After reading this, you may will be motivated as I am after finishing it. I’ve collected some of my favorite motivational tips I use in my life to get things done. Be it for school in the past, inside the job or for a side project. Without motivation to actually do it, it will be just a dream.
Create a big vision – a brief look back
Back in 2010, I was 15 and on the way to get my A-Level in three years. I was playing many games and wasting my time on it. I knew it was a kind of waste, but there was no other option to get so much fun. These games gave me a goal to reach in my spare time beside my sports. In one game, a farming browser game, I had to place crops, wait till they grew, harvested them and repeated this process. Soon I started to have more than one account, to play while the other account had to wait. I didn’t know something about programming, but my dad did. I asked him to write a program for me, which can do the login and farming thing for me, that I can do the other things in the game, which are way more fun. He replied he will help me doing it, but I had to do it by myself. He will help me with any questions I got and show me the basics of programming, but I had to do it on my own. My vision was created. I want to learn to programme to be the best player on the server. It was cheating ingame, but who cares.
I started to invest my time in programming and growing my farm accounts. Awesome! I was just a kid without any programming knowledge but thought I can do it, and finally did.
Think about who you like to be, your goals and write down or figure the steps out which are needed. Then simply start with it.
Basketball – think outside the box
As a kid, I played basketball as a hobby in my school. Sometimes, my trainer told me to dribble with my left hand, so the enemy can’t forecast how I will attack. I could only reply “no I can’t dribble with the other hand”. My Trainer: “of course you can, you just don’t try. To fear it won’t work as well as with the other hand is what you are doing.”
We all know this fear when it comes to trying something new, to developing a new habit in order to become more efficient. A new habit may seem a little strange at first, but if we don’t try it in the first place, we will never be able to use even the slightest success. And this way of thinking motivates me to try new things as often as I can. Only challenges will test us and make us better.
Planning
If we got the plan who we want to be, we have to plan the steps for how we get there. Are there others who did it in a similar way? Is there a book which can get us a hint how to do it? When you plan your path, the purpose and intention should be written down and fixed. Planning an hour saves three hours of useless testing because you follow a strict path. In the beginning, it’s not about making everything perfect. It’s about finding a way for yourself that’s efficient and good for you. Well planned ways will motivate you more and more the further you go. Just try it!
Distraction
While I’m writing or creating something, I always search for a quiet place. Hearing music that sets my mind on a powerful level and covers me from distractions like other people talking or my mobile phone. With this music, your chemicals in your body will change and you feel good and happy. A very nice way to spend a few hours. Motivation and Energy will flow through your body. If you found a funny side of your work, your motivation is boundless… We sing because we are happy, so search for your favorite song and sing it!
As a kid, I was allowed to watch TV from 6:00 pm. The day ended for me from that time, because for years I did nothing else than watch TV in the evening. And my friends were fine. Appointment went a maximum of 5:30 pm because we all had to watch our favorite shows and movies.
Kill the television if you know you are watching too much. I assume you won’t because you are reading this, but if you haven’t, try it. You will have so much time in the afternoon, just for not turning on the TV.
Start with little steps
As I started with my whiteboard animations, my first video was just 10 seconds drawing something. But I finished it. Start in baby steps to actually start it. If can’t convince you to start walking, just convince yourself to take on your sports shoes … and the rest will follow. That’s the reason why so many games reward daily logging in. They know the player will stay once they get there. To start this little step is easy. You are more likely to start, and therefore it gets finished.
Run away from your friends
Leaving all your friends behind may be a little extreme. What I mean by that is find new friends to support your goals and build you up once you’re in a deep. When you’re friends are pessimists, your opportunities fly away and disappear. So look for friends who have the same or similar goal. Example: Steve Jobs would not have come this far without his partner Steve Wozniak who had the same goal.
Be happy first
Many of us think they will be happy when they reach a specific goal in the future. We think happiness is out there and will come to us. The problem here is that it may never happen. Find ways to fill your life with things that bring you joy. Fill your entire life with joy, not only with the goal of having it, in the end. You can bring yourself happiness. You alone 🙂