you find it hard to stay motivated, set yourself short term targets to give you something to aim for. When you reach those targets, don't forget to reward yourself - whether it is a walk in the park or a game of golf. We spend so much of our time minding others that sometimes we can forget to mind ourselves!

Get help

A problem shared is a problem halved. If you are finding it hard to stay motivated, for example, to chase new business, get working on it with a colleague. Find someone who has a different skillset to yours, so that two becomes better than one and you keep each other motivated on the task. Or another self motivation tip is to get a friend to listen to your situation and offer a different perspective on your thoughts.

SWOT yourself!

Maybe you are in a good frame of mind, but you still don't feel motivated? It could be time to do a SWOT on yourself. Take a large sheet of paper, and draw 4 boxes. Into each box put one of these words: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Now take all the time you need to assess yourself and where you are now under these headings.

Are you making the most of your strengths? are their opportunities out there you should be taking? are there weaknesses that call for a fresh approach, or a new skillset? What are the threats that might get in your way?

Use this tool to set fresh goals for the future and find a new level of motivation. Click here for more perspectives.

To listen to the answers to the key questions managers have around employee motivation, download the Motivation and Performance Appraisal Audio Guide.

Click on What is Motivation to understand the process.

Click on Motivation Theories to learn how you can apply these in the workplace.

And finally, click on Motivation Techniques for Managers for fresh ideas.

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