The Blog For Entrepreneurs

Motivation is a funny thing. You may be sitting at your desk now reading this wondering where to get the energy to make the next call or to make the next presentation on behalf of your company or even write the next blog post or start the days marketing. Surfing the web for some inspiration has become a time consuming past time at many companies and it is time that an entrepreneur could be doing more productive things.

Don’t get me wrong, I am glad you stopped by, but like everything else in business you need to have a strategy for moments like this, and I would suggest that surfing the net for a few hours is not a good one. You need to be able to instantly change your state and become motivated. Mumbo Jumbo? I used to think that until I started concentrating on what really motivates me and there are many things.

Goals

Take a look at your goals again. Focus on the words written on your goal plan. If there is a new house on your goals list, go have a look at that house, if it’s a car, go to the showroom. If you haven’t written your goals down, do it now.

Get Motivated By Words

Words are very powerful. Most of us have a word that if someone says it we explode. It could be a word, or the tonality in which someone says it that triggers negative emotions, perhaps from childhood or from an intense moment in your life. But like Newton’s Law ‘Every action has an equal and opposite reaction’ there are words that can instantly motivate us.

For me I remember one thing and focus on it and it changes my state instantly. I was a bit of a sports jock when I was kid. Captain of the football team, athletics etc and I hated to lose. I was not a bad loser, I just didn’t like it. I ran in a cross country competition at a fairly high level and came second. I was pretty pleased, they guy who came first was awesome.

When I got home I told my father about it. He looked at me and said “That is a great effort son, but how do you feel about being first of the losers?” This might seem a harsh thing to say, but my Dad knew what I was like. I hated to lose, and I had accepted defeat and not left everything I had on that cross country course.

Whenever I start to feel like giving up, or I need motivating for some reason I always ask myself “How will I feel to be first of the losers”. Man, I can tell you, it kicks my ass immediately. I am smiling even now!

Take a look at what words, what tonality, what feeling or what images you can induced that change your state instantaneously. Even if you cannot find something act as if you can. Act as if you are motivated, change your posture, change your breathing, change your facial expressions. You will be surprised at the results.

Anchoring

Ever listened to a song on the radio and it has taken you back to a good or bad time in your life. It almost give you the same state as you were in then. You can have something like that in the future by anchoring positive feelings and experiences. For example, this is what I do. Every time I experience a fabulous positive experience I wiggle my toes. Yep, sounds stupid, but I do it every time.

If I am down or need a pick me up, I just wiggle my toes and I am reminded of those positive feelings. Stop laughing and just try it!

Go Do Some Exercise

Every morning I take a bike ride for 10-20k’s depending on the time I have. When I have finished an published this post, that is where I am going. The physical benefits of getting fit are obvious, the psychological benefits not so. Taking time out to exercise allows you to clear your mind it allows your body to generate motivational chemicals. If you are at your desk right now, I know you can’t exactly start doing press ups, but maybe at lunchtime, skip the pub and go to the gym, or maybe just even take a long walk.

This was just a few tips to help you give yourself a little boost today. Do remember one thing when you are down or lack some energy, and that is that you are in control of your mind and your body and you can make it do whatever you want. Take a look at this video and realise how crazy special we all are: