Are You Flying to the Stars or Staring Into Space?

Written by Martin Avis


Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly. >>> Stephen R. Covey, motivational writer.

There are two kinds of motivation: motivating others, and motivating yourself. They are very different beasts, but tame them and you will succeed.

In truth, there is only self-motivation. Motivating others is simplyrepparttar creation of an environment in which they can become self-motivated.

Shouting at an employee; using a stick to beat work out of your workers; threatening them with loss of privilege, benefits or job are tactics all too often used inrepparttar 123829 corporate world. They may well provide short-term motivation, but they are negative. Resentment will grow, attitudes will decline,repparttar 123830 threats will get louder, andrepparttar 123831 spiral will continue downward. Institutionalized negativity can never produce long-term positive results.

Institutionalized positivity, however, is likerepparttar 123832 'light' taught about inrepparttar 123833 Kabbalah. It is a glorious force that is all-pervading. It has a power far greater than its ten little letters can begin to signify.

Whenrepparttar 123834 boss stops saying 'If you don't finish all that pile by 5pm, your job is onrepparttar 123835 line', and starts saying 'Thank you for putting inrepparttar 123836 extra effort on that job - it was vital torepparttar 123837 company and your contribution has been fantastic', his staff will be able to beginrepparttar 123838 climb towardsrepparttar 123839 light of self- motivation.

Of course that is a simplistic message. Everyone has different buttons that need to be pressed. Some may want recognition, some praise, some self-determination, some material reward, some fun. An enlightened (there's that light again) manager spends time finding out what those buttons are.

'People become motivated when you guide them torepparttar 123840 source of their own power and when you make heroes out of employees who personify what you want to see inrepparttar 123841 organization.' So said Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop.

But this article is really about self motivation. Your motivation and mine.

So I ask again, are you flying torepparttar 123842 stars, or staring into space?

You can easily do either. Sometimes even washingrepparttar 123843 dishes seems more important and interesting than earning a buck. I've done it myself: spent all day fussing around, tidying my desk, staring out ofrepparttar 123844 window, reading a magazine, making coffee, checking out a website, cutting my nails. By bedtime I've achieved absolutely nothing of value at all.

What isrepparttar 123845 psychological barrier to getting on with what is important?

Maybe it isn't interesting enough. Perhaps it isn't profitable enough. Could it be that it isn't fun enough?

The truth is, that at that precise moment, it just isn't important enough.

People in offices are well aware ofrepparttar 123846 last minute syndrome. No matter how many weeks you have to prepare for a major presentation or meeting, you will always be rushing to get it done atrepparttar 123847 last minute.

We tell ourselves that we work better under pressure. That we needrepparttar 123848 adrenaline kick to produce our best work. That we are so busy we wouldn't have been able to do it any earlier anyway.

All nonsense, of course.

We simply persuade our brains thatrepparttar 123849 job isn't really important until it is urgent.

How, then, do we make each job important enough to motivate ourselves to get on with it?

Because we are blessed with brains that are contrary, we have to resort to tricks. Here is how you can sneak up on yourself.

YOUR “SUCCESS” INSTINCT

Written by Rhoberta Shaler


Do you know aboutrepparttar "success instinct"? A squirrel does not have to be taught how to gather nuts. Nor does it need to learn that it should store them forrepparttar 123828 winter. A squirrel born inrepparttar 123829 spring has never even experienced a winter. Yet inrepparttar 123830 fall ofrepparttar 123831 year you can observe that squirrel busily storing nuts forrepparttar 123832 lean winter months. Birds do not take nest-building lessons. They have no ability to read maps, yet they can return to exact locations year after year. These instincts assistrepparttar 123833 animal to successfully cope with its environment. This isrepparttar 123834 "success instinct".

You have a success instinct as well. Animal's goals are pre-set; yours are completely up to your creative imagination. An animal's success is limited to its built-in goal-images that we call instincts; your success is unlimited.

You are not a machine, however, you do have a "servo-mechanism". Maxwell Maltz wrote that "...your physical brain and nervous system make up a servo-mechanism which you use, and which operates very much like an electronic computer, and a mechanical goal-seeking device. Your brain and nervous system constitute a goal-striving mechanism, which operates automatically to achieve a certain goal, very much as a self-aiming torpedo or missile seeks out its target and steers its way to it. Your built-in servo-mechanism functions both as a "guidance system' to automatically steer you inrepparttar 123835 right direction to achieve certain goals, or make correct responses to environment, and also as an "electronic brain" which can function automatically to solve problems, give you needed answers, and provide new ideas or 'inspirations'."

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