We’re human. Some days we are feeling the flow. And other days, or weeks, or months, we just aren’t. Here’s something I’ve learned over the years. External sources cannot truly motivate you. Sure a great song, a powerful ted talk, or a seminar can raise your energy and increase your vision. And they are important! I think everyone should attend at least one conference every year that increases your vision and gets you fired up. But then, you go back home. You get into your regular flow and all of the sudden, your energy level drops back to your norm.
Did you even realize that you have an energetic norm? You do. I used to call myself a realist, which was a euphemism for my tendency to pick apart everything and limit the possibilities around me to minimize potential disappointment. To be honest, my norm was kind of negative.
And then I entered the world of entrepreneurship where you HAVE to be positive. You HAVE to believe that everything is going to work out. And fake it till you make it gets really, really exhausting after a while.
I attended conferences twice a year. I had a mentor. I attended rah-rah style weekly meetups. But it still wasn’t enough. I would find my motivation dipping midday. And I found myself losing my steam halfway through every week. Can you relate?
The problem
My problem was the same problem so many other entrepreneurs have. I was looking for other people, or other experiences to motivate me. And I bought into the story that I could only be successful when I was motivated, excited and passionate. I essentially tied my success in business to my emotional state.
Don’t get me wrong, I prefer working when I’m feeling it to having to perform on discipline alone.
But rather than waiting for my emotional state to change, or an external experience to shift my mood, I had to learn that motivation was an inside job.
The Rules of Motivation.
If you’re ready to step into another level in your business and life, I suggest you learn the rules of motivation.
I am in control of how I feel. If you think about it, motivation is an emotion, not a situation. It’s how I feel. And I can change how I feel at any point in time!
I can program myself to feel motivated daily. I recommend that you develop a power up routine. What you do in the first few minutes of the day sets your tone for the day. I start every day with visualization. Some people start with music, or exercise, or declarations.
Daily motivation will raise the level of your energetic norm. I no longer consider myself a pessimist. Or a realist. And if you met me today, you’d probably think that I am a pretty dang positive person. And I am most of the time. I’m not faking it anymore. I truly believe that things are going to work out. How did I make the change? By focusing on daily motivation. It is possible to reprogram your inner dialogue and feel great daily.
Discover what is killing your motivation. I don’t believe that we are unmotivated beings by nature. I think we have motivation killers. It could be lack of sleep, eating crap foods, negative co-workers, or negative self talk. There are so many things that could kill your motivation. You MUST be aware of those killers and protect yourself from them at all cost! My current motivation is overworking myself. So when I unplug early and don’t go back into the office after the kids are in bed, it’s not laziness. It’s me honoring my desire to feel motivated and great tomorrow.
Goals and motivation are best friends. Our goals really contribute to our level of motivation. If you have been working without motivation for a while, and need to infuse a quick boost, set a goal that you are truly excited about. Not one that you know you should set. But one that just makes you happy. And work towards that little win.
Celebrate your wins. Another great boost to your motivation is to start celebrating all of your wins. I admit this is still a weakness of mine. I have a tendency to already be mentally onto the next challenge by the time I’ve accomplished the first. It’s terrible for my motivation level. Why should I be excited to achieve when achievement just means more work? I have to constantly practice celebrating my wins. And I invite you to do it too!
It is so much more fun to be an entrepreneur when you are feeling motivated. And the great news is that you can create that feeling any time!