“You may be the only person left who believes in you, but it’s enough. It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness. Never give up.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich
Why Is Self Motivation Important?
If you want to achieve anything in life then you have to have the ability to motivate yourself. It is an important skill that will help you keep going even in the face of setbacks or outright failures.
Let me give you a personal example. The road to this blog wasn’t a quick one. There wasn’t an epiphany one day that I was going to write on how to set goals or even write at all for a living. It was a long road of menial jobs, ranging from sales assistant to public administrator jobs. A couple of failed businesses and long stares in the mirror at 5 o’clock in the morning.
The only things I had going for myself were my wife’s undying support and my own self-motivation. My knowing that I can “make it”. And that is more than enough. I now have several streams of income that are a direct result of that.
Read more What Is Motivation? Easy Way To Own It Quickly
Motivation And Self Motivation
Or extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. I’ll explain the differences and how both these types of motivation can help us to be more productive.
Extrinsic motivation
It’s a type of motivation that comes from outside in the form of a reward. These are the types of motivation that we use on our kids by making them do homework so they could, in exchange, play video games later for example.
The same things happen at your workplace for example. Your boss is dangling that coveted promotion over your head in exchange for your hard work and ass-kissing.
I’m not saying that it’s bad or anything because this blog you’re reading is powered by both types of motivation. I’m trying to write good blog posts because it gives me pleasure to help people (intrinsic) but also because it helps me get more readers which equals more money (extrinsic).
Related reading Most Watched & Best Motivational Speeches You Need To See Now
Intrinsic Motivation
I already gave you an example above. It’s the type of motivation that comes from within. The self-drive that makes you get better at things. The truth is, you don’t need anyone to motivate you in doing something that’s worth doing. If it’s important to you, you’ll get up at 5 am no matter what.
Intrinsic motivation is an energizing of behavior that comes from within an individual, out of will and interest for the activity at hand. No external rewards are required to incite the intrinsically motivated person into action. The reward is the behavior itself. msu.edu
Impostor Syndrome
You need to keep the negative, nagging voices inside your head at a minimum. Because they never go away, even when you’re successful, you have to keep the volume down.
There is this well-known phenomenon that’s called impostor syndrome. A recent study showed that 85% of UK adults admitted to feeling inadequate or incompetent at work, and almost 70% don’t feel they deserve their current success.
Of those surveyed, only 25% were aware of the existence of this syndrome. Be aware that this is a natural occurrence and that most of us feel it at times. Your boss isn’t some superhuman being, he probably battles with feelings of inadequacy just like you do.
Don’t Give Up
Every business or relationship or anything else in life that’s worth pursuing will have difficult times. Author Seth Godin calls it the Dip. Some of the Dips are purposefully built to weed out the weak from the strong, like multiple rounds of stressful interviews or an exceptionally difficult mandatory class in the first year of medical school. If you recognize these Dips for what they are, you can find comfort that they’re supposed to be this hard and that it will get easier if you just stick with it.
In his book, The Dip, he explains that although it is virtually unavoidable, there is often light at the end of the tunnel. Those that show patience and determination will be rewarded when growing pains come to an end.
But also;
It’s OK To Fail
Sometimes you’ll hit a brick wall that is just too wide and too tall. At this stage probably your best option would be to call it quits. And that is ok. Plenty of successful people had numerous failed attempts before they were an “overnight success”. You see, people don’t see what is happening in the backstage, sometimes we only get to see someone’s success and not their failures.
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.”
J.K. Rowling
Here is a list of 21 Famous Failures Who Refused to Give Up.
Fail, fail and fail some more. That’s how you’ll learn quickly what works for you and what doesn’t. You can’t just do mental exercises. You have to go out there and expose yourself. You have got to give it your best shot.
If you fail, recap objectively what went wrong and what went right. Learn from it and move on. Each failure will leave a battle scar that will remind you and make you stronger.
“Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward.”
John C. Maxwell
Self Motivation Techniques
I’ll lay out a few proven techniques of self-motivation I use myself.
1) Remember your past successes
When you hear that negative voice creeping up on you, remember what you’ve already accomplished. It can be as simple as remembering when you did 20 pushups in a row or when you made your first website from scratch or how you nailed that first diaper you changed on your kid. You get it, think of something positive that you did.
2) Remember your why
You have to have a strong reason for achieving that goal that’s important to you. Why is it that you’re persistent and adamant of achieving it.
3) Break it down
Whatever difficult task you have in front of you, break it down. Make it manageable and you’ll be able to eat the elephant in no time. Read how Elon Musk does it.
4) Visualize the end result
Have a clear image in your mind of how success looks like once you’ve achieved it. See it, feel it, smell it.
5) Keep at it!
Continue doing something even if you want to stop. Do it EVERY DAY. The compound effect is the strategy of reaping huge rewards from small, seemingly insignificant actions. It is a real thing, so use it to your advantage!
Related post How To Wake Up Early And Gain Back A Whole Month For Yourself
Self Motivation Quotes
“Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It’s your masterpiece after all.”
Self Motivation Quotes
― Nathan W. Morris
“Always choose the future over the past. What do we do now?”
― Brian Tracy
“When you work on something that only has the capacity to make you 5 dollars, it does not matter how much harder you work – the most you will make is 5 dollars.”
― Idowu Koyenikan
“You are your master. Only you have the master keys to open the inner locks.”
