This article was written by Dr. Christi Hegstad and originally published by the Des Moines Business Record.
If you’re reading this, I’ll bet you are an achiever: You enjoy the sense of accomplishment, you want to make a difference in the world, you adore those blissful 30 seconds when all the laundry is complete or you get your inbox to zero.
You probably also become a bit baffled when you have a meaningful goal or important project, perhaps with a due date right around the corner, but you just don’t feel like taking any action to move it forward.
What to do?
As a professional coach, an important part of my work involves helping clients uncover their true motivators. Those might include internal motivators, like the integrity that accompanies doing what we said we would do, or external ones, like receiving public recognition. And while each of us may be motivated by different factors, a few considerations ring true for many:
Connect with ‘future you.’
There’s a saying, attributed to multiple authors, about how we don’t like to write but we love having written. We could easily transfer that to exercise, decluttering or any number of projects. Instead of focusing on the start or the steps or how difficult it might be, imagine yourself once you’ve completed it. How will you feel? What will you see? Engage as many of your senses as possible, and let that rich vision prompt your action.
Seek ease.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever made something more difficult than necessary. (If your hand isn’t raised, teach us your ways!) A few years ago, I declared “light” as my annual theme, and when things felt heavy or hard, I got into the habit of asking, “What would make this feel light?” Often a smoother, cleaner, more efficient answer would appear ? prompting an uptick in my motivation.
Revisit your why.
One client sought coaching after setting a revenue goal three years in a row and missing it every time. She had successfully achieved many goals in her life, so repeatedly not reaching this one befuddled her. I asked her why she wanted to bring in that amount: What would be different? What could she do then that she couldn’t do now? What would earning that revenue signify? We quickly realized her “why” wasn’t about the money – it was about the number of people she would help. When she began focusing on that instead, her income followed suit.
Truth be told, I chose to write about this topic today because I needed a motivation boost myself. We all do from time to time! Like Zig Ziglar famously said, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”
If you feel a dip in your motivation these days, give yourself some grace. Release the pressure a bit. Then try one of the above tips and see what you discover!
First, we define what SUCCESS means to you. Then, we make it happen! Contact me to learn more about coaching!
