Maintaining Motivation

Personally, I don’t believe that you can motivate people. Inspire them, yes; but motivate them, no. Motivation comes from within whereas inspiration comes from outside. Motivation, as defined by the Macqaurie Dictionary is 1) a providing of a motive; inducement  2) purpose, drive. (internal) Inspiration, on the other hand, is defined as 1) a thing or person that inspire 2) a result of inspired activity 3) an inspiring or animating action or influence. (external)

Motivation and inspiration can work hand in hand at times. Think of the last time you were truly inspired by someone or something. Did you come away from that experience motivated to do something? And the longer you waited to do whatever it was you were going to do the less motivated you were to do it.
So, if motivation is created internally, how does one maintain that motivation to accomplish something I hear you ask. Here are a few tips that may help you stay motivated as you pursue that goal or task.

1. Celebrate progress – rather then waiting until you have completed your goal take time to celebrate progress you have made on the way to this accomplishment. Sometimes we are so focused on the goal that we forget to look at how far we have come. It is useful to congratulate yourself and celebrate any signs of progress that you have made because the more you are accomplishing, the more motivated you will feel.
2. Break it down – whatever the goal or task is there are likely to be a number of components to accomplishing it. Use these milestones a measures of progress and remember to celebrate each achievement
3. Keep motivated company – by surrounding yourself with motivated colleagues and friends you can also increase your motivation. It becomes a situation of being swept up in a “can do” euphoria.
4. Find inspiration – work with someone who inspires you or in an environment where you feel inspired in order to support your internal motivation. Simple things like a sunset, or walk on the beach, or listening to music can be inspirational. Find your inspiration.
5. Avoid negative company – misery loves company and it can drag you down and kill off motivation. It is amazing how quickly it can create a “can’t do’ environment. Rather then think of reasons you can’t do something, think of reason that you can and get back to motivated company.
6. Remember past wins – when you feel yourself feeling de-motivated and starting to think that you can’t reach your goal remember the times that you have reached your goals or finished a project. Build on these memories to rekindle the motivation.
7. Retain the passion – passion is a strong component of motivation. If you lose the passion or purpose of what you are doing then it is difficult, if not impossible, to be motivated. Do what you need to in order to retain the passion.

Remember, whether you think you can or you can’t, your right.