― Amit Ray
“Depression weighs you down like a rock in a river. You don’t stand a chance. You can fight and pray and hope you have the strength to swim, but sometimes, you have to let yourself sink. Because you’ll never know true happiness until someone or something pulls you back out of that river–and you’ll never believe it until you realize it was you, yourself who saved you.”
― Alysha Speer
“Never allow your mind to wander untamed like a wild animal that exists on the basis of survival of the fittest. Tame your mind with consistent focus on your goals and desires.”
― Stephen Richards
“Do not depend on good motivator!
Find your words of self-motivation!”
― Toba Beta
“Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.”
― Germany Kent
“Whatever you think the world is withholding from you, you are withholding from the world.”
― Eckhart Tolle
“No man is ever just one thing.”
― Michael Scott
“The possibility of the dream gives strength.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita
“Never be bitter, become better. A testimony is pain that has been reassigned”
― Johnnie Dent Jr.
“Hard work never cheats, it leads to success.”
― Md Parvej Ansari
“All improvement is self-improvement.”
― Richie Norton
“Convince yourself everyday that you are worthy of a good life. Let go of stress, breathe. Stay positive, all is well.”
― Germany Kent
“The first place where self-esteem begins its journey is within us.”
― Stephen Richards
“Fear will keep you grounded in the wrong way; take the leap and soar.”
― Martika Shanel
“Of course, motivating yourself has little to do with energy — and everything to do with decisions.
Choosing to do something, especially if it seems difficult, might be hard. You need to decide whether the task is worth the effort.”
― Gina Barreca
“Don’t do things simply because you can do them. Have an extraordinary reason behind your actions; Let your heart guide you.”
― Efrat Cybulkiewicz
“Success start when you start believing in yourself that you can.”
― Krizha Mae G. Abia
“We overcome the fears resulting from uncertainty by celebrating incremental success.”
― Mozella Ademiluyi
“Let today be so awesome that yesterday feels jealous.”
― Madhurima Jain
“Every day the world chips away at your self-confidence. Like a muscle, it weakens when it is not put to good use. To reach greater success you will need to continually develop your self-confidence.”
― Daphne Michaels
“You cannot begin, until you begin.”
Self Motivation Quotes
― Tony Cleaver
“Impossible is just a word. Just believe in yourself, maximize your imagination & step forward”
― Remon Rakibul
“One day, you will be celebrated all over the world. You will be a well of inspiration from which others pull their strength. Don’t give up now. Just get back to work.”
― Chinonye J. Chidolue
“Remember you are a limited edition as you are an original – not a copy”
― Karon Waddell
“Taking repetitive steps toward a goal is tedious work, and, we fall more often than we would like to admit. This is why the emphasis on daily steps is so critical. No matter how boring or endless they may be; the way to align and realign with them is to pause, look around at how far you’ve come, celebrate, and then keep moving forward.”
― Mozella Ademiluyi
“I didn’t change, I just found myself.”
― Good Life Quotes
“Often the issue is not that you don’t have the capacity to change the situation you are in. The real issue is your lack of awareness that you already have what it takes”
― Edgar Mangwende
“Don’t ever let the light of your soul dim, even if the world seems black and white.”
― Tilicia Haridat
“Perfect people make for a boring novel”
― Hermy L McCabe
“Inspiration may come from many places but motivation – the love of life, daily drive and the will to thrive – that must come from you from within”
― Rasheed Ogunlaru
“There is no “i” in team. But there are two in motivation. ”
― T. Jay Taylor
“A good life is doing what you love as much as you can and doing what you must as much as you should”
― Savania China
“The ones who want to achieve and win championships motivate themselves.”
― Mike Ditka
“Never underestimate the power of willingness and self motivation.”
― Angela Vallely
“In searching for myself, I have created myself.”
― Ljupka Cvetanova
“Your personal growth is the only thing that matters. You own and write your story; no one else does. Believe in your unique steps up the mountain.”
― Brittany Burgunder
“If you have to do the work, do it well, with all your heart.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita
Self Motivation Fitness Quotes
“The activity which seems unthinkable today can become your warm-up in the future!”
Self Motivation Fitness Quotes
― Francis Shenstone
“A great body can not be achieved on couch so get up and do something..”
― Odeta Rose
“Working hard is not a waste of time, but a state of mind. Keep pushing your limits until you reach the edge. Then be kind and rewind.”
― Ana Claudia Antunes
“Your body is your body. Learn about it.”
― Josh Bezoni
“Until you believe you can do it, it’s going to be difficult to convince anyone else you can do it.”
― Toni Sorenson
“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable!”
― Jillian Michaels
“The individual who says it is not possible should move out of the way of those doing it.”
― Tricia Cunningham
“Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy-ass weights.”
― Ronnie Coleman
“The deadlift also serves as a way to train the mind to do things that are hard.”
― Mark Rippetoe
“The grass is not ‘greener’ on the other side – it is just another shade of green.”
― Annika Sorensen
“Weight loss doesn’t begin in the gym with a dumb bell; it starts in your head with a decision.”
― Toni Sorenson
“I don’t count my sit-ups; I only start counting when it starts hurting because they’re the only ones that count.”
― Muhammed Ali
“What we do every day matters more than what we do once in a while..”
― Gretchen Rubin
“Keep your body fit as long as you are alive, because there is no one else will do that for you.”
― Mayestron
“Action does not get one to the destination, action IS the destination.”
― Brian S Woods
