| SolveYourProblem
Article Series: Motivation
What Will It Take To Motivate Me?
Stay
Motivated: Make a Contract With Yourself
Motivation is defined as, why people do what
they do. Long-term motivation can be difficult when you do
not make yourself stick to your goals. Most people make goals,
but those who are successful have the discipline and drive
to achieve their goals and dreams.
Different
things motivate people. Some are driven by internal
or intrinsic motivation. Others need extrinsic motivation,
or outside forces, to help them stay on track. One easy way
to help you achieve your goals is to make a contract with yourself
and work hard to stick to it. Sign it, date it and keep track
of it.
The first step in making a contract with your self to stay
motivated is to make an outline. When you make an outline in
your contract, you will list long-term goals, short-term goals,
payoffs and benefits, rewards and a detailed action plan. By
having everything you need to know about achieving your goals,
you will stay motivated. Before making this outline, take some
time and think about what exactly you want to accomplish. Maybe
you want to reorganize your home, or maybe you want to try
out a new fitness plan. Perhaps you want to go back to school
and finish a degree. Whatever it is, you will need to do some
research and understand each step you will need to accomplish.
When you list your long-term
goals, you will make a list of
the things you want to achieve within one to three years. Try
to be very specific so you will know exactly what you are working
towards. If you want to lose thirty pounds, your long-term
goals will be to lose the weight through diet and exercise.
Your long-term goals will be your final end result that you
are working towards. This works for almost any goal and will
help you in staying focused and motivated to reach your goals.
Short-term
goals will be things that you want to accomplish
within weeks or months. If you are working on going back to
school, your short-term goals may be to request school applications
and catalogs or to talk to a financial aid office about your
payment options. Your short-term goals should be specific and
should be something that you can accomplish in a short amount
of time. Short-term goals are also important because once you
finish one goal; you will feel motivated by knowing you are
one step closer in reaching that long-term goal.
Your next step in making
a contract with yourself is to list
payoffs and benefits of your goals and achievements. While
losing weight is a benefit, you will want to list the reason
why you want to lose weight. Maybe the payoff is fitting into
a certain size jeans again or looking great for an upcoming
reunion. Maybe it is because you want to better your health
by losing weight. Again, you should be specific when you set
these benefits in your contract because it will help you stay
motivated.
Now you can think about rewards. Rewards are important when
you are setting goals for yourself. When you think about rewards,
think about the fun things that you will accomplish by reaching
your goals. Lose that weight and buy a new dress. Reorganize
you house and get a new couch. Whatever you think it the best
part about reaching your goals, use that as a reward to help
stay motivated.
The last part in setting a contract with your self is to have
a specific action plan. An action plan will tell you what steps
you need to take to reach your final goal. It is here that
you will list what you need to change, do, or accomplish in
a day, a week, a month or a year. This action plan will help
keep you motivated to reach your end goal. List your action
plan and keep it in mind everyday you are working towards your
goal.
When you take the time to make an official contract with yourself,
you will stay motivated and ready to reach your goals. It will
be easier when you can see your long and short-term goals in
writing and know what rewards and benefits are waiting for
you along the way. Your action plan will help you stay on track
when you are working hard to accomplish your goals and dreams.
# # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
> Home > Motivation
Articles : Main Page
|
