Peragas Nadason's BLOG
Motivating Moments strives to continually offer positive words of encouragement to help give you the self-confidence and self-esteem you need to empower, motivate and inspire yourself and others..
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Stay Motivated
Even the most motivated of employees occasionally experience a slump and need a boost to regain their normal motivation levels. This article presents seven methods to stay motivated at work and enhance performance when you are going through a period of low motivation.
It is well known that motivated employees are happier, more energetic, more enthusiastic, more productive, more driven and better performing than their unmotivated peers. Employers are always on the lookout for motivated employees and realize that motivation is often contagious and has positive spillover effects on the whole team. Even the most motivated of employees however, experience an occasional slump and need a boost to regain their normal motivation levels. Below, from the career experts at the Middle East's #1 job site Bayt.com, are 7 methods to stay motivated at work and enhance performance when you are going through a period of low motivation.
1. Clarify your goals
Nothing is more demotivating than working haphazardly without having a clear vision, mission and set of objectives for your work. Without a clear vision and knowledge of how your work impacts the big picture you may well end up spending a lot of time on urgent unimportant matters rater than tasks that positively impact the big picture. Clarify in no uncertain terms your vision, mission and objectives and focus on them beginning always with the end in mind. It is remarkable what you will achieve once you have honed in on your precise goals and can focus on them and visualize yourself achieving them.
2. Establish a clear gameplan for achieving your goals
Once you have clarified your vision and goals, formulate a detailed strategy for getting there and chart your progress on a regular and ongoing basis. Break down large complex projects into a series of manageable tasks that are interesting and achievable. Having a blueprint for success that is composed of clear, sensible milestones and achievable interesting tasks will greatly simplify and lend meaning to your daily routine and will also give you a feeling of control over your work and deadlines which largely boosts motivation. The more organized you are and can focus and adhere to accomplishing your goals according to your detailed blueprint for success, the more motivated you will be and the less likely you are to fall into a fit of panic or insecurity and lose confidence and motivation.
3. Ride the Wave of your Successes
Success is very stimulating. Work hard enough to achieve successful results and see how motivated you are to achieve further successes as you excel in your performance. Work hard, aim to overachieve your goals and ride the momentum of each success to achieve further successes. Remind yourself that once your vision is clear and you have a set of well-defined, reasonable objectives and milestones to reach, the secret of success is hard work, creativity and perseverance. Aim to ride the wave of each success to further the next success and channel the positive energy to achieving similar superlative performance in your next task or project. It is not always that you can ride the wave of euphoria that arises from a sound success story so make sure you leverage and take advantage of these bursts of energy and motivation to the extent possible.
4. Reward yourself
Reward yourself as you achieve your objectives and/or reach specific important milestones. Plan ahead what forms this reward will take and what tasks/projects/results will be rewarded. This will give you something to look forward to, extra drive to get there and a surge of excitement and enthusiasm when you do attain your desired goals.
5. Keep Things in Perspective
It is important to keep things in perspective and always remind yourself of why you work. Beside the pay, it is often about realizing your potential, feeling alive and useful, feeling connected, making a difference in the world, expressing creativity, expanding your skills and abilities, helping others and contributing to the community. List the reasons you entered the field you are in and when times are tough remind yourself of why you do the work you do. Also remind yourself that work is work and that you have a life outside of work to look forward to, enjoy and make a difference in.
6. Maintain a healthy work/life balance
It is very easy to lose yourself at work and forget what awaits you outside of the work arena. Maintaining a healthy work/life balance is essential both for your general motivation level and your overall wellbeing. Make sure you take the time to do the things you like to do outside of work whether it be connecting with friends and family, exercising, reading, taking courses, shopping or other hobbies and activities that channel your creativity and energy. Having something to look forward to after work will see you through moments of drudgery at work when your motivation and energy levels are not as high as they could be and will also make you more productive at work.
7. Think positive
Negativity is a contagious affliction that drains you of energy, slows you down, saps your enthusiasm and blinds you to the reasons you work. Avoid negative feelings at all costs and concentrate on the positive. To do this, listen to motivational tapes, to music that particularly inspires you, read motivational books, talk to inspired or inspiring people, surround yourself with positive stimuli and concentrate on the reasons you work. Find things to laugh at as long as you are not laughing at your peers and count your blessings at every opportunity. Focus on positives regardless of how small or inconsequential they are whether it be a positive remark from a boss or peer, accomplishing your day's goals earlier than usual, overachieving on a small deliverable, working well with people, a looming vacation, completing a difficult task or any other positive stimulus.
It is well known that motivated employees are happier, more energetic, more enthusiastic, more productive, more driven and better performing than their unmotivated peers. Employers are always on the lookout for motivated employees and realize that motivation is often contagious and has positive spillover effects on the whole team. Even the most motivated of employees however, experience an occasional slump and need a boost to regain their normal motivation levels. Below, from the career experts at the Middle East's #1 job site Bayt.com, are 7 methods to stay motivated at work and enhance performance when you are going through a period of low motivation.
1. Clarify your goals
Nothing is more demotivating than working haphazardly without having a clear vision, mission and set of objectives for your work. Without a clear vision and knowledge of how your work impacts the big picture you may well end up spending a lot of time on urgent unimportant matters rater than tasks that positively impact the big picture. Clarify in no uncertain terms your vision, mission and objectives and focus on them beginning always with the end in mind. It is remarkable what you will achieve once you have honed in on your precise goals and can focus on them and visualize yourself achieving them.
