* Am I willing to move out of my comfort zone?
* Am I afraid of making mistakes?
* Am I confined to certain limits of thinking?
* Am I a happy person?
* Do I finish the tasks that I undertake?
Now you need to examine your answers. Remember. Achievements are a result of leaving the comfort zone. Do not be afraid of making mistakes. They teach wiser lessons. Go on. Do not limit your thinking. Thinking out of the box has already become cliché. Learn to kick the box out. Choose to be happy. Happiness is a choice that we make. Don’t start too many tasks and leave everything unfinished. Train to tackle and accomplish one by one.
The lack of motivation is generally identified with, ‘I’m just not in the mood’. Therefore motivation in itself is not our main problem. It only shows lack of skills to overcome ‘not being in mood’. Motivation is achieved by cultivating certain habits. Let us list them.
Promise it
Commit yourself to inviting people and setting a time to hold you accountable. Just keep a promise and keep your word.
Befriend your discomfort
Doing laundry can lead to discomfort. We tend to procrastinate. Observe your body. Stay connected with your mind and body. Stay with your discomfort. Do not judge it as good or bad. It can be a gift and an opportunity to do valuable work on yourself.
Change your mind and your body
Try changing your mind with new thoughts and your body with the physical stance. For example, take a short walk.
Sweeten the task
If reading social psychology becomes a yawner, read literature to sweeten your task or just go and sing aloud!
Turn up the pressure
Motivation is a luxury. Move up your deadlines. Raise the stress to intensify your action. It results in achieving a lot more than you expect.
Turn down the pressure with Baby Steps
The mere thought of starting a huge task can induce anxiety. Take ‘baby steps’. Divide large projects into small tasks.
Ask for support
Make allies for overcoming your procrastination. Always declare to a group what you intend to accomplish. This way, you can ask your group to hold you accountable. Ask Alcoholics Anonymous to Weight Watchers for the power of such strategies.
Adopt a model
Find yourself a role model whom you consider successful and observe them. Compare the payoffs to the costs. Arguably, neglecting exercise can give people more time to sleep. Compare it with what you will have to pay with your health. Comparing costs and benefits of any behaviour can fuel our motivation.
Do it later: Procrastination
At times, it is effective, but it should be a plan and a promise. Remember, it is you who have to push yourself, because no one else will do it for you.
— The writer is a career counsellor and mentor
