45 Tips To Help Stay Motivated
How To Stay Motivated – 45 Tips To Help Stay Motivated
I posted the following question on LinkedIn.com: “What is your best single tip to help an individual stay motivated?” Below are some of the perspectives, ideas, and tips. Do you have other ideas or suggestions on how to stay motivated? Please add them within the comments section.
1. Do what you are passionate about! The rest comes naturally. -Kimberly Yow
2. “The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.” Quote by Bobby Knight -Kevin Maloney
3. Attitude— if you are negative, that’s the result you’ll get from your work. Having a strong/positive attitude allows you to brush off any distractions and focus on what’s important to you (life/work….)
–Too many people worry about stupid things, but worrying is like a rocking chair…..gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere. -Jared Grinkis
4. Don’t we all find motivation in different ways? Some are motivated by the carrot, which could in itself be anything from money, commendation, etc. Others are motivated by the stick, temporarily at least. The trick is to find that motivating factor in each person. Have you tried asking the unmotivated person the direct question…what motivates you? -Krystal Jordan
5. I try to sum up the question by replying with the rotation of some quotes in my e-mail signature. They are as follows:
When I Dream Alone it is a Dream, But When we Dream together it is the beginning of reality — Brazilian Proverb
The World is a Better Place Because of Those Who Refuse to Believe they Cannot Fly
EXCELLENCE is the result of: CARING more than others think wise;RISKING more than others think safe; DREAMING more than others think practical; EXPECTING more than others find possible — Anonymous
“Anyone can slay a dragon he told me, but try waking up every morning
and loving the world that’s what takes a real hero” – Seen on the wall
of a retail shop
Hope that helps. I have always believed that everything happens for a reason, even if we do not understand what that reason is. -Daniel Bloom
6. For me it has always come down to goal setting. If I want my goal, more than I want to goof off/avoid the work that I need to do to get the goal, then I will stay motivated. Even if it’s over an extended period of time. -Cathy Jo MorrisJack Raifer LION
7. All I can say is keep moving forward. No matter where you are, keep moving forward. Life is action and movement. No matter what happens or where you are, keep moving forward.
Think of it like this, if you are in a slump, where you think things can´t get worse, only way to get out is moving. If you reach a point were everything seems to be going down the drain, move and you will get a new perspective.
Even in nature, the lazy Gazelle is the one that get´s eaten. A sleepy lion gets no lunch and in the world of humans the ones that are successful are those that took an idea, no matter how mediocre or good, and went with it no matter what. Think about bottled water and how many people were sure it was the lousiest idea ever. -Jack Raifer
8. The best way for an “individual” to stay motivated is to become less of an individual! Interdependence is key in “staying up”. No matter what drives us we will need support when we are weak. “Pity the man who has nobody to help him up”. -Rick Bailey
9. When in doubt, get out of the office and go talk with customers! My outlook always improves when I’ve had a chance to get out of the office, talk with clients, learn more about their businesses and find new ways to help them.
When I sit in the office I see WORK everywhere. When I’m out with clients, I see possibilities. The possibilities are much more fun, even though they lead to more work. -Eric Engwall
10. I would say hope that a goal (or dream) can be reached if the individual works at it, step by baby step. Once hope is gone, it is impossible to stay motivated. -Ellen Kirchman
11. Hang out with winners, not whiners. Successful people breed optimism and hope. -Gene Urban
12. One easy tip – reality. Call out the SWAT (Stop Whining And Try) team – it’s not everyone or everything else that is preventing your success; it is up to you and only you. Reality is a great motivator – in sales there is no prize for second place and you can’t pay for groceries with “well, I tried”. If you are in sales and not motivated please get out. Motivation is a professional gut check.