2. Establish a clear gameplan for achieving your goals
Once you have clarified your vision and goals, formulate a detailed strategy for getting there and chart your progress on a regular and ongoing basis. Break down large complex projects into a series of manageable tasks that are interesting and achievable. Having a blueprint for success that is composed of clear, sensible milestones and achievable interesting tasks will greatly simplify and lend meaning to your daily routine and will also give you a feeling of control over your work and deadlines which largely boosts motivation. The more organized you are and can focus and adhere to accomplishing your goals according to your detailed blueprint for success, the more motivated you will be and the less likely you are to fall into a fit of panic or insecurity and lose confidence and motivation.
3. Ride the Wave of your Successes
Success is very stimulating. Work hard enough to achieve successful results and see how motivated you are to achieve further successes as you excel in your performance. Work hard, aim to overachieve your goals and ride the momentum of each success to achieve further successes. Remind yourself that once your vision is clear and you have a set of well-defined, reasonable objectives and milestones to reach, the secret of success is hard work, creativity and perseverance. Aim to ride the wave of each success to further the next success and channel the positive energy to achieving similar superlative performance in your next task or project. It is not always that you can ride the wave of euphoria that arises from a sound success story so make sure you leverage and take advantage of these bursts of energy and motivation to the extent possible.
4. Reward yourself
Reward yourself as you achieve your objectives and/or reach specific important milestones. Plan ahead what forms this reward will take and what tasks/projects/results will be rewarded. This will give you something to look forward to, extra drive to get there and a surge of excitement and enthusiasm when you do attain your desired goals.
5. Keep Things in Perspective
It is important to keep things in perspective and always remind yourself of why you work. Beside the pay, it is often about realizing your potential, feeling alive and useful, feeling connected, making a difference in the world, expressing creativity, expanding your skills and abilities, helping others and contributing to the community. List the reasons you entered the field you are in and when times are tough remind yourself of why you do the work you do. Also remind yourself that work is work and that you have a life outside of work to look forward to, enjoy and make a difference in.
6. Maintain a healthy work/life balance
It is very easy to lose yourself at work and forget what awaits you outside of the work arena. Maintaining a healthy work/life balance is essential both for your general motivation level and your overall wellbeing. Make sure you take the time to do the things you like to do outside of work whether it be connecting with friends and family, exercising, reading, taking courses, shopping or other hobbies and activities that channel your creativity and energy. Having something to look forward to after work will see you through moments of drudgery at work when your motivation and energy levels are not as high as they could be and will also make you more productive at work.
7. Think positive
Negativity is a contagious affliction that drains you of energy, slows you down, saps your enthusiasm and blinds you to the reasons you work. Avoid negative feelings at all costs and concentrate on the positive. To do this, listen to motivational tapes, to music that particularly inspires you, read motivational books, talk to inspired or inspiring people, surround yourself with positive stimuli and concentrate on the reasons you work. Find things to laugh at as long as you are not laughing at your peers and count your blessings at every opportunity. Focus on positives regardless of how small or inconsequential they are whether it be a positive remark from a boss or peer, accomplishing your day's goals earlier than usual, overachieving on a small deliverable, working well with people, a looming vacation, completing a difficult task or any other positive stimulus.
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Interesting LINKS
Farrah Gray's - Motivational Speech
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Goals 2008 article
How to Set Personal Goals That Inspire You to Take Action
Remember when you thought you could do and be anything? The
innocence of early childhood is perhaps the last time you were
unencumbered by perceived limitations and labels. Personal goal
setting was simple, and there was no doubt you could achieve
anything.
When asked, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” you would
have responded with whatever struck your fancy that day,
whatever you were “in to.” You did not concern yourself with
how you would do it, if you could do it, or if you should do
it. Your dreams were based on what you wanted, pure and simple.
You set personal goals based on wonder and curiosity, not
practicality.
The dreams of childhood were big dreams. Travel into space, win
a medal at the Olympics, become a rock star. Soon enough the
dreams become modified to reflect what is practical and
expected of us. This is precisely when most people start having
trouble setting personal goals. The dreams are no longer larger
than life, so why take steps to achieve them?
Big dreams inspire big action. When you set personal goals, they
need to have huge payoffs for you in order for you to take
consistent steps to achieving them. You need to feel excited –
even giddy – at the prospect of seeing your dream come true.
When you aspire to something that is less than what you really
want, procrastination sets in. With a big dream in your sights,
procrastination is a lot less likely to occur.
You may have heard of making a “life list” of places you would
like to see, things you would like to try, and dreams you would
like to see realized. Instead of making a list of goals based
on what you think is attainable or would fit into your life,
start your personal goal setting with a life list of the big
stuff that really gets you going.
Here again, draw on the feelings of childhood for inspiration as
you set personal goals. Remember the annual letter to Santa
Claus? Even if you did not celebrate Christmas, you can imagine
the wish lists sent to the North Pole were not full of
realistic, practical requests. They included the biggest, best
gifts a child could think of, because there was always the
possibility that Santa would bring you exactly what you wanted.
Dreaming big has the added benefit of inspiring others to come
to your aid in your pursuit of the goal. If your personal goal
setting is limited, or “small,” why would anyone want to help
you achieve them? People want to be part of something special.
Big goals motivate friends, family, and even complete strangers
to help you reach them.
When you set personal goals, go back to those childhood
aspirations. Sure, you may not want to be an astronaut anymore,
but the old dreams can spark new life goals. Perhaps you would
like to go to a grown-up space camp or become an amateur
astronomer. Whatever goal you set, make it big. As the ancient
emperor Marcus Aurelius said, “Dream big dreams; only big
dreams have the power to move men’s souls.”
Copyright © 2006-2008 Vic Johnson
Vic Johnson is a popular motivational speaker, author and
Internet Infopreneur who has created some of the most visited
personal development sites on the Web. To learn more about the
power of big dreams in goal setting, download a free copy of
Goal Setting Secrets of the World's #1 Acheiver at
http://www.Goals-2-Go.com/gss.html?KBID=6426