Self-Motivation: The Only 4 Questions You Need To Ask
Lack of self-motivation is one of the main killers of any small business, and if you struggled with motivation today, you’re in good company with all other freelancers, entrepreneurs and business owners
When referring to self-motivation, I wanted to focus on the word 'self'.
This defines the motivation as derived from the inner core - not externally driven Self motivation is not about quick fix or strategies, its about getting connected with your inner drive, and what I call 'effortless motivation'.
Reflect on what motivates and drives you?
Does this have something to do with your kids, partner, family, or even something personal to you?
If you see lack of motivation as being a problem, how about experiencing the lack of motivation as your body informing you that an aspect of your life or business needs to be reviewed. For example, a number of months ago, I had a coaching client I will call Gary (to protect his anonymity).
He had absolutely no motivation about his business creating websites.
When I asked him to elaborate on his business so that I could get a sense of where we could start from, he began to speak.
I have a confession to make, I was actually bored and completely disengaged.
I asked Gary to take a deep breath, start again and tell me what he really wants. To my amazement, he didn’t continue to discuss his business. Instead his eyes lit up, and so did the rest of his face. I saw a totally different body language and facial expressions to what had been displayed previously.
He then began to speak about a Greek restaurant he had always wanted to create, since the best times in his life were spent in Greece. I asked him to describe the foods and the wine he would serve and he began to do so. He was totally connected to this vision and so was I.
I could visualise myself sitting at a table in his Greek restaurant, music playing whilst being wined and dined. He had absolutely no motivation for his other business because his heart isn't in it.
It is simply a way in which to pay bills which is understandable. It is important however to tell the truth about a situation. His business is about making ends meet for now, whilst the restaurant is something he is really passionate about and has an incredible potential.
It's important throughout the 'Truth telling' to ask yourself 4 questions:
Whats working?
Whats not working?
Whats missing?
Whats next?
Remember that your body is simply giving you signals, so notice what it is trying to communicate and work with it rather than against it.
When are you more motivated during the day?
Notice your state of mind and work within it. Could you incorporate the things you love doing at the times you are less motivated? Find out your pattern and work with it rather than against it.
Ask and become curious about your energy levels. Have you more energy in the morning, afternoon or evening? Otherwise you will get into the ‘should cycle’. I should be more motivated, I should have done my invoices this morning, I shouldn’t have spent so long on social media. Stop ‘shoulding’ all over yourself and simply pay attention to what your lack of motivation is telling you.
Pay attention because this could really make or break your business.
Imagine having a business you feel an effortless motivation for. What type of clients would you engage? What type of extra projects or services would you include if motivation was not an issue?
Being motivated is having the drive to achieve and accomplish what you want. It is the difference between lazing around all day expecting people to deliver what you want, rather than waking up early to hustle and take focused action. Figure out what you really want, plough through the period of pain and discomfort and start being who you want to be and let this reflect in your business.