Motivation is my biggest challenge, but that wasn’t always the case. Early on in my career, I was so consumed with my cool job that you’d rarely see me totally kicking back and relaxing. I brainstormed on the way to the train station, read trades on the train, ate at my desk so I could finish a proposal. I used to have this amazing internal drive that couldn’t be stopped. When I had a goal in mind, I would eat, sleep and dream it. Think of every workplace cliche out there – go getter, driven, goal oriented, self starter, up-and-coming, golden child, shining star. That was me. But the last four years…not so much. Sound familiar?
I think sometimes when we have a goal in mind but struggle with motivation, maybe we have the wrong goal. So take a long, hard look at your goals and do some soul searching to make sure it’s the right direction. When you find the right goal, believe me, you’ll find your motivation.
But if you are positive it’s the right goal and you are 100 percent committed to it, maybe you’re just in a funk. Happens to the best of us. If that’s the case, pick up a copy of The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. This fabulous, yet brief read shows that you don’t have to completely change the way you’re doing things to get ahead. Just make one small change at a time until it becomes habit. If you’re tired of making calls and are ready to quit for the day, just pick up the phone one more time and make one more call. This extra effort will eventually give you a slight edge over your competition. Think about it…one extra call a day is five calls a week, about 20 calls a month or 240 calls per year. It adds up! This works for everything from starting a business to going after a promotion to trying to lose 10 pounds.
I’m starting to get my groove back again, maybe because I’ve finally found the right goal. I think tonight I’ll dust off my copy and read it again.