12 Ways To Get Your Motivational Groove Back

Posted by Scott in Motivation, Scott on June 14, 2009 | 4 comments

The following is a copy of my recent guest post at MotivateThyself.com.

Ever have those days where you’re sitting on the couch with the TV remote in your hand going over the same tired channels again and again while you’re thinking, “Okay, I really need to get motivated!”? Has your life fallen into and endless routine of sameness where one day blurs into the next? Do you think about how just a few years ago, you were motivated, energized and very active but you don’t know how to get it back?

For some reason, many people, at one time or another, seem to innocuously slip into the no-motivation zone while their attention is somewhere else. We suddenly wake up and realize that we have no ambition anymore. Why? While there are a million reasons for this, you don’t need to know them all before taking steps to get your motivation groove back. Here’s a list of 12 motivation tricks that can give you the jolt you need to snap out of your sleep-walking life.

1. Start a new relationship. You don’t have to replace your boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse, but simply starting a new relationship with a new and interesting person with whom you have a lot in common can add some spice to your week and move you out of the doldrums. Go somewhere new and strike up a conversation. It works!
2. Pick up a new hobby. This is especially nice if you can involve a friend–perhaps a new friend! Also, if you have children, a spouse or significant other, start together and enjoy each other’s company. Picking up a new hobby or reconnecting with an old one can jazz you up and substantially boost your level of motivation.
3. Work out! Yes, I know this idea may hurt, at first, but if you don’t overwhelm yourself, in a very short amount of time, you’ll begin to feel like a million bucks. Grab a friend, set a goal, and hold each other accountable. Working out with a friend is a great motivator and so is losing weight and looking better. Don’t focus on what you’ll be losing (free time, excuses to be lazy), focus on what you’ll gain (feeling better, looking great). If you take exercise seriously, the gains you make in your energy level, your confidence, and your motivation will skyrocket. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t Believe the Happiness Lie!

Posted by Scott in Motivation, Scott on June 7, 2009 | 4 comments

We are a unique breed, those of us who are currently trying to develop work-from-home income or start a micro business, etc. Many of us just want to increase our income but I think the majority of us want to be free from having to work 40 hours per week for someone else. But there is a danger in the process that, if not recognized, can cause a great deal of stress and even make you miserable or lead to depression.

Are We There Yet?

It has been said in many ways that life is a journey, not a destination. The point is meant to remind us to enjoy the journey, to stop and smell the roses, etc. But how often do we really remember to do so? If you are in the process of “getting something going” that may eventually start generating income, that’s pretty exciting. But are holding your breath? Is your life on hold until your “ship comes in?” I’m not going to lie to you and say that I’ve beaten this habit. I still find myself doing it, probably less than most people, but it still rears its ugly head from time to time. I find myself dreaming of what the future will be like when I’ve accomplished my goal. While there’s nothing wrong with that, in general, it can be a problem if you feel that the only way to be happy is when you reach that future goal and until you’ve arrived, your happiness is on hold.

Read the rest of this entry »

Motivation and You: Make Your Life Awesome!

Posted by Scott in Motivation, Scott on May 27, 2009 | no comments

Motivation series conclusion. Click introduction to start at the beginning.

Over the past few months, I’ve been writing a series of posts on motivation. There isn’t really a way to cover such a deep and sometimes perplexing subject in only several posts. However, I tried to frame some of what I view as the most essential pieces of the motivation puzzle in such a way that you can read any single post and benefit from it, or you could read the entire collection and, perhaps, experience a paradigm shift. That was my intention and I hope I succeeded.

Motivation Summaries

Looking back on this series, I wanted to revisit each post and give an excerpt as well as add a few additional thoughts. Clicking on the title of each post will take you directly to the full version.

Change Occurs from the Inside Out

“It’s simple, really. What you think affects how you act. Everything you do consciously begins, first, with the thought of doing it. Certain thoughts of a specific quality, when habitually repeated, result in certain habits of behavior. Where you are today in life is a result of your habitual thoughts followed by habitual actions. You cannot consistently feed your mind negative thoughts and expect positive results.”

