10 effective ways to stay motivated

10 effective ways to stay motivated
By Preeti Bose

Shruti Sinha*, software engineer, thought it was end of the road for herwhen she was not selected for an overseas assignment. "I was completelysidelined and to top it, two of my team members were chosen over me. For thenext few days, I was at home, crying helplessly as if my whole life wasover. I was totally without any motivation in life and didn't even want togo back to work anymore. I still feel lousy.

"Shruti just wallowed in misery and didn't give it a second thought, butlet's take more a serious look. Was it all so terrible? Why did she assumeher career was over or out of her control? Are any of our careers really outof our control? If so, in whose hands do the controls lie?

Our bosses? Our circumstances? Or we, ourselves? There are times when youfeel like you are on a roll, and nothing can get you down. And then thereare times when it seems that the road to success is filled with nothing butboulders and gaping potholes. It is on this rutted road that you needmotivation the most.

Motivation comes from within. You might be inspired by achievements ofothers, but, to go far in life, you need to feel charged and determined toachieve your goals.

Try these tips on how to be self-motivated to get your work life back ontrack or to keep going top speed on your career path!

1. Be confident: If you don't believe in yourself, why would anyone else? We all havesomething we are good at. Have faith in yourself and try to work on yourniche skills. Drive the fear of failure far away from you. Remember, whatdoesn't kill you, only makes you stronger!

2. Be clear: Fuzzy, undefined goals are difficult to focus on. How will you proceed when
the path seems all foggy? Request your manager for defined, measurable and tasks.
If your manager is not very forthcoming, take some initiative and work with him until you have clarity about your role and what you will be appraised on, at the end of the year. Self-motivated people work best with clearly defined objectives in life. Even if the targets seem a little hazy,house-bred motivation can come in real handy!

3. Work on yourself: Nothing works better as a power shot of motivation than the knowledge thatyou are good at what you do! Be on top of things at work. Identify your weakareas and get them out of the way. Enroll in courses that will raise yourmarket value and also your motivation levels. Getting a few certificationsand qualifications in your functional skills will definitely instill a greatdeal of confidence.

4. Take criticism positivelyEven though the other person has no such intentions, turn all negativecriticism into a positive driving force.

Failure is a state a mind. If you think you can succeed, you will. Alwaysthink positive. That way, instead of brooding over past disappointments, youwill route your frustration into positive energy required for workingharder. It works like magic.

"My boss was always running me down. Even when I did a good job, he neverpraised me. Initially I used to feel terrible and slowly started to look forexcuses to avoid official meetings when he would once again find reasons todiscourage me.

I contemplated resigning and finding a new job where I did not have to provemyself over and over again," recounts Mohit Sethi*. "But then, there wereno guarantees that my next boss would be better to work with. So, I took itup as a challenge. I started reporting to work early and always finished mytasks before time.

My team members started to respect me more because I helped them when mywork was done. Gradually, my boss took a back step when he realised that I was now a highly productive member of the team. If I had not been self motivated to prove a point, thoughts of having failed and run away would have chased me forever."

5. Look out for challengesIf the current job demotivates you, not to worry. Be open to try out newthings if your present role has become too boring to continue even a daymore. Talk to your seniors to redefine your role to optimise yourcapabilities. Establish your reputation as somebody who is not scared totake on new challenges in life.

6. Be persistent: Most things may not work out right the first time. This just means that youneed to try harder. However, ensure that you set your heart on goals thatare really important to you and will help you progress in life. Save yourefforts for things that matter. Do not waste your energies on peripheralthings.

7. Keep the company of successful people:Try to surround yourself with confident people who are driven and high onlife. Read books that fill you with optimism. Put up motivating posters andquotes on your workstation that will spread positive energy and drive awayany depressing thoughts. Look around for successful people and try toemulate them. Find out what makes them tick and include that in your workingstyle.

8. Celebrate life: If something doesn't shape up like you thought it would, it does not meaneverything else is doomed as well. Do not feel stressed; high stress leadsto low motivation. Take active interest in things happening around you. Liveyour life well. Continue to have faith in yourself and get involved inthings that give you happiness. That itself will generate enough motivationfor you to glide over waves of setbacks.

9. Start today: List all that is important for you to achieve your goals. Divide long-termgoals into smaller milestones and celebrate each accomplished goal.Procrastination is a killer so keep it at bay.

10. Keep dreaming: Lastly, do not forget to keep dreaming. Dream big! Let your dreams fuel yourdesire to get closer to your goals. Write your dreams for yourself in adiary or a journal and constantly refer to them so that you do not forget orlose sight of the objective.

Note : "Motivation is all about how high you can bounce when you hitabsolute rock bottom."