What is motivation? Useful questions to kick start your motivation

William Miller is one of the most well known names in the field of ‘Motivation’, having founded motivational interviewing.  The approach is really useful for developing ways to improve motivation in all walks of life, and when I have trained people in the use of the techniques, they can always relate it back to their own experiences. Here are some useful pointers to kick start your motivation!

Motivation is a desire and drive to so something.  Key things that affect our motivation are:

• how we are thinking and feeling. If we are feeling confident and focussed we are much more likely to achieve our goals, than if we are listening to negative voices in our head and doubting ourselves.
• things that are happening around us.  If we are feeling happy in our environment, and spending time with people who are supportive of us again we are more likely to achieve our goals, than if we are feeling unsettled and surrounded by people who are a negative influence on us.
• whether we are feeling some conflict about the behaviour we are wanting to change (e.g. a diet).  The reasons to do something about the behaviour need to be greater than the reasons to not do anything about it (e.g. the pros need to outweigh the cons of a diet)

Here are some useful questions to ask yourself about your goal (e.g. to start a diet), to highlight where your blocks may be. Answer the questions on a scale of 1-10 (1 not at all – 10 very much)

1. How much do you want to ….. ?
2. How confident are you that you can ….. ?
3. How ready are you to ….. ?
4. How important is it to you that you …..?

The questions relate to 4 key ingredients needed to be truly motivated:

• Desire, you need to really want to do it. When this is low, ask yourself what difference will this make to my life if I achieve this? (question a)
• Ability, you need to feel confident that you can do it. When this is low, it may be that you need additional support from people / experts to empower you with the skills / knowledge that you can do it (question b)
• Reason, you need to have a reason to do it now, rather than leaving it until next year. When this is low, ask yourself what would life be like if in 6 months things were still the same?  (question c)
• Need, you need to be feeling that it is important for you to do. When this is low, ask yourself what needs to happen for this to score higher (question d)

For you to achieve your goals, the final and most important ingredient is to be committed. Which one best suits you?

• I will try to….
• I am going to in the next few weeks…..
• I am determined to…..I am going to start it now and this is how.

If you are not feeling committed to the process take a few minutes to think about how it will be when you have achieved your goal. Imagine you are there now, how it feels, what you are thinking and who is there with you.  Keep this in mind when you are thinking about your goal.

If you are still in the ‘I will try to..’ category, or scoring less than 5/10 on the questions in this blog you could benefit from some additional support.  Life coaching can get you from the ‘I will try to’ place to the ‘I am determined to’.

For more information please visit my website www.skylightsctc.co.uk or facebook page on www.facebook.com/SkylightsCTC or email me on sam@skylightsctc.co.uk.