How to master motivation
The year starts with a hiss and a bang; you are chock-full of motivation, goals and plans. By the time winter arrives, your motivation is beginning to ebb, and by spring, you’re wondering how you found the energy and time to even make such plans.
Luckily, we’re here with some tips to get both you and your team motivated, along with some top insights from the experts.
How to get motivated
Firstly, and arguably most importantly, choose to be happy. Nobody but yourself has control over how you feel and, as a bonus, happy people are easily motivated. Tell yourself every day how awesome you are.
Be willing to leave your comfort zone. The greatest barrier to achieving your potential is your comfort zone, so try taking yourself out of that zone once a day; expect great things.
Don’t be afraid to take risks and make mistakes. Wisdom is that which helps us avoid making mistakes, but it only comes from making millions of them.
Start finishing everything you start. With so many things on these days, it’s easy to have too much going on at once. Finish one task before you begin another.
Do Less. Let go of commitments. Whatever you do or keep in your life, make it worthy of your time and attention. Make everything count.
Live fully in the now. When you live in the past or the future, you lose control over the present.
Remember your peak moments. These are moments of triumph which will remind you who you are, what you are about, and more importantly, why you are chasing your unique goals.
Don’t give up. It’s so easy to quit when there’s a setback or frustration. But you will never get there is you quit.
Don’t let the slump start. Recognise the activities you do procrastinate and nip the behaviour in the bud. Take action right away, no matter how small the victory, and use that momentum for further tasks.
Dare to dream big. If there is anything to the law of expectation then we are moving in the direction of our dreams, goals and expectations.
How to give motivation
Be enthusiastic and love what you do; there’s no better way to motivate those around you.
Translate the aspirations and needs of your organisation into tangible goals your staff can work towards.
Figure out the aspirations and needs of those within your organisation, as this knowledge will help you motivate and inspire them.
Create a strong work-life balance and ensure you're spending time on what’s truly important.
Demand that your team members bring you solutions to problems, not the problems themselves.
Gather input from team members on strategic directions because when it comes time to execute the vision, you will see a high degree of engagement.
Empower members of the organisation by allowing them to decide how to go about their work within your guidelines and expectations.
Communicate regularly and openly with your team members frequently and openly.
Notice and reward ‘positive deviance’ - new practices that yield superior results.
Reward results, not the time, effort, and cost required to achieve them – the role of the manager is to create results.
What the big boys say
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein
“All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
“A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.” – Richard Branson
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” – Henry Ford
“When I thought I couldn’t go on, I forced myself to keep going. My success is based on persistence, not luck.” – Estee Lauder
“There's no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can't do any business from there.” – Colonel Sanders