Motivating yourself and others.
You want to motivate yourself-you have to figure out what motivates you most effectively. Or you want to motivate others-you have to figure out what motivates them most effectively. The University of Minnesota Career Center has a work values inventory that pinpoints eleven areas that can motivate:
- independence
- creativity
- challenge
- money
- self expression
- service to others
- power
- achievement
- recognition
- interpersonal relationships
- variety
Motivation can involve positive or negative consequences. Motivation can be tangible or intangible, intrinsic or extrinsic. Positive motivation is usually the most effective, and intrinsic motivation tends to be intangible. However, to stop a bad habit like using bad language, you can set up a negative tangible consequence like putting a dollar in a jar every time you slip up.
|
MOTIVATION |
Intrinsic (internal) |
Extrinsic (external) |
|
Positive (approach) Desirable outcome |
Mastery Knowledge |
Money-tangible Praise-intangible |
|
Negative (avoidance) Undesirable outcome |
Self-criticism |
money in jar-tangible Negative feedback-intangible |
To achieve the goal:
Measure results. Simply posting a scorecard can make the outcome like a game, motivating us to improve the score.
Recognize and reward progress. Provide incentives-an employee incentive plan doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated. Get creative ideas and ask what they want.
Know the goal, and communicate it clearly. Expectations and consequences need to be clearly understood by everyone.
Additional Reading
- Can betting against yourself online help you save money? from pbs.org
- New Years Resolutions Stick When Willpower is Reinforced from The New York Times
- Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose at Brainpickings.org
- How to Make Commitments You Will Actually Keep by Scott H Young
- Effective Motivation and Delegation Techniques
- Twentysomething:” 7 ways to motivate your Millennial at Brazen Careerist
- Motivations and Rewards (pdf)
More on Motivation at the Daily PlanIt:
- The Angst Guide to Motivation
- Tip the Scales To Master Motivation: Visual Strategies to Overcome Procrastination
- Alex Vermeer on How to Get Motivated
- 25 Quotes and Affirmations to Finally Defeat Procrastination
I enjoy finding great information, combining it in new ways, and packaging it creatively. I'm highly interested in the areas of goal setting, time management, and skills to improve life.
Daily Report, Feb 6
Team Collaboration What’s the Desired Outcome? … That question is important even for team projects (duh!). “This is even more pronounced for collaborative projects. Educating and energizing audiences through collaborative projects is an emerging to…
Great points. I also have motivation software available online at http://www.motivator.ws/ — it’s no cost, so check it out if you’re interested!
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
It’s cold here. The wind sends chills right through my bones. Normally, I enjoy walking, I try to walk to places whenever I can, but on a day like this, I would not venture outside but for my two dogs
Fabulous points you make about how to motivate yourself and others. The eleven points are a valid guide for those of us wishing to make the changes. Identify where you nedd to change one at a time, prioritise and then take action.
Phoenix
http://www.easymotivationalstrategies.com
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