6/11/12 Magnificent Monday- Motivation and Where to Find It

Magnificent Monday-sometimes it is magnificent to motivate yourself in order to accomplish your goals.

I am a mother, so I have watched more Nickolodeon and Disney Channel that I would like to admit. The one thing I was glad I heard was a song by the Cheetah Girls with the following lyrics:

I don't want to be like Cindarella

Sitting in a dark, cold dusty cellar

Waiting for somebody to come and set me free

I'd rather rescue myself . . .

Don't wanna depend on no one else.

I'd rather rescue myself.

That is my message for today, sometimes you have to motivate yourself. 

The to do list is always long, it grows every day.  On occasion we do not want to do all the things we need to do. At those times we need motivation. Sometimes motivating factors are all around us. For example, the mortgage is due, the electric bill is due, groceries need to be purchased and things of that nature. Those things are motivating factors, they give us a reason to march up and down the two do list. Another motivator is a deadline at work or desire for a promotion. At home we are often motivated by screaming children grabbing at our legs. All of these are external motivators that force us to get up and moving.

However, on occasion, there is nothing in the world forcing us to do what we need to do. Some times, there are no external reminders or pressures, but we still have to get through the to do list. On those occasions, at those times, we need to get up and motivate ourselves. In other words, as my twins say, "You need to chick up!" We have to find the will and the way to get through the to do list.

The following are a few motivational tools for getting through a to do list:

1.     competition-how fast can you get the work done

2.     reward- pick a small treat for yourself as a reward for getting through the list

3.     pride- concentrate on the good feeling that comes from getting a job done

4.     peer pressure- tell a friend or two that you have to get through the list and need them to push you along to get it done

5.     collective effort - gather a friend or two and help each other get through your respective to do lists

A first step toward finding the motivation to get the two do list done is to find out what motivates you. You need to take the time to figure out what you want as a reward. What does it take for you to do something? What is it that makes you smile? Whatever it is that makes you smile can be used to motivate you to get through the to do list. Now that we have a notion of how to motivate ourselves, next Monday we will look at how motivation actually gets us through the to do list.

So the question for today is what are things you can do to motivate yourself to get through the to do list?