Motivation Article:
10 Action Steps to Motivate Yourself
to Success in Life
By Ed Sykes
The following are ten motivation action steps you can take to motivate yourself in work, business, and life:
1.
Positive
Affirmations for Success
Our subconscious mind is a
wonderful tool for success or failure. It will do what we tell it to do. It
all depends on what thoughts we feed it. So why not feed your inner mind with
only positive thoughts. The following are some examples of positive
affirmations you can feed your inner mind for success:
§
“Today, I
will win because I have faith, courage and enthusiasm.”
§
“I see
failure only as a signpost on my road to success.”
§
“When I feel
stress, I will relax and release my stress before I take on my next task.”
§
“I always
write down my priorities, thinking of my responsibilities. I may not get
everything done, but I will do the most productive thing possible at every given
moment.”
§
“I am a
winner, I work for a winning organization, and because of my contribution and
cooperation we will keep on winning.”
§
“Today, I
will see opportunity in every challenge offered to me.”
2.
Positive
Language for Success
Recent research has come out
that 75% of daily conversation is negative. Whether it is the words we use or
the body language, we need to communicate in a positive manner all the time.
The following are some
examples of how you can turn negative words into positive communication:
§
Instead of
saying “problem,” call it “opportunity.”
§
Instead of an
action being a “failure,” describe it as a “learning experience.”
§
Instead of “I
have to,” say “I choose to.” This gives control for your actions back to you.
§
Instead of
saying, “There’s nothing I can do,” say, “Let’s look at our alternatives.”
§
Instead of
saying, “That’s just the way I am,” say, “I choose a different approach.”
§
Instead of
saying, “He makes me so mad,” say, “I control my own feelings.”
If you notice, by using the
positive response, you have control over your actions and life.
3.
Exercise for
Success
A Gallup survey found the
following among men and women who have taken up exercise recently:
§
66 percent
report a more relaxed life
§
62 percent a
new surge of energy
§
55 percent less
stress
§
51 percent
better looks
§
46 percent more
confidence
§
45 percent
better love life
§
44 percent
greater job satisfaction
§
37 percent more
creative on their jobs
These are great motivators to
exercise! Next time you feel demotivated, give your body a workout. Recent
research reports that as little as fifteen minutes three times a week has
profound effects. Get moving. Get motivated.
4.
Take Risks for Success
We all
live our lives in comforts zones, avoiding risky situations, avoiding the
potential to fail. It’s real safe for us. But in order to get ahead of your
competition and master the ongoing change in your life, you must go out of your
comfort zone. Start one step at a time. Try that little new thing, that
different approach. It could be as simple as taking different routes to and
from work. Once in a while I like to “take the road less traveled” to stir up
my creative juices. Then, keep stepping out of your zone. It may seem
uncomfortable at first. But the more you do it, the more it will seem natural
and you will see an increase in your creative juices and opportunities you never
thought about before.
5.
Positive Reading for Success
Read
about the lives of successful people. Make sure you read only those people that
embrace the timeless values that make them truly successful through the ages.
Not the “success today, scandal tomorrow” success stories that we are
experiencing today. People like Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, Fred Smith
of Federal Express, Mary Kay Ash of Mary Kay, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham
Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are good examples.
These are people who overcame enormous challenges, created real value for
others, or changed other people’s lives for the better.
6.
Positive Visualizations for Success
Condition yourself to paint your vision for success. One of the best ways to do
this is the following:
§
Go to a quiet
place in your home or elsewhere. Turn off all radios, televisions, etc.
§
Find a
comfortable chair and get into a relaxed state of mind.
§
Start thinking
about one goal you want to accomplish. Remember, visualize as if you are
already accomplishing this goal.
§
Visualize
taking all the necessary steps to successfully complete these goals. The better
your visualization, where you can actually see, feel, hear, and touch your
vision, the more real it is to you.
§
Visualize any
challenges to your successful completion of this goal and how you will eliminate
this challenges.
§
Visualize how
good it feels to complete this goal. Visualize what benefits it will bring to
you, your family, friends, co-workers, etc. Enjoy the moment!
Important: If you don’t take time to see it, it won’t happen!
7.
Think Big for Success
See
the big picture in everything we do. So much of our time is wasted dealing with
the unimportant things in our lives (what that person said or did, the driver
who cut us off this morning, and activities which don’t add value to our lives,
etc.) that we forget about the big picture. We were put on this earth to make a
difference. We make a difference for our families, our communities, our
organizations, and for ourselves. All of our actions must be put into action
with this concept in mind. Think a little bigger today than yesterday, and
you’ll create a better future tomorrow. Thinking big leads to great actions.
Thinking small leads to small results. So Think BIG!
8.
Set Goals for Success
The
fastest way to fail in life is to not set clear goals. Set goals in the
financial, family, health, spiritual, and career areas. Your goals must
incorporate the SMART techniques or else it’s just a “conversation in the park.”
§
S for
specific
§
M for
measurable
§
A for
attainable
§
R for
realistic
§
T for
time-based
For
example, you might have a goal of achieving $2 million for retirement in twenty
years. After doing your research, a SMART goal would be the following:
“I
will acquire $2 million dollars for retirement by 2024. I will do this by
contributing $20K, or $1667 per month, to my various retirement funds each
year. Of the $20k each year, $2k will go to my IRA, and $18K will go into my
organization’s retirement program.”
Remember the most detail you can add, the more realistic your goal becomes.
9.
Positive Appearance for Success
Super
achievers are very careful about their appearance and their movements. They
know that looking good translates into feeling good. Billy Crystal, of
Saturday Night Live and movie fame, once played a character that was known
for saying, “It is better to look good than to feel good.” What he was really
implying was the “fake it until you make it” concept. In other words, if we are
feeling down, then think positively and your mind will tell your body to follow
suit and act positively. Also always dress the part of an achiever. Model the
dress, actions, and behaviors of someone who is successful and embraces the long
term values of successful people. This will also tell your mind that I am an
achiever.
Don’t
let that be the deciding factor on being motivated. You can easily distinguish
those who are motivated from those who are not motivated just by looking at
their appearance and their movements. The motivated move forward, onward and
upward with confidence.
10.
Helping Others for Success
Develop an obsession to help others. Share your special talents without
expecting a reward, payment, or commendation. And above all else, keep your
good deed a secret.
You
know what, it you apply the helping techniques to others, it will automatically
come back to you tenfold in a number of ways. First, the enjoyment of knowing
that a special talent you had made someone else’s life better. Second, because
you didn’t seek it, word will spread about you and your deeds. This will be
translated into unexpected riches and opportunities. Third, you will gain a new
level of confidence in knowing that you can make a difference. Super achievers
find motivation and meaning by helping others.
Additional Motivation Reading
Resources:
Are You Building Your Foundation of Success: Six Secrets of Motivating Yourself for Success
Appreciate to Motivate
(The Key to Successful Team Building)
Are You Building Your Foundation of Success: Six Secrets of Motivating Yourself for Success
Employee
Motivation, Don Imus, and Team Building: Five Secrets of Motivated Teams
Adversity: Your Seed of
Greatness (Three Secrets to Using
Adversity to Become Great)
Connect the Dots! Your Roadmap for Success
Seven Secrets to Being the Leader Everyone
Wants to Work For
Five Secrets to Becoming the Perfect Employee
That Everyone Wants – Part One
Have You Appreciated Someone Today?
Nine Ways Johnny Carson Can
Help You Run Outstanding Meetings
You Mean I Need to
Promote Myself to Get a Promotion? 5 Promotion Secrets to Get the Job You Want!
Five Secrets to
Gaining Credibility with Your Team for Outstanding
Results
Five Secrets to
Creating a "Goal" Medal Life - Part 2
How Appetizing Is
Your Feedback? (5 Steps to Giving Effective Feedback)
Five Secrets to Creating a
"Goal" Medal Life
Ten Techniques for
Motivating Others Through Chaos
10
Action Steps to Motivate Yourself to Great Accomplishments
Eight Ways to Motivate
Part-Time Employees
Delegate to Accelerate Success
(How to Prepare
Yourself and Others for Success)
The
Greatest Gift of All - The Gift of Empowerment
Leadership Secrets for Challenging Times
Goal Setting Secrets to Jumpstart Your Life
Want to learn how to be a motivated achiever? Our
Master Your Attitude,
Team Building,
Life After Downsizing,
How to Develop the Leader Within You,
Time Management Skills to Achieve More, and
How to Handle Workplace Stress and Master Your Life programs can
help you lead others to the next level. Also read our
articles on motivation, goal setting, etc. Call us at 757-427-7032 or
e-mail us at
info@thesykesgrp.com.
Ed Sykes is a professional speaker published in
the areas of leadership, change management, customer service and teamwork. He
works with business and government organizations who want to reach the next
level of success and individuals who want to perform at their best. You
can email him at esykes@thesykesgrp.com,
call him at (757) 427-7032 or visit his Web site at
www.thesykesgrp.com.