This is about the nature of how we change and evolve as a result of our habits of thought. This relates to motivation at its deepest level because motivation is so closely tied to how we process everything that happens to us—every experience we have or observe other people having—and how we think about ourselves. In order for any meaningful change to occur in our lives, we’re usually going to need to start at the core level of who we are and what we think about ourselves—our capabilities, our self-worth, our skills, how smart we think we are, how well-liked we perceive ourselves to be. If you wonder why you aren’t very motivated, look in these corners of your beliefs, first.

Read the rest of this entry »

Accountability – A Secret Key to Motivation and Goal Achievement

Posted by Scott in Motivation, Scott on May 18, 2009 | 5 comments

Motivation Series, Part 7. Check out part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6.

While conviction may be the heart and soul of motivation, accountability is like the magic pill. All goals need conviction—the power and drive that comes from firmly choosing to take action while not leaving room for anything but your expressed outcome. But the truth is, not all of the goals we set are goals in which we, ourselves, are personally interested. Sometimes we have to set goals that we are required or obligated to pursue by way of our job or personal associations. Then there are goals that we set in which the outcome is truly desired but we haven’t yet developed the conviction required to assure that we will achieve it. This is where accountability plays an important role. Let’s look at a few examples that most people have experienced where accountability has helped to motivate us—sometimes kicking and screaming—to reach a desired outcome.

School Assignments: You may have put them off until the last minute, but ultimately, you were (or still are) being held accountable by your teacher. Knowing that you were being graded or that you risked failing the class (which then led to much bigger problems) was just the right kind of accountability that motivated you to complete your assignments most of the time.

On the Job: If you’ve ever had a job, whether pet-sitting for a neighbor, or working for a Fortune 500 company, you were being held accountable for your work output and overall effectiveness every single work day. Your continued employment depended on completing tasks on time. Your raises were likely based on how effectively you did your job. If you missed a deadline or a required task, you were held accountable for that too. You were even being held accountable for getting out of bed and just showing up at work. Read the rest of this entry »

Conviction: Tap the Amazing Power that You Possess to Instantly Change Your Life—Forever!

Posted by Scott in Motivation, Scott on May 5, 2009 | 16 comments

Motivation Series, Part 6. Check out part 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5.

WARNING: AFTER READING THIS YOUR LIFE MAY NEVER BE THE SAME!

Conviction is critical to motivation. In this post, I’m going to cover how to use conviction to instantly quit smoking (forever!), or how to start a diet and stick with it, and how to set any goal and increase your chance of success to nearly 100%. I say “nearly” because I cannot control your understanding of the concepts I’ll be covering; and I cannot control what kind of goals you have and whether or not outside forces could physically interfere with the attainment of your goal. So, let’s get started…

At your command is potentially the single greatest power you could possess when trying to increase your motivation or accomplish any goal. That power is conviction. Put simply, conviction is a firmly-held belief or opinion. It’s also sometimes called “determination”, “drive” or “will power”. But contained within your conviction is the ability to break new ground in your life, to transform your landscape, and to move mountains.

Conviction is often determined by purpose. When your actions are not in alignment with your purpose, you are more likely to follow the path of least resistance which can drain you of vitality and happiness. When you are following your purpose or principles, you will have a deeper sense of fulfillment in life and will be less likely to need an external boost by giving in to your cravings. Until your purpose and actions are aligned, you will struggle to make progress in the most meaningful areas of your life. This alignment activates conviction. And this is the secret of every great person who has ever walked the face of the earth; they acted with the strength and power of their conviction. And this is a power you also posses! Read the rest of this entry »

Do You Overlook Small Details that Impact Motivation and Success?

Posted by Scott in Motivation, Scott on April 3, 2009 | 3 comments

Motivation Series, Part 5.  Check out part 1, part 2, part 3, & part 4.

You want to stop eating sweets but you keep a jar of M&Ms on your desk. You honestly want to quit smoking but you have packs of cigarettes lying in every corner of your life so that you’re never far from that temptation. You want to start paying down some debt yet you keep several credit cards with you at all times. These details often go overlooked but have a very big impact on your level of motivation and success. Ignoring these small details often means the difference between progress and frustration.

Little, Tiny, Baby Steps

If the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, does it matter how big your feet are? Nope. Does it matter how big your steps are? Nope, again. The truth is, the only thing that matters is that you take a step…then another…and another. One little, tiny, baby step is just as good as a giant leap; you’re still moving forward.

Read the rest of this entry »

Instant and Unlimited Enthusiasm!

Posted by Scott in Motivation, Scott on March 29, 2009 | 2 comments

Motivation Series, Part 4.  Check out part 1, part 2 & part 3.

Motivation and enthusiasm are two ends of the same stick. While it’s great to be enthusiastic about your goals, enthusiasm alone will never supply enough power to keep your motivation at full throttle. Enthusiasm, as it turns out, is the fuel that powers your acceleration, creates drive, and generates momentum; but when your fuel runs out, the engine stops.

Supply and Demand

Enthusiasm—like a tank of gas—lasts about a week, maybe two. It’s basic supply and demand; if you want to reach your goal (your destination), you’re going to need to refuel periodically to keep yourself in high gear. Don’t know how? Read on. Read the rest of this entry »

Nine Tips for Setting and Achieving Your Goals

Posted by Scott in Motivation, Scott on February 25, 2009 | no comments

I was recently invited by Dane Carlson to write a guest post at his Business Opportunities Weblog. The title of my post is, Nine Tips for Setting and Achieving Your Goals.  Here is an excerpt:

Do you set goals or at least a resolution every year, or do you avoid it because you never accomplish anything? Perhaps you’re setting the wrong goals; or maybe you’re taking the wrong approach.

While there isn’t one perfect way to set goals, there are ways to increase your chances of success. These tips come from personal experience-the best teacher.

1. Only set a few meaningful goals that you are serious about achieving, goals that will have a big impact on your life if you were to accomplish them.
2. Think about where you want to be in the future and set goals that will move you in that direction.
3. Once your goals are set, focus on the most important one as your primary goal.
4. Write out a broad, step-by-step plan on how you will achieve your primary goal.
5. Work on subordinate goals as time, energy, and enthusiasm permits.

This is just a little teaser. The really juicy stuff comes next.  Each tip is addressed in detail and they’ve been called “awesome tips” so don’t miss out. You could look at goal-setting in a whole new way. To read the entire post, click here.

If you check it out, please leave a comment and tell me what you think or share your favorite goal-setting tips.

If You Do Things the Same Way, You’ll Get the Same Results

Posted by Scott in Motivation, Scott on February 22, 2009 | 2 comments

Motivation Series, Part 3.  Check out part 1 & part 2.

Does your daily routine support your goals? Whether you’re planning to start a business, lose weight, quit smoking, or get a new job, you need to ask yourself this very important question.

If you’re like me, you’ve been a closet entrepreneur for many years; you’re always tossing around the idea that you would like to quit your job so you can follow your passion. Who wouldn’t want to ditch their day job and replace it with their own business or an income stream that is based on what he or she is passionate about?

Well, I have some bad news for you. If you don’t change your daily routine then you’ll likely never realize your goal. Let’s look at an example…

Enough is enough

You’ve decided you’ve had enough with doing work you hate, with jobs that inspire you about as much as a root canal. You’re sick of simply working for a paycheck…that’s not good enough anymore. You vow to start a business so you can generate a new source of income and then quit your job when you’re making enough to replace it. Read the rest of this entry »

Change Occurs from the Inside Out

Posted by Scott in Motivation, Scott on February 18, 2009 | 4 comments

Motivation Series, Part 2.  You can read part 1 here.

It’s simple, really. What you think affects how you act. Everything you do consciously begins, first, with the thought of doing it. Certain thoughts of a specific quality, when habitually repeated, result in certain habits of behavior. Where you are today in life is a result of your habitual thoughts followed by habitual actions. You cannot consistently feed your mind negative thoughts and expect positive results.

Beyond Thinking

Whatever your goal, if you cannot first establish the belief, with conviction, that you can accomplish it, it’s unlikely that you will ever experience it in your life. Daydreaming is when you think about a goal but put no action behind it. Are you a daydreamer or a doer? Daydreamers complain about their lives then do nothing to change it. They say to themselves, “I’ve got to make a change…I want more out of life than this.” Then they let another day….another week….another month go by without taking action. A year later, they’re still frustrated, still complaining about the condition of their lives and still dreaming about some future that will never arrive. Read the rest of this entry »

Introduction – Motivation Series, Part 1

Posted by Scott in Motivation, Scott on February 8, 2009 | 2 comments

How many times have you been inspired to change the world? How many times have you decided you were finally going to lose weight, change jobs or even start a new business? And after a great start (maybe a week or two), you lose steam and suddenly you’re facing the same life you were trying to leave behind. This has happened to me, countless times. And after years of false starts, I’ve learned a few things about motivation that I’m going to share with you. In this series, I’ll explore each of the following points:

• Change occurs from the inside out
• If you do things the same way, you’ll get the same results
• Enthusiasm lasts about a week (maybe two)
• People overlook small details that impact motivation and success
• Conviction – digging deep to tap hidden reservoirs of power
• Accountability – the secret key to goal achievement

As I share my understanding with you, I hope you learn something valuable from each post, something that will make a difference in your life. If you are thinking about ditching your day job to start a business or just trying to survive another day, I hope that you will follow this series and that you are strengthened and encouraged by a new or clearer understanding of motivation. In life, we’re going to always have challenges to face—some, we create, others unfold around us. But how we face them—with strength and confidence, or weak and unsure—makes all the difference in the world. Learn to think and act in a new way and everything around you will change. The survivors are the ones who never give up.

Also read part 2, & part 3.

Inspiration for Reaching Your Goals

Posted by Tammy in Motivation, Tammy on February 7, 2009 | no comments

As we’ve said before, one of our goals here at the Quitters blog is to build a community of like-minded people so that we can all offer advice, ask for help, and share resources in the quest to achieve our goals. This morning I found a gem that I think you’ll find very thought-provoking and inspirational so I wanted to pass it along. Besides, my own creative juices don’t start flowing until I’ve got at least 3 cups of caffeine in my blood and it’s just too damn early for me to write my own stuff. Did I mention I’m NOT a morning person? Ok, that’s another post. Anyway, check out this free report from Chris Guillebeau called “A Brief Guide to World Domination,” available from his blog, The Art of Nonconformity. It’s probably the only PDF I’ve ever read from start to finish. If you’re even more morning-challenged than I am, save it and come back to it when you have at least 10 functioning brain cells. Really. Good stuff. Here’s a peek:

11 Ways to be Unremarkably Average

1. Accept what people tell you at face value
2. Don’t question authority
3. Go to college because you’re supposed to, not because you want to learn something
4. Go overseas once or twice in your life, to somewhere safe like England
5. Don’t try to learn another language; every-one else will eventually learn English
6. Think about starting your own business, but never do it
7. Think about writing a book, but never do it
8. Get the largest mortgage you qualify for and spend 30 years paying for it
9. Sit at a desk 40 hours a week for an average of 10 hours of productive work
10. Don’t stand out or draw attention to yourself
11. Jump through hoops. Check off boxes.

Here’s the full report:  A Brief Guide to World Domination

Here’s the source. Make sure you check out Chris’ site

Have a productive and inspired weekend!