Some Useful Tools for Self-Motivation

Self-motivation has a lot of advantages over being motivated by other people. For one thing, self-motivation gets past all of your subconscious defenses. When another is motivating a person, he or she already has an opinion about whether or not to be affected. People have subconscious defenses regarding the ideas that other people introduce to them. Some people may appear to accept your idea and be motivated, but they often revert back to their lack of enthusiasm once the motivation session ends.

Self-motivation can also last longer since it does not rely on other people to make it work. Think about this example: Josh is discouraged from studying by the unemployment statistics today. His Father motivates him to study by telling him about the different advantages of having a degree. However, the father soon loses his job because of budget cuts at the company. Because of this, Josh loses his motivation.

The danger with another person motivating us lies in the fact that we must be able to see some valid proof that that person indeed has the authority to do so. If that person loses that certain mark of authority, we also lose our motivation. However, each of us inherently trusts ourselves. Because of this, the only way that we can lose self-motivation is if we find out that we have been mind-wiped. And that's a very unlikely even tot happen.

Here are some tools that you can use for self-motivation:

1) Writing – Writing is a great tool for self-motivation. Through writing, we can learn how to examine our thoughts and find out what is it that drives us to do what we do. Through writing, you will be able to gain an understanding as to your reason for doing things. However, you should be careful to keep an objective view of your motivation.

One example of using writing as a tool to understand self-motivation is through a diary. Why do you think people write in diaries? Obviously, they do not do it just to express themselves. If expression was the main reason behind this, people could just as easily talk to a rock. People write in diaries and journals to examine their actions and their thoughts. They do this to find the motivation they need to live.

Aside from understanding self-motivation, writing can also be used as an actual medium for self-motivation. In fact, people all over the world have been doing this for a long time. How many times have you written a reminder to yourself? When you think about it, people write self-motivation messages all the time. Some people put up posters on their cubicles to motivate them to keep on working.

2) Pictures – Images are also great tools for self-motivation. People often make use of pictures to motivate themselves to do things. Have you ever since the picture of the three monkeys depicting "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"? That is one form of a picture made for self-motivation. Some workers put up pictures of successful people to signify a goal that they want to reach. By looking at a picture which bears a deep message, a person can easily attain self-motivation.

These two tools are the most commonly used self-motivation tools by people today. This is because they are quick to provide the message that people need to keep them going.

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