3 Ways to Get Un-Stuck!
Humans are predictable. We do what gets rewarded, we avoid what gets punished. Motivation is that simple. Dr. Eric Haseltine’s book, Long Fuse, Big Bang: Achieving Long-Term Success Through Daily Victories says there are
Five Traits we all share:
˜ We’re all naturally lazy (He says this helps conserve energy)
˜ We’re mostly focused on the nearby urgencies and ignore the far away ones
˜ We have automatic scripts that run in our heads (our biases for and against things)
˜ Our brains ignore bad news
˜ We get in our own way
In short – you will motivate yourself better if you follow three simple suggestions:
1) Don’t fight yourself. Acknowledge your personal quirks and find a way to work with them. For example, if you’re a night owl and your job requires you to be at work early: schedule easy and mindless tasks first whenever possible. When you pick up steam after your first cup of coffee, go for the complex work. If you are a morning person, tackle the difficult items first. Pay attention and do what works for you.
2) Increments Increments! Take small bites daily out of big jobs. Think of it this way – if you’re painting your house, you don’t get on a stepladder and pour 40 gallons of paint on it all at once. You take it piece by piece. Tape the windows. Paint the edges. Start on one wall and work in sections. One step at a time. You string together small successes for what Haseltine calls “the big bang.” Like a string of small firecrackers, one bang ignites the next.
Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one’s feet.”
3) Rewards work. We like instant gratification. It’s hardwired into our systems. So, reward yourself. You don’t have to get carried away. Just take a breather; say nice things to yourself; acknowledge family & co-workers; keep things positive. Celebrate when you win. Celebrate the lessons. Celebrate completion. It’s good for the soul.
You are not alone. Everyone struggles with self-motivation. We all have days when we just can’t seem to get things done. Most of us are in overwhelm with the glut of information, the crazy economy, and tryin’ to make it through our days. Chin up! You are in good company.
Now – get out there and do something! One step at a time. Get out of your own way. Eventually everything works out. Stay positive!
Cheers,
Beth
© 2010 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc. All Rights Reserved
and
Cactus Wrangler - WP.Com site 
I like the idea of rewarding yourself as you make milestones and progress towards the big goal. Too often we are so impatient to get everything done that even when we have some success, we can quickly gloss over it and focus on the tyranny of the in-tray.
@Darris – I liked your pain/pleasure comment.
Thanks for this post Beth. It’s a pain/pleasure thing as Tony Robbins teaches us. If we experience enough pain we will eventually choose to make a change. If we experience pleasure, we’ll be drawn to re-experience the feeling always trying to recreate the pleasure. The trick is to find pleasure in things that support us, support the ones we love, and support our Earth and her creatures.
Thanks Darris. So true. And your last statement also applies when we want people around us to make a shift. Thanks for finding me!
Beth