Most people want to improve themselves in some way, whether it is
to lose weight or give up smoking or increase their confidence.
Self-improvement is something that we carry out over a life time, but it
is a task that can require a lot of motivation. Keeping your motivation
levels up and steady can be a job in itself. In order to achieve the
motivation required for self-improvement, we need to look at the three
keys that will help us succeed in our goals.
1) INSPIRATION
You need inspiration in order to keep you motivated and focused on improving yourself. If you are not as interested in your self-improvement as you should be, your motivation level will not high enough to be able to sustain interest for long periods. You need to take an honest look at your inspiration level. Are you excited about your self-improvement goal or does it feel more like a chore? If it feels like a chore, you are likely to grow weary and uninterested quickly because you have no inspiration or passion to sustain you during the difficult times you will encounter during the journey to self-improvement.
Becoming a better and fuller person should be inspiration enough but when we face setbacks and discouragement it can be difficult to maintain our motivation. The important thing is to reward the progress you make. If you are dealing with shyness, for instance, and successfully socialise with strangers at a party, you should reward yourself for working towards your goal of banishing your shyness. Treat yourself to something you like or enjoy doing - a facial or a new life-affirming book, a trip to the cinema or a wonderful dinner at a restaurant. Spoil yourself a little and do so knowing that you are worth it.
Try and link your self-improvement goal with something that you love doing, like a hobby you are passionate about. Using shyness once again as an example, you could try and work on banishing your shyness by joining a club or evening class that relates to your hobby. That way, you are doing something you love as well as meeting your self-improvement goals and because you are doing something you love you are more likely to continue attending the class or club rather than find excuses to stop attending and as a result weaken your motivation.
2) SET GOALS
Setting short and long-term goals is vital for anyone whose aim is self-improvement. Goals are also an excellent aid to our motivation, spurring us on towards achievement. Most importantly, if you do not set goals you will lack a definite purpose and direction. It's impossible to be motivated if you're not even sure about the direction you need to take. The best thing to do is to set out your goals in writing. This does not have to be at all daunting as it is nothing more than putting your aims and wishes in writing. You can view it as a private contract you have with yourself, but the difference is this contract can be changed whenever required so that it suits your needs.
Write down the short term goals that can be accomplished in a matter of hours, days, or weeks. For instance, if you wish to build up your confidence, start learning some positive affirmations and become conscious of your negative thinking patterns. If you suffer from anxiety, learn some breathing techniques. Include your more ambitious long term goals also, that may possibly take months or even years to complete. Do not let timescales worry you. Remember that regular, small steps will take you far. From time to time, refer to your plan to remind yourself of your aims and to fire your motivation. Written goals will make you feel more serious about and connected to your aims and it will also free you from having to work out every day what your goals are. This will save you time which you can then use on fulfilling your self-improvement goals.
3) NETWORKING
Another key to staying motivated is to network with other like-minded people and learn from those who have expertise in self-help. Networking doesn't necessarily mean you have to meet people face to face, although this is often the best way of communicating with someone. Networking to aid your self-improvement and motivation also means joining groups on the Internet, carrying out home study courses, reading self-help books, websites and blogs, joining online support forums and communities.
There is a wealth of different self-help communities on the Web providing worthwhile information and help. You can't be expected to have all the information you need to understand every stage of your self-improvement so use others' expertise to help you. You'll be able to conquer challenges you perhaps could not have done alone.
Networking also helps you to stop feeling alone in your goal to self-improvement. It is very comforting to find that other people are striving for the same goals as us. None of us can truly succeed without the help of others - mutual support is very motivating.
If you find a mentor or the right networking group your self-improvement and levels of motivation are likely to soar. Sharing ideas, hopes, problems, wishes, knowledge and successes are an invaluable aspect of motivation and self-improvement and with others to rely on and help you will find that you can accomplish more in less time and also have more fun along the way.
1) INSPIRATION
You need inspiration in order to keep you motivated and focused on improving yourself. If you are not as interested in your self-improvement as you should be, your motivation level will not high enough to be able to sustain interest for long periods. You need to take an honest look at your inspiration level. Are you excited about your self-improvement goal or does it feel more like a chore? If it feels like a chore, you are likely to grow weary and uninterested quickly because you have no inspiration or passion to sustain you during the difficult times you will encounter during the journey to self-improvement.
Becoming a better and fuller person should be inspiration enough but when we face setbacks and discouragement it can be difficult to maintain our motivation. The important thing is to reward the progress you make. If you are dealing with shyness, for instance, and successfully socialise with strangers at a party, you should reward yourself for working towards your goal of banishing your shyness. Treat yourself to something you like or enjoy doing - a facial or a new life-affirming book, a trip to the cinema or a wonderful dinner at a restaurant. Spoil yourself a little and do so knowing that you are worth it.
Try and link your self-improvement goal with something that you love doing, like a hobby you are passionate about. Using shyness once again as an example, you could try and work on banishing your shyness by joining a club or evening class that relates to your hobby. That way, you are doing something you love as well as meeting your self-improvement goals and because you are doing something you love you are more likely to continue attending the class or club rather than find excuses to stop attending and as a result weaken your motivation.
2) SET GOALS
Setting short and long-term goals is vital for anyone whose aim is self-improvement. Goals are also an excellent aid to our motivation, spurring us on towards achievement. Most importantly, if you do not set goals you will lack a definite purpose and direction. It's impossible to be motivated if you're not even sure about the direction you need to take. The best thing to do is to set out your goals in writing. This does not have to be at all daunting as it is nothing more than putting your aims and wishes in writing. You can view it as a private contract you have with yourself, but the difference is this contract can be changed whenever required so that it suits your needs.
Write down the short term goals that can be accomplished in a matter of hours, days, or weeks. For instance, if you wish to build up your confidence, start learning some positive affirmations and become conscious of your negative thinking patterns. If you suffer from anxiety, learn some breathing techniques. Include your more ambitious long term goals also, that may possibly take months or even years to complete. Do not let timescales worry you. Remember that regular, small steps will take you far. From time to time, refer to your plan to remind yourself of your aims and to fire your motivation. Written goals will make you feel more serious about and connected to your aims and it will also free you from having to work out every day what your goals are. This will save you time which you can then use on fulfilling your self-improvement goals.
3) NETWORKING
Another key to staying motivated is to network with other like-minded people and learn from those who have expertise in self-help. Networking doesn't necessarily mean you have to meet people face to face, although this is often the best way of communicating with someone. Networking to aid your self-improvement and motivation also means joining groups on the Internet, carrying out home study courses, reading self-help books, websites and blogs, joining online support forums and communities.
There is a wealth of different self-help communities on the Web providing worthwhile information and help. You can't be expected to have all the information you need to understand every stage of your self-improvement so use others' expertise to help you. You'll be able to conquer challenges you perhaps could not have done alone.
Networking also helps you to stop feeling alone in your goal to self-improvement. It is very comforting to find that other people are striving for the same goals as us. None of us can truly succeed without the help of others - mutual support is very motivating.
If you find a mentor or the right networking group your self-improvement and levels of motivation are likely to soar. Sharing ideas, hopes, problems, wishes, knowledge and successes are an invaluable aspect of motivation and self-improvement and with others to rely on and help you will find that you can accomplish more in less time and also have more fun along the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment