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How to Mentally Motivate Yourself?

David Logan 6,436 Comments

Video – VLog #39

How to mentally motivate yourself?

What is the best way to motivate yourself?

How do you motivate yourself to do something?

Script – VLog #39

David Logan: Hi and welcome to The Techno Dinosaur Meets The IT Geek. My name is David Logan. I am the IT Geek, based here in Annan, south west of Scotland. With me today is my Techno Dinosaur, Willie Nicol. So, Willie, how are you and where are you?

Willie Nicol: Hello David, I’m very well thanks for asking. I am the Techno Dinosaur, Willie Nicol, also a personal development life coach. I’m based near Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland

David Logan: Have you got all your present bought for Christmas?

Willie Nicol: Oh, yes.

David Logan: Good, good. One thing handy having your daughter staying at home to assist in that job.

Willie Nicol: Yes, she’s given me a few hints for my good lady wife. So, it’s all good.

David Logan: Very good. This week Willie, we’re looking at a question and I think it’s quite pertinent for myself as well here. How do we motivate ourselves, as in men, how do we motivate ourselves? I’ve just come back, sat in here and prior to  the recording. I’m thinking [sigh] I feel demotivated. How can we be free of this?

Willie Nicol: Okay. I would say self-motivation, not just for men, self-motivation for everyone can occasionally become problematic. Because we can get a bit down, a bit demotivated, a bit .… dare I say it .… can’t be arsed, right.

Willie Nicol: So the challenge then is how do we boost our motivation and get back on track, so to speak. So …. you can go online and just Google “how to boost motivation” or “X number of self-motivation tools and techniques”. And I would urge you to do that but, in a nutshell, there are some very simple motivational techniques. Would you like to know what they are?

David Logan: Absolutely

Willie Nicol: Okay. I’ve jotted down a few notes. One motivational technique is to think of doing a task and then rewarding yourself at the end of it. So, that’s a kind of incentive. So, if you say, “if I complete this task, I will have a cup of coffee, a bar of chocolate or I’ll go for a run”. Also, exercise as we’ve talked about many, many times, apart from being a stress reliever is good for motivation. So, when you can’t be motivated to complete a task, think of a reward, right.

Willie Nicol: Another technique is ‘visualisation’. Now, some people would say “visualise success after you’ve completed that task”, but you’re jumping ahead of yourself there. What you should be doing is …. visualise the steps you will need to take to successfully accomplish that task. Step one, step two, and visualise that. Say, “see, I could do that. I could do step one. I could do step two” and so on. So, visualise the steps. Don’t visualise the outcome because you’ve got ahead of yourself.

Willie Nicol: Take control of the situation ‘cause sometimes we feel we are out of control or we don’t have control. So, as much as possible, take control of it. I’m in charge and motivate yourself as the person in charge to get done whatever it is you want to do. Is this making sense?

David Logan: Absolutely, yip.

Willie Nicol: Here’s another little tip. We all make “to do” lists, okay. And we sit and look at a “to do” list … “I better write that down before I forget” and it’s on your to-do list …. “I need do that”.  And then your “to do” list gets bigger, and bigger and you look at it and you’re demotivated at the enormity of your “to do” list. So, one little tip is …. review your “to do” list and work out …. Do I really need to do this? And have a think about it. Very often you’ll find…. no you don’t.

David Logan: Can i intervene?

Willie Nicol: Carry on.

David Logan: So, that’s like, prioritising the “to do” list?

Willie Nicol: You can do it using a very simple tool which is “need to do and nice to do”. So, you look at that and think …. “Do I need to do that? Pay the gas bill? Yes, I do”. There might be something like …. “Do I need to watch that webinar or that seminar”? It would be nice to do it, but do I need to do it? And that way you can whittle down your “to do” list.

Willie Nicol: Another way of looking at it is …. don’t call it a “to do” list. Call it a “will do list”. Because a “to do” list means, “Oh I’ve got to do that”. Whereas a “will do” list is much more motivating. “I will do that. I will do this”. And once you’ve accomplished that, you will feel more motivated and a bit better about yourself. So …. if you’ve got a “to do” list, whittle it down or consider changing it from a “to do” list to a “will do” list.

Willie Nicol: My final tip would be …. think about what you want to achieve and how you’re going to motivate yourself to achieve that. So, you can say, “I will achieve whatever IF I do X, Y and Z”. For example, “I will achieve losing some weight IF I stop eating so much”. Instead of using the word IF, use the word, WHEN. Because you are setting a time parameter on it. “I’ll lose weight WHEN I stop eating so much”, not IF because there’s a bit of a “maybe’s aye, maybe’s naw” there, using the word IF. But if you say, “I’ll lose weight WHEN” …., that’s a more powerful message, a more motivational message to your subconscious to achieve what you want to set out to achieve. Does that make sense?

David Logan: Yes, absolutely, fantastic.

Willie Nicol: And finally, if you’re ever a bit demotivated or struggling for motivation, don’t beat yourself up. We’ve all been in that situation at some point. We then beat ourselves up .… “I should be doing this, I should be doing that. Oh my goodness, I feel really bad because I haven’t done this or that”. Fine, cut yourself a bit of slack. Sit down, take five minutes out or ten minutes out and say right, let’s go on.

Willie Nicol: Here’s a question for you, how do you eat an elephant?

David Logan: Cut it up. I would cut it up into small biteable chunks.

Willie Nicol: Exactly. In very small bits. So, if you’ve got a big task to do and you’re not motivated because of the enormity of the task, you can’t be bothered starting …. Do it in small chunks because, what do they say? The first step in every journey’s the hardest. Once you’ve done that first step, taken that first wee bite of the elephant, you’re motivated to do the next bit and the next bit.

David Logan: I can see where you’re coming from. People, I’m thinking of the exercise side of things now, people don’t like getting out and getting exercise, but I always say it’s the first step which is the hardest step, getting out there. Once you’re going, it’s good.

Willie Nicol: So, these are just some motivational tips and hints, right. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Bite size chunks as it were, right. Reduce your “to do” list. In fact, change it into a “will do” list. Not, “I’ll achieve this IF”. It’ll be, “I’ll achieve this WHEN”.

David Logan: So, I need to change the title of my “to do” list …. from “to do” to a “will do” list.

Willie Nicol: Exactly, because if you say, “I will do it”, you’re more inclined to do it.

David Logan: Fantastic. Great Willie. I think that’s good for the run up to Christmas and the New Year. Get everybody gunned up as everybody is trudging through this lockdown. Lockdown three. Sorry, I shouldn’t say that. As we trudge through this period, it’s good to get everyone motivated, especially as we go into the New Year. So, that’s great. Fantastic for this week. Any other comments before we close?

Willie Nicol: No that’s me. I’m all good thanks.

David Logan: So …. to the viewer, have a great time. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a safe time. Be safe. Remember, as Willie says, have some fun.

Willie Nicol: Thank you, David. You’ve stolen my thunder again there. From myself, the Techno Dinosaur, a very merry Christmas to all of you. I hope you can have as best a time as possible under the circumstances. Be motivated to have a good time and to have fun and enjoy yourself. So, Merry Christmas. Stay well, keep safe. Goodbye for now.

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