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What to do if the forces are running out, and the motivation is at zero? Finance expert Elle Kaplan recommends acquiring seven habits that have been scientifically proven to influence motivation.
In today’s world, those who strive for success work more than 40 hours a week. They stay late at the office and come to work on weekends. At some point, even the most motivated give up and the tenth cup of coffee does not help. What to do?
1. Realize the importance of your work
A motivated worker is one who believes that his work helps others and makes the world a better place. A study by the University of Michigan found that university call center employees were able to attract 171% more donations after just a few minutes of talking to students who attended university because of those donations.
If you’re unsure if your work is useful, talk to customers who use your company’s products or your manager. If you can’t help but feel the pointlessness of the activity, it’s never too late to change the direction of your career.
2. Reward yourself
It’s nice to be of service to society, however, according to David Niven’s book 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People, approximately 75% of our motivation comes from financial incentives. However, few people reward themselves every day or week.
On a Friday morning, completely exhausted? Promise yourself: if you redo all the things that you planned, in the evening arrange a trip to the movies with your loved one or dinner with friends.
3. Remember there are no small victories
Break your big goal down into small tasks. The more tasks you successfully solve, the higher the motivation and the closer the goal. Every time we achieve a result, the brain releases dopamine. Thanks to this hormone, we feel satisfied and are ready to continue working in order to experience these pleasant sensations again.
4. Recharge your batteries
When experiencing internal burnout, it is most effective to drop everything and go to the Maldives for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, but you can arrange a virtual Maldives at home, on the weekend, after drinking a couple of glasses of a fruit cocktail. If the vacation and the weekend are still far away, you can recharge the batteries right at work, if you follow the rule: 50 minutes of work – 15 minutes of rest.
5. Fool yourself
We can fool our brains, which resist acquiring healthy habits, by perceiving them differently. There’s no way you can force yourself to get up early because you don’t want to lose two hours of sleep. Look at this time not as a loss, but as a gain – two hours of active life. Imagine how much you can do in that time.
6. Keep track of your health
Research has shown that the number one factor influencing employee motivation is health. It’s hard to expect great results and full engagement from people who don’t feel well. It is important to keep fit: exercise regularly, eat right and do not forget about the rest.
7. Think about what you will leave behind
To many, this point may seem a little strange. You are too young, you have many decades of active life ahead of you. However, understanding that your time on earth is limited is incredibly motivating. Steve Jobs said that every day he looked in the mirror and asked himself the same question: “What would I do if today was my last day?”
It’s probably not worth asking yourself this question every day, but you can use it to stimulate motivation when you need it.
About the Developer
Elle Kaplan is a financial expert, entrepreneur, CEO and co-founder of Lexion Capital Management.