How to keep yourself motivated

What do you do when your 'get up and go' gets up and leaves you? Here are some techniques to rejuvenate your motivation...

Have you ever got to the stage when you ask yourself, 'Why do I bother?' or thought enviously of people in cushy jobs with a nice monthly pension contribution and private healthcare? We all do. We forget the stress and frustration of working for a large organisation and that cushy jobs are usually unrewarding in every sense. So how do you recharge your entrepreneurial batteries when they get low?

Go back to basics

Take a moment to jot down the benefits you perceive for yourself of working the way you do. Is it for status or money and what will it buy that appeals to you most? Is it that you just like to be in control of your life and your opportunities? List these positive factors on a large piece of paper and stick them on your wall. Then when Monday dawns and you'd rather stay in bed, your list will remind you why you should make the effort.

Keep your goals in sight

It is hard to climb a hill in the dark. You can't see how far there is to go; nor can you enjoy the satisfaction of seeing how far you have come already. So try creating another two charts:

• one listing your succinct, short, medium and long-term goals (What am I doing it for?)
• the other with your tasks or objectives for this month (What are the next few steps to get there? What have I achieved recently?).
  
  

Have faith

Lack of confidence, often a result of negative opinions and childhood conditioning expressed in negative phrases: 'I couldn't', I don't know how' is a big energy drainer.

So start by talking positively: 'I can, I'll learn'. Fear of failure is often a self-fulfilling prophecy, but looked at another way, it is simply a bad result. So there are no failures, only results. Work through what you've learned from your bad results, they’ll help you make better decision and achieve better results.

Build your confidence

Develop self-belief. Success doesn't always go to the strongest person, but to the person with the greatest conviction. People are often terrified by rejection and so they feel that it is better not to try than to be humiliated, but remember: nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Don't wait till tomorrow

Putting difficult decisions or actions off is a symptom of fear. A perfectionist cannot face doing a less than perfect job, so there is always some reason not to start. If you feel overwhelmed by a major task or project, divide it up into manageable chunks, then just get started on the first one, you'll soon be half way through the project without even realising it.

Look to the future

If you don't have a vision of the future it can often seem that what you are doing in the present is pointless. Use picture power or imagination to 'fix' your goals. Have you ever seen something in a shop window and longed for it? It is easier to visualise having something that you can see, so visualise the result you want. Savour the emotions you will feel when (not if) you land that order.

Collect pictures that summarise these emotions - your dream house, boat, car or holiday - and pin these over your desk to remind yourself why you are doing it all. Write down why you want to do something, even if the reasons hardly seem valid. Something as simple as 'I want a clear desk so I don't have to start the day in a mess' is valid. Clean it up tonight and start tomorrow afresh.

Have a plan

Assess, plan, act. Write a plan for yourself, both in business and personal terms. Set tough but realistic objectives with time scales. We all react positively to these. Compile a record of past successes. Buy a coil-bound notebook and fill it with tasks - one per page - that you wish to do. For each, promise yourself a token treat as a reward. As you complete a task, take your reward, tear out the page and keep it somewhere safe.

Home alone

If you work alone, identify an understanding person with whom you can talk through business issues and who will encourage you.

A mentor can help here. Be kind to yourself and your health. Worry and stress, tiredness, overwork and lack of energy can often start a vicious cycle of demotivation and even illness. Give yourself a break.

Finally, recognise your achievements. Give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it for having the strength of character to go out and make things happen.