Now, inspiration is another issue. People can be inspiring by their actions and their words. This is personal to each individual, but stories of triumph and perseverance over adversity are usually a good form of inspiration that can lead to personal motivation. Look to successful people for inspiration, but the motivation needs to come from within. -Eric Hastings
13. Get hungry — either physically or emotionally for something you love doing. -Susan Shwartz PhD
14. When it comes to motivating others, just remember this simple question. “What happens when I see people doing things right?” All of learning takes place through either association or consequences. Make sure that positive productive behaviors get recognized and rewarded. A salary does not pay someone to perform, it pays them to show up. Praise and recognition are both infinite and free, yet rarely used in any systematic way that focuses effort and produces outstanding results. As the great psychologist William James once said, “A man’s greatest desire is to be appreciated for his contributions.” -Thomas Haizlip
15. Setting goals based on our values, mission and roles (as per Covey’s 7 Habits) has helped me stay motivated — because the goals were in alignment with what “matters most”… thus motivation seemed to flow from within. Just my two cents. -Keith Kail
16. The best tip is to write out your goals and review them often. Put the goals in a place where you will stumble upon them. Also, I personally have a board that keeps track of my goals and ideas and have a “started” column and “finished” column. Finishing a task or accomplishing a goal is the best motivation. -Jeffrey Chubb
17. Think of yourself as being in a competition for a bag of gold, or whatever your heart desires, that can be yours, all yours, provided you are willing to strive hard enough, to really push yourself beyond your comfort zone to truly excel. -Judy B. Margolis
18. The dream plus the belief that the dream can be converted to reality.Nothing motivates more than the realisation of the fact that you are capable enough to materialise whatever you desire.Its only your own imagination which is stopping you from achieving the best. -Swati Panda
19. First, take out the head trash. Throw out the negative record collection playing in your head. Set a goal in your mind and think on it daily. Control your thoughts and control your life. The essence of “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. -Chris Metcalf
20. We’re all individually motivated but you could make the generalisation that some are more motivated by a goal and others by solving problems. Often when you’ve lost motivation it’s because you don’t know where you are in relation to your goal or the problem you’re trying to solve. So my tip is – periodically stop and review where you are in relation to either of the above and then work out what you need to in terms of resource. Always congratulate yourself on progress! -Liz Labrum
21. I normally don’t quote others, but this one has seen me through a very rough patch!
“You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.” Quote from Rocky Balboa. -Krunal Desai
22. Keep smiling…even if you have to fake it. -Kelly Gabel
23. Have goals in all six areas of your life. Pick one from each area. Find a role model. Be an understudy. Use visualization and affirmations. Cash the check, enjoy your family…become the person you aspire to become. Motivation is an outcome not an input. Motivation is the belief, held in expecation, that something personally important to you is acheivable. Motivation only comes when you can imagine what you want to have, hold or become. -Greg Deming
24. You can follow the standard “hold a gun to their head” motto in most companies today–do a good job or get downsized–since that has worked so well in the markets… Seriously though, give the person a short start-to-finish project or add a game to the task. A sense of accomplishment helps people to stay focused on the unending tasks of life and work, though, it cannot be busy work–people smell placation like a fart in a car. Adding a game to the task-like “pick the number of new leads that will call today” does the same thing. It involves people in the task at hand and works in short terms to motivate people.
In a previous job, hurricane season brought about a series of tedious tasks every year. To make it go faster/better, we started a contest to pick the number of named storms. Instead of being a dreaded time, people actually started looking forward to the next season to see if they could be the winner of the poll. (The only reward was being the one who got it correct.) -Joe McComas
25. Fear. -Mark Schaefer
26. Surround yourself with what YOU consider to be successful people and strive to be more like them. -Paige Dumoulin
27. This is what works for me, and others that I’ve observed: find out what interests and excites the individual and then find related achievable problems for them to solve, with them receiving the recognition for solving the problem. -Paul Esler
28. When I feel overwhelmed and need motivation, I keeping reciting the old adage that “every journey begins with the first step”. -Vanessa Jackson
29. Winners never quit …. and quitters never win.
Find a way to lift yourself …. smile, volunteer, be in the moment and know
that you are never ever alone.
If all else fails, send me an email … I promise to motivate you. -Lori-Ann Jakel
30. ”Carry a bottle of water in one hand, fertilizer in the other. Put water on the employees who are seeds and watch the GARDEN grow.” -Shatru Naik
31. Say “Thank you”. There’s little more motivating than knowing your time and effort is appreciated. Of course, monetary, or material reward helps, but there’s not much of that around at the moment. -Laura Shapland
32. Go help someone less fortunate than you. The first time I worked in a soup kitchen I realized what really is important. Afterwards I felt silly for some of the things that used to concern me and felt extremely appreciative for the good things that have happened in my life. -Kevin Sasser
33. Don’t try to take on the world alone. Network and build relationships with people who are “for” you. -Eric Pennington
34. Encourage appropriate self-nurturing and energy management. Energetic people who feel loved and loveable will naturally do a great deal more than the minimum expected (and will happily never even think of goldbricking), because they’re fulfilled and enjoying themselves. Needy people who feel ripped off and wanting will naturally avoid giving anything to anyone that they don’t feel has already vastly overpaid for it, and then only give the minimum they can get away with — grudgingly. -Linda Clement
35. Since the question narrows us to focus on a “single tip”… I would say that everyone needs to get absolutely clear as to what their own “WHY” is. Meaning… Why are you doing what you are doing? When your WHY is big enough it will motivate you to rethink, do and evaluate anything that will prevent you from not accomplishing what is most important to you! I believe that when we get discouraged or lose motivation it is because we stopped believing we can actually accomplish our WHY or we havent identified a WHY that’s big enough. Remember; a barrier is what you see when you take your eyes of your WHY (goal). WHY’s are often bigger than any material possession or fading trophy. It’s deeply rooted in your values, beliefs and core philosophy of life or business.
