A critical skill of self leadership is the ability to motivate yourself to do what is necessary for your success.
Motivation provides the energy and emotion for us to take action, but did you know that motivation has two directions?
Effective motivation occurs when we are mobilised to move away from what we don’t want and are strongly drawn to what we do want. Motivation is like a rocket with a strong propulsion system to escape gravity and a guidance system to direct it to the target.
If we only want to move away from what we don’t want but do not have a clear picture of our destination we are likely to make bad choices, and if we have an idea about what we want but are still comfortable doing what we are doing, nothing will change.
To build a strong motivational propulsion system requires tapping into your mind’s powerful ability to visualise.
Start with creating a strong image of how you would like things to be, imagine anything is possible, and clearly see yourself has the person who you want to become. Fill in all the details, “what will you look like? what will you be feeling? what will you be saying? Who will be there with you?Where is this happening?” Invest your energy in this thought experiment so that you can actually smell and tast what this future will be like.
Now ask yourself, “do you really want this?” The answer must be a categorical “YES!” for effective motivation.
Now build the ‘Away From’ propulsion. “What will happen if you don’t get your desired future? How will you feel if nothing changes? What if things stay the same for another 5,10, 15 years? Are you ready to do something about this now?”
If you ask yourself these questions you should feel a strong enough force to start taking action towards your future which you will find pulling on you. This creative tension is what has propelled athletes, scientists, entrepreneurs and business people to greater levels of thought and performance.
Once you have completed the visualisation and feel the motivation you must plan; “what steps or stages are required to reach your target? What resources do you need? Who do you need to talk to? What mindset or attitude must you adopt?”
What you have experienced here is coaching, because coaching directs a person to consider what is possible for them and co-creates an action plan to achieve it.
To your greatest success!
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