motivation – Annienygma

How to Motivate Yourself to Improve

It can be hard to find the energy or motivation to improve yourself these days. By the time you get home from work (or even wade through a chaotic day at home), you feel as if you have nothing left to give.

“I’ll do it when I feel better,” you typically say.

The problem with that decision, however, is that “feeling better” never comes. Inevitably, something will always arise that prevents you from working towards your goals.

Even worse, the longer you put it off, the easier it gets to procrastinate.

I encountered this situation shortly after my divorce. Forced by circumstances to work multiple jobs, I spent a mind-boggling amount of time either working, cleaning my home, and caring for my children.

I was stuck in survival mode. I wanted to improve myself. I wanted to take a correspondence class in computer repair, but I had no time to do it.

I was so exhausted that I cried myself to sleep each night. Just getting through the day was so draining; how could I manage to do even more?

I let the bad days motivate me.

Despite my misgivings, I paid for the class.

Every time something bad or simply frustrating happened, I’d promise myself that it would get better. I was doing something to make it better. This wouldn’t last; there was an end in sight.

That end would be the day I finished my course and started my computer repair business.

It’s amazing how that tiny shift in self-talk allowed me to dig deep, to find the time I needed to study. I found myself examining every moment of my life. Every time I felt the desire to throw up my hands I would ask myself “How can I finish this class faster?”

I began to look at my day with different eyes. That 30-minute lunch, the lunch I used to recharge a bit in order to make it through my shift?

I could use some of that time to study.

I began to take my books to work with me. My coworkers teased me, but after a bit they left me alone. I would nibble on my meal as I worked through the lessons.

Even if I only managed a paragraph, I knew that I was one paragraph closer to a better life.

Before I knew it, I was studying before I went to bed each night. I carried my workbooks everywhere. If I had to wait in line, I pulled out my book.

On particularly frustrating days, I made a point of studying even more. Every paragraph, every page took me closer to a better life, a life where I wouldn’t have to work so hard, a life where I could actually get some rest.

And it paid off.

In under a year I finished that class. Before I sent in the last few lessons, I took out an ad in the local paper to offer my services.

My life changed after that.

I stopped having to pick up extra shifts at work. I quit two of my jobs. While I kept the restaurant job for financial security (self-employment income is never guaranteed), I adjusted my hours based upon my needs.

In time I was able to take summers off from that job.

Eventually the skills I gained during that time allowed me to build an online business that enabled me to reach a dream that many claimed was unattainable. I became a stay-at-home single mom.

You CAN improve your life

Wherever you are right now, whatever your current situation, you can improve your life, too.

All you have to do is motivate yourself to do the work.

Look around. Use the bad days to motivate you. Ready to scream at your boss? Take a deep breath. Remind yourself that you are on your way out. Tell yourself that when you get home, you will study and work towards building the skills that will allow you to move to a better place. Soon, instead of complaining, you will be grateful for the bad days, because the bad days will motivate you to work even harder.

You will find yourself making immense progress every single day instead of just wanting to scream.

This was why, instead of just quitting my current job to focus upon my goal of skill-building as I decide upon the path I want to take to re-enter the computer field that I resolved to keep working. It’s easier to find the time and motivation to do the work when you’re surrounded by things that frustrate you.

Now, instead of focusing on the things I like about my current job, I look at the things that frustrate me. If I wake up sore after a rough day, I remind myself that I am on the path to an easier job, maybe even a job I can do at home.

All I have to do is keep studying.

Don’t let the bad days get you down. Use those bad days to spur you forward. Every time something makes you want to throw up your hands in defeat look around. Ask yourself if you can find another block of time that you can use to work on your dream, and then do it.

Are you allowed to listen to music at work? Why not listen to audiobooks on your chosen field instead?

Do you check social media on your breaks? Download an ebook to your phone and read that instead.

Does it take you a few minutes to fall asleep at night? Listen to a lecture on the subject as you fall asleep. You can even play audiobooks as you sleep; you may not retain as much as you would by actively listening, but you will retain some information–and that will build up over time.

Stop just plopping down in front of the television at night.

Just stop it.