Why do people run into burning builidings where children are inside? Because the WHY YOU MUST is bigger than why you shouldn’t! And “musts” get done while “shoulds” don’t. We have to ask ourselves: Are you absolutely clear as to WHY you are doing, working, or sacraficing as much as you are right now? Are those around you just as clear?
Thanks for asking and for reading! -Sean Oliver
36. You must understand that you are in control of your life. Once you take responsibility for yourself no one can take it away from you. -Charlene King
37. I have an interesting view on Motivation. I used to believe that as a sales rep it was all about the money. Although money is important, being important is more motivating than just money. For me I need to know that what I’m working on, pre and post sales is important to the organization.
The one thing I learned as a sales manager is that as a boss you can’t make people motivated. The individual has to have an internal drive to do whatever it is that they do. That being said, as a manager you can kill motivation faster than anyone else if you are not careful. -Simon Hanauer
38. Always use positive reinforcement and, more important, empathy! If you are able to put yourself in the individual’s shoes, then your clients feel you understand their problem/position and they listen. -Monica Stevens
39. Do you love (whatever you want to stay motivated at) ? If yes…Tip would not be needed. If no…You really need to find something that you love doing… -Sudeep Bhaumick
40. Achievement is by far the biggest self-motivator for anyone. It breeds a inherent and latent feeling of personal success, which in turn builds self confidence to “keep trying more” This achievement doesn’t have to be big, or small, just positive and acknowledged.
A successful Swedish friend of mine is obsessive about writing lists, both at work and in his personal life. Why? Because everytime he achieves something he crosses it off the list. He even writes things on that he’s already done – just to cross it off immediatey.
At the end of the day, he goes to bed with a huge sense of achievement, self value/worth and looks forward to another day.
Try it for a week . . . it actually works. -Paul Stokes
41. Remind yourself of times when you smashed targets and were generally very successful, remember how it felt to be top performer or when you brought in your biggest deal… self motivation is very useful in tough times. -Matt Rogers
42. Only 20% of your effort generate 80% of your sales. Analyze your sales record and focus only on the targets and activities that meet that 20%. You will close more business in less time…very motivating! -Tina Kerkam
43. The biggest way to motivate some1 is showing money on the table. Have a monthly recognition party at your office. Recognize the best performer of the month. It has made wonders for me in my company….-John Smith
44. To truly stay motivated towards what ever profession or goal you are trying to attain, a person must truly understand the core motivation in his/her life. Many salespeople and sales managers love to say or hear “I’m motivated by money.” The flaw in this logic is that money is a means, and not the end. Unless you truly know a concrete reason how much money you need to make and what that is getting you, you will not achieve your goal and not stay motivated when set backs occur.
A single parent that needs to pay mortgage, car payment, day care, food, etc…, and needs to leave by 5 to get home in time to get his/her child, knows how much money he/she needs to make to survive and what needs to happen during the day. This concrete reason will keep them motivated even when rejection and setbacks are knocking them down.
Bottom line, know your core motivation. Why you get up every morning and why you bother to work hard every day. If you don’t know this, no amount of inspirational quotes or motivational CDs will keep you motivated. -Teh Chen
45. Put on your mental body armor each day before hitting the streets. You do so by putting good things in your head such as: 1) Inspirational Storie, quotes etc 2) Comedy , , , Its hard to be negative when you are laughing your tail off! 3) Good Pump Up Music: Music that gets you going, foot tapping, I want to rip bumpers off of cars stuff! 4) Positive inventory of all the things you are grateful for! 5) Review of your goals so you remember to keep moving towards the things that are most important to you! -Paul Castain
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