Getting motivated can be very difficult when you are tackling a new task. Don't worry I am here to give you some secrets to motivation and becoming smarter every day.
The first thing to look at is how we sabotage ourselves. These are called thinking errors (BYU). Here are some examples of thinking errors.
Victimisation - This is when you feel people are harming you even when they have no intention of harming you.
Pride - When you feel you are superior to others.
Entitlement - When you feel like deserve something because of your status.
Powerlessness - when you feel like you can't change anything or do something.
Giving Up - When you feel like you can't succeed or you messed up so stop partway through something.
Justification - When you make excuses for your actions.
Scarcity mentality - When you feel like there is never enough.
People Pleasing - When you feel you have to please or impress someone to maintain your value.
Minimise or Catastrophize - When things are either no big deal or a complete disaster even when the issue is mediocre.
Deceit - When you lie to yourself about something.
These are usually related to primary emotions like fear, shame, disappointment, hurt and joy. For instance, you are disappointed that your paycheck is smaller than expected. So you get angry and start telling yourself that you deserve a higher wage because you are nicer to everyone else than anyone else at work.
You are more likely to commit a thinking error when you are bored, tired, lonely, angry, hungry or stressed. By looking after yourself you can avoid many errors. Also, it is easier to come back from a thinking error if you are aware of your state. For instance, if you are hungry you are more likely to get angry with someone because they did something.
Basically we have found that negative emotions create procrastination. Just like the thinking errors mentioned above. So the trick is to associate positive emotions with the things you want to do consistently. But be careful with rewards because it can undermine what you want to achieve. Instead, focus on the emotion. Teachers, for instance, should praise students but if you are working in a team you should praise those in your team for their efforts so they will continue to do the activity.
But everyone can be better tomorrow than you are today.
Making choices isn't nearly as easy as just deciding to do something. Emotions and logic aren't always aligned when it comes to making choices.
So while we are mostly happy in that we are warm and fed we find it hard to be motivated. But the trick is to hack our emotions.
Comments