How To Stay Self-Motivated

A person who can motivate himself needs no external motivation. This is the story of all great lives and great people. Great people, known and unknown to public are self-driven. They chase and achieve what they want irrespective of whether people around them believe they can do it or not. If and only if you have an undying thirst for achievement, can you move ahead or it may be a losing battle that you are fighting. Only the dissatisfied find new paths to get there. “The Best Is Yet To “Come”. If you have a burning desire to forge ahead in life and chase dreams, even the sky cannot limit you. This article attempts to provide a checklist to help you attain your objectives in life.

Secrets of Self-Motivation

• Choose to live life with a purpose
  Quite often, we come across people who go about their lives without an aim in their eyes, the spark and twinkle missing. These are the kind of people for whom life and death mean the same.
  The first step therefore is to choose to live life with a purpose, so that you have something to feel excited about. There is tremendous potential in the power of choice. Believe in it and take responsibility for your choice.
• Have a lifetime goal
  Goals can be classified into various types: personal goals, professional goals, social goals, etc. But besides all these, it is important to have a lifetime goal.
  The lifetime goal will flow from your purpose in life. A lifetime goal has the following characteristics:
  • It excites you beyond imagination
  • It lends your life a higher purpose, which is beyond mere career recognition, money, status, etc.
  • It is something for which the world will know you while you are there and after you are gone
• Talk to yourself
  The people who matter to us most are the ones who listen to our woes. But there may be times when there is no one to talk to. This most often leads to brooding and in extreme cases depression. A very good way of avoiding this is to talk to yourself often. You can do this by going to a secluded place and talking out loud to yourself. This will help you express yourself as well as gain clarity of thought.
• Be independent
  We live in a community set up and often need to take help from others. But it helps to be self-dependent and accomplish one’s task independently. This can be done through constant brushing up of one’s skills and knowledge about one’s area of activity.
  Even when preparing for exams, you don’t really need somebody else’s help. Quite often all that is required to crack a problem is common sense and a sincere attempt to understand the concept.
• Appreciate yourself
  We all lead our lives in the hope of appreciation coming our way and we generally end up feeling demotivated for there is never any, or if there is, it is rare. Actually, you don’t have to look beyond yourself for appreciation. Whenever you do even a simple thing correctly, like getting up on time for a few days or solving a subject-related or real life problem, pat yourself; tell yourself ‘Congratulations, Keep It Up’. Whenever you achieve something significant, gift yourself something from your earnings or pocket money. This will cheer you up.
• Always exude positive energy
  Always exude positive energy and find a way to keep negative thoughts at bay. Constantly build a positive attitude. The way to do this is by seeing the positive side of every event. There are no negative situations in life. In every situation, there is learning and potential for growth.
• Constantly improve yourself
  Reward yourself for every progress made and set higher standards of excellence. Set high standards for yourself and strive to achieve them. Never get into a mindset, which says there’s nothing more to learn or achieve. Never get stuck with your successes and become complacent.
  
• Manage your time and stress
  Lack of time management, among other things leads to stress at the physical and emotional levels. Even while preparing for your examinations, it is important to find time to relax. People who learn to unwind and approach things systematically more often than not succeed in their exams.
  Also, keep a check on your emotions and be careful with your choice of friends. Never be curt, but also don’t get carried away. Essentially, pick out good company and spend time with quality people.

• Lead a balanced life
  There are too many people who have a one-track mind. They keep doing the same things over and over again as if their life depended on it. Passion should not be confused with a one-track mentality. It is important to spread our time and spend it fruitfully with friends and family too. Bookworms acquire marks, not grace.
• Be Passionate
  This is actually the most important in the list of motivators. But by saying it last, I hope you will remember it the longest. If you approach your goal and life with passion, even when the chips are down and there is nobody to cheer you up, your passion will see you perform optimally most of the time. So develop passion and shield yourself against demotivation.
  

The PVPD Principle

It is, however, not enough to only be passionate. Passion needs to be well directed to achieve success. Passion should be backed by a vision, which can be realised only through proper Planning and Discipline.
So here goes your Mantra For Success – the PVPD Principle:

ž Passion ž Vision ž Planning ž Discipline