Think about your asshole of a boss. Think about the raise you deserve but were cheated out of. Think about how you are forced to do the work of several people, and use it to drive you forward.

Feel the rage and use it to better yourself.

It works.

Have you ever allowed bad days to motivate yourself to change your life? Why or why not? What were the results? Please share your stories in the comments below.

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If you happen to find this post helpful, would you consider sharing it with a friend or on social media? Thanks!

I’ve written a lot of books sharing my odd view of life in hopes of helping others. My most notorious book is titled The Shoestring Girl: How I Live on Practically Nothing and You Can Too, but The Minimalist Cleaning Method is pretty popular as well. You can find them at the following places:

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Thank you for your support!

You Are Just Warming Up

I flicked the switch in my bathroom with a sigh. “I really need to change that bulb,” I thought as it released a low glow.

As I completed my self-appointed task, the bulb grew brighter and brighter. Soon, the bathroom was brightly lit.

As the lightbulb brightened, it dawned on me:

I am like that bulb.

It takes me a few minutes to awaken each morning. It’s taken me several tries to figure out how to do things at times.

And it’s taken me over a year to figure out what to do with my life now that the kid has flown.

We all take long starts. We back up, just to run at a barrier in order to jump. We warm the car up before we go to work in the morning.

Like that lightbulb, it takes us a bit to get started.

There is nothing wrong with us. Sometimes it just takes a bit for us to hit our stride. Sometimes we have to fall in order to succeed.

And like that bulb, if we continue to move forward, we will glow. If we continue to try, we will succeed. So what if it takes us a bit to get moving? The important part isn’t the dim light at the beginning. The important part is the glow of success at the end.

But that bulb would never achieve it’s potential if the switch is shut off too soon.

And we will never achieve our goals if we quit midstream.

Deep down, there is something amazing that you’ve always wanted to do. Buried deep within your psyche is an amazing dream you’ve always wanted to achieve.

Maybe you even started your dream, but you quit, shutting the power off before you hit your stride. Maybe you gave up because you thought you were a failure.

But you are not a failure.

You are just getting warmed up.

Flip the switch on your dream. Turn the power on for your goal. Let your light warm up as you go through the paces.

Then watch as your light begins to brighten the world.

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If you happen to find this post helpful, would you consider sharing it with a friend or on social media? Thanks!

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Apple iBooks
Smashwords (non-DRM)

Thank you for your support!

Counting the Shifts

Having experienced freedom in the past I am likely more spoiled than most. I know the pleasure that comes from waking up when you like and having the freedom to arrange your schedule as desired.

That is why on some days I dread going to work. Even as much as I enjoy my job I watch the clock tick closer to my shift with dismay.

I’ve figured out a way to handle that. I count the shifts until my next day off.

“Two more shifts,” I’ll tell myself as I groggily sip my coffee in the morning. “Two more shifts and I’m free for a day. I can do this. I can do anything I set my mind to. These next two shifts will take me closer to freedom. I can work a measly two shifts.”

When the going gets rough at work I remind myself that every penny I earn takes me that much closer to re-attaining my freedom. I want my freedom, don’t I? I can stick it out a shift or two in order to achieve my goal.

I don’t worry about the long view. I don’t allow myself to think about how long this might take. I focus on the shifts in front of me and keep moving forward.

Every single day I take one baby step closer to my goal. Before I leave for work I do a little bit on this website and work on my next book so when I become frustrated I can remind myself that I’m a little bit closer. Every single shift I remind myself that I will earn X amount of money in exchange for my time; if I guard my finances accordingly I’ll have that much more to invest so I’ll grow even closer.

Sometimes I even count the days until I can invest again or until the next round of dividends will hit my account.

I thought those little mental games were silly until this morning, when I awoke to find a text from a friend.

<Three more shifts,> the text read. <I can do three more shifts. This is going to be a good day for both of us.>

She signed it with a smiley at the end.

When you can’t find the motivation to continue, count the days until your next day off. Remind yourself of the little things you do that take you closer to your goal. You are the Turtle. Each day you may not make a lot of progress but that progress adds up with time.

One day you will wake up and realize that you’ve made it. Just by taking one step at a time, one day at a time you made it to the very end.

You can do this. I know you can, because I have faith in you.

Hang in there, my friend.

Employee Motivation

Little things means so much to employees.

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Once upon a time I worked in a restaurant. On this particular day, the owner was leaning against the wall as the store crew navigated the lunch rush.

I was manning the front counter that day, taking orders as fast as I could for the crowd when one of my regulars stepped forward.

“Hey, Mrs. R!” I called out happily. “You want your usual? How’s work?”

The woman smiled, nodding as she shared a slice of her day while I punched in her order.

“Annie, come here,” the owner called out when I finished. Expecting trouble, the manager motioned for one of the other workers to replace me while I obeyed the request.

“Was that lady a friend of yours?” the owner asked.

“No, sir,” I replied cautiously.

“But you not only knew her name, you entered her order without her even telling you what she wanted,” he persisted.

I brightened. “Yes, sir! Mrs. R comes in every weekday for lunch. She always orders the exact same thing so I’ve got it memorized.”

The owner of the store frowned. “But how do you know her name?” he persisted.

I blinked. “She wears a nametag. I always call people by name when I can work out what it is. Nametags make it easy,” I replied.

He asked a few more questions about the practice. I explained the tips and tricks about using names to cultivate rapport in response.

Then I stood there for several long moments as he gave me a long look. Did I do something wrong? I wondered at the unusual examination.

The man motioned for the general manager to approach.

“GM, give Annie here a five-cent raise on her next paycheck,” he informed the woman. “Annie, let me know if it’s not there. I want to show you that I appreciate the effort you go to in order to make the customers happy. Thank you.”

Five cents isn’t much for a part-time employee. It translated to a mere dollar a week, less than that after taxes. That wasn’t the important part, however. The important part was that he’d noticed me and had rewarded my efforts in some small way.

I worked even harder after that.

Employers, Take Note

It doesn’t take much effort to say that you appreciate the efforts of an employee. It doesn’t take but a moment to pat someone on the back and say “well done.” It barely affects the bottom line when you toss someone an incremental raise.

Yet those tiny things mean so much to us workers.

It encourages us. It shows us that we are noticed. It demonstrates that we are appreciated.

And it benefits your bottom line because it motivates us to work even harder.

You think about that. Happy workers translates into loyal workers. Loyal workers are the ones that will bust their ass for you when you need it. They are the ones that will come in when you call on their day off. They are the ones who will look out for you and prevent shrinkage when they catch it. They are the ones who will show up, each and every shift, determined to do the best they can to make your business grow.

Remember that the next time you catch one of your workers doing something awesome.

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Readers, share this post with your friends. Share this post in a place where your boss can see it because I suspect that many small employers don’t realize just how important the little things are to us, and how tiny little efforts can motivate us to work even harder and increase employee retention.

It will benefit all of us to increase awareness.

The Art of Staying Motivated

The other night I came home after an exhausting shift at work. I plopped down in front of my computer to check my emails before engaging in my nightly habit of reading a bit before I went to bed.

As I sat there I thought “what’s the point?” What was the point in reading more when I was so drained? It’s going to take years for me to achieve my goal, so what would be the harm in skipping a single night?

That’s when I realized I had a problem. I was losing my motivation.

It’s easy to lose motivation when all you can make are baby steps. When you have to wait days and weeks before you can take another step forward. But that is the reality of my life. I can’t afford to plunk down thousands of dollars and then wait to reap the profits. I have to invest in stages while working to increase my knowledge during my downtime. While I know that every few months I will receive a small payoff in dividends it is a cold hard fact that this project is going to take a while to really begin to pay off.

So how do I stay motivated? What can I do to encourage myself to move forward on the nights when I’m too tired to think, much less move?

With a heavy heart as I considered this I skipped my nightly reading and went to bed. I’d have to find a solution soon or risk giving up.

A few days later I walked to the store to purchase supplies. On a whim I headed to the school supplies section, thinking that a new pencil or ink pen would be a treat. I didn’t need one but sometimes it’s the little things that encourage us to continue moving forward. I found this:

Meet my new Goal Journal. I photographed it with the little piece of inspiration