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If only I could get started, think what I could do!

When I think about motivation for businesses, I think of it as a title under ‘Management Development’ and how to get the best from your staff.

But as I started writing this piece, I realised we need to consider our personal motivation first and consider why it is important to get the most out of ourselves, before working on others!

I’d like you to imagine yourself 5 years in the future. Picture yourself sitting on a beautiful beach with a cosy blanket over your knee watching the sunset go down as you reflect back through your life.

Chances are there won’t just be good times in your head; more often than not we look back thinking, “if only” or “I wish I had done…..”, and “I should have….I would have….I could have…..”

So, how do we minimise the number of “what if’s” and regrets? Well, we need to act.

And the only time we have to act is right now!

I investigated the dictionary meaning of motivation and found ‘motive’ to mean reason stemming from the Latin ‘motivus’ which means to move.

So gaining motivation for ourselves means we must ‘move with reason’ or have a good reason to act, and then to act now.

We all know that feeling, I know it’s not just me, when we know we should be doing something, its waiting for us, and yet we simply cannot be bothered with it; we are too tired, it will take too long and whatever other excuse we can come up with.

However we also all know that it’s really just an excuse to put off what we need to do; either for the moment or altogether.

So where lies the secret of actually following through, getting motivation and using it?

I believe it’s in the root of the word, reason.

If we don’t see a great benefit for us, we will not be moved to act.

Motivation is often all about the future; and most of us are just trying to get through each day and at the end of each day we’re left feeling tired, guilty and sad as we think about the things we didn’t do and yet we still have to start all over again in the morning.

We need something in our heads that excites us; something that makes you want to take continual action every day towards it.

To really get that feeling and keep it, it’s a great idea to set aside some quality thinking time to work on this. Otherwise the beach sunset full of regrets, what ifs and maybes beckons.

So, you know what you should be doing right now so go DO it

And to help develop your motivation, ask yourself:
•    What if you had something wonderful to aim for? What feelings are you looking for, freedom, security, happiness, contentment? What are the physical things that will help you achieve those desired feelings?
•    How would that improve the quality of your life right now? Imagine all the ways your life would be better when you have the things you want, when you experience the feelings you crave, the experiences you desire to have?
•    What do you wish you had started 5 years ago? What are you already regretting not having done? What nudges of intuition or ambition do you feel frustrated that you haven’t moved forward on?
•    If you had, how would your life be different today? Imagine what could have happened if you have taken action? What would your life look like, your business, your finances?

What do you need to do now to make that beach sunset experience one of laughter, joy and fulfilment?

Spend some time on this exercise, really play with it, have fun imagining all the things you want to do, hope to see, experience and share. Picture yourself travelling, learning a new skill or indulging in a passion or interest you’ve never had the time for. Create a mini-movie of your life as you want it to be.

Build this life in intimate detail, see, feel, taste, smell, and hear the experience. Make it come alive in your imagination.

Next time we’ll look a little closer at how you can build motivation and become more aware of the things that really excite you.

Till the next time,

Kind Regards,

Jane Quinn
Director

P.S. One more thing…..don’t keep us a secret, please share this.

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