Hard Task? Let’s Try Self Motivation

You may have noticed that I missed my typical posting day this past week. It’s not that I didn’t want to make a post, but some different things that have come up made me more busy and I didn’t have time to sit down and focus on writing a post.

Self motivation is one of the hardest things to achieve. Self motivation requires having the ability to push ourselves to complete a goal or task without having others assist. Something that comes to mind when I think of self motivation is sports. Though there is a coach for the team, the players have to make the decision to try as hard as they can in order to be successful. It’s not an easy task, especially when the task at hand is physically or mentally straining.

After retiring from organized sports, I have found myself in a lot of life situations that require self motivation. The biggest difference between these challenges and sports is the lack of coaching. For the most part, there are no coaches in life. Life is a game that is too hard to master, so there’s no coach at the helm that knows the skills and game plan required to win. Though there are a lack of coaches, there are people in the world and our lives that have achieved the same or similar goals that we are working toward. These people can be our allies and people we can rely on for guidance or answers.

A Recent Challenge

My basement remodel project is a recent challenge that has required a lot of self motivation. This project is extra and is not a necessity to live in our home, which has made it hard to be motivated to complete. The main goal of the project was to achieve a dry basement, and make a new space for us to hangout.

I started working in my basement October of 2019 and had the initial goal of completion by December 2019. Obviously, we are just a little outside of the original completion date seeing as it is January of 2021. It’s kind of funny that it has taken so long, but not really since I still can’t fully take advantage of the space.

I have reached the point in my project where I have a fully functioning bathroom and the main area is 99% complete. The tasks that I have left should not take very long, but I have said that before. I mainly work on the project after work for an hour or two which has also caused it to take longer than desired. This project has been a real challenge for me, but I can actually see the light as the end of the tunnel now.

Some Motivational Tips

I am not a self motivation master, but I have learned a few things over the years that I think could help others. I believe that if we have learned or figured something out that we need to share it with others because it may be useful for their journey. Here is a list of some do’s and don’ts on my self motivation journey.

• Set a goal that is achievable.
• Don’t set a goal that will be impossible to hit.
• Challenge yourself when setting your goal. This may be setting a completion date or goal that will be hard to hit.
• Don’t set a goal that is so far out of reach that you are unmotivated to reach for it.
• Set lots of short term goals so that you can achieve in short strides. This will help with motivation and satisfaction in your work.
• Don’t have one primary goal on a large project. As an example, I should not set my only goal to be remodel basement.
• Find ways to reward yourself for achieving short term goals.
• Don’t withhold all reward or satisfaction until the end of the goal.

If you have questions, reach out to those around you. There are other people that have gone through what you are or similar to what you are going through. Keep strong and push yourself because you may surprise yourself how far you can reach.