Thank you so much for your interest in The Insight, by Sheba. I hope you enjoyed this week’s blogs about “Stay Motivated.”

Next week’s topic will be “Building Resilience.”

Friday Review: Happy Reading!

1. Words of Wisdom.

• Don’t discredit the words of wisdom someone offers you just because he or she may have different views from your own. Consider the fresh perspective. Ask yourself why you may or may not agree. Consider the possible outcomes in using the advice whether or not it goes against the grain of your normal course of action. Take advantage of the opportunity to expand your perspective and fortify your motivation.

 2. You Have to Want It!

• Motivation will not spontaneously generate. We have to take action to cultivate personal states of contentedness and motivation.

 3. Strategize.

• Understanding what motivates you is just as important as creating and implementing strategies to support that motivation. Familiarize yourself with your strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself what you value most in accomplishment. Based on those elements, develop a strategy to support you in your goal pursuit. We’re bound to lose motivation at one point or another, but if we’ve prepared a plan and always carry the right tools with us, we’ll be up and motivated again in no time!

 4. Plan On It!

• At any given time, we have a number of goals on our plates. Create specific plans with specific means to achieve each of your goals then take one step at a time to accomplish them. It is unrealistic to think we can accomplish all of our goals at once, but if we divide our attention among different goals, we also divide our motivation.

The Insight— Plan, plan again, then do some more planning to stay motivated! Granted, we can’t always plan the words of wisdom we will receive, but if you set up a support team and plan to ask them for specific advice, you will certainly have the necessary encouragement to stay motivated. Likewise, planning a goal around your strengths and abilities will help you to know your limits and know when you can push them from time to time. Expect to lose motivation at some point in your pursuit. It happens, and that’s okay. If you’re prepared to meet it, you’ll have the proper tools to pick up and refresh your motivation so you can finish the last leg of the race!

Have a wonderful weekend!

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – Feeling restless about the many goals you have to accomplish and the amount of time you have to do it?

What do you do to relieve the tension created by unmet goals?

According to a study conducted by E. J. Masicampo, Ph.D., and Roy F. Baumeister, Ph.D., constructing specific, effective plans with the intent to implement them helps to:

1.       Remove Distractions

• Creating plans to meet ongoing, unmet goals while actively pursuing a different goal helps reduce the onslaught of thoughts pertaining to the unsatisfied goals.

2.       Reduce Accessibility of Goal

• Creating plans further reduces the incidence of reverting to the memory of the unmet goals, which enables the individual to focus entirely on the goal at hand.

3.       Reduce Accessibility of Goal Means

• Creating plans with specific methods for achievement of unmet goals prevents distractions from immediate goals because it eliminates the need to explore options for achievement of the unmet goal.

(Read More)

The Insight –At any given time, we have a number of goals on our plates. Create specific plans with specific means to achieve each of your goals then take one step at a time to accomplish them. It is unrealistic to think we can accomplish all of our goals at once, but if we divide our attention among different goals, we also divide our motivation.

What plans have you made to stay motivated?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – You are getting tired, but you are so close to the finish line, the end of the project, or the goal you have been working to achieve. How do you motivate yourself to exert that last bit of effort?

What strategies do we employ to maintain motivation?

Felissa K. Lee, Ph.D., Kennon M. Sheldon, Ph.D., and Daniel B. Turban, Ph.D., examined the different strategies people used and found patterns specific to certain personality types.

1.       Autonomy Oriented

• Emphasis on developing and improving personal abilities beyond proficiency; accomplishment driven by the desire to meet personal standards of achievement

2.       Control Oriented

• Accomplishment centered on the desire to display competence and thus gain social approval

3.       Amotivated Oriented

• Accomplishment centered on the desire to avoid failure

(Read More)

The Insight – Understanding what motivates you is just as important as creating and implementing strategies to support that motivation. Familiarize yourself with your strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself what you value most in accomplishment. Based on those elements, develop a strategy to support you in your goal pursuit. We’re bound to lose motivation at one point or another, but if we’ve prepared a plan and always carry the right tools with us, we’ll be up and motivated again in no time!

What’s your strategy and do you know what really motivates you?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – You were advised to make a list of three things that you enjoyed about your day to create a more positive outlook about life. Is that the only thing you have to do?

Do you have to be motivated toward happiness to generate more positive affect in your life?

A study conducted by Julia K. Boehm, Ph.D., Rene Dickerhoof, Ph.D., Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., and Kennon M. Sheldon, Ph.D., on the effectiveness of positive interventions to improve well-being, found that improvement depends entirely on the participant’s motivation to pursue his or her happiness. The following factors exhibited the greatest effects on the outcome of the experiment in relation to motivation:

1.       Self-selection

• Individuals who volunteered to participate in the happiness interventions, knew the aim of the experiment and expected an improvement in well-being exhibited considerable increases in happiness and well-being.
• Participants who were randomly selected and had no knowledge of the intention of the experiment exhibited no significant increase in happiness.

2.       Continued Practice of Positive Activity

• Continuation of the positive activity resulted in continued and greater production of its beneficial effects.
• Persons must be fully engaged in the activity during its continuation to reap the benefits of the positive practice.

(Read More)

The Insight – Motivation will not spontaneously generate. We have to take action to cultivate personal states of contentedness and motivation.

Are you motivated to take control of your own happiness?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – You’ve hit a roadblock on the way to your goal. You need advice, so whom do you ask?

What factors influence us to accept advice from someone?

Francesca Righetti, Ph.D., Catrin Finkenauer, Ph.D., and Caryl Rusbult, Ph.D., found in their research that the likelihood of accepting advice with respect to motivation and goal achievement depends on the personality fit between the person giving the advice and the person receiving the advice. The research focused on two personality types:

1.       Promotion-Oriented

• More likely to seek advice
• More likely to perceive advice given from other promotion-oriented individuals as helpful and affirming
• Less likely to accept or consider useful the advice given by prevention-oriented individuals
• More aware of personality fit and its effects on motivation

2.       Prevention-Oriented

• Less influenced by personality fit in the advice they receive
• Less likely to seek advice regardless of personality type or fit
• Less aware of differences in personality type or fit

(Read More)

The Insight – Don’t discredit the words of wisdom someone offers you just because he or she may have different views from your own. Consider the fresh perspective. Ask yourself why you may or may not agree. Consider the possible outcomes in using the advice whether or not it goes against the grain of your normal course of action. Take advantage of the opportunity to expand your perspective and fortify your motivation.

Whose words of wisdom will you be open to receive today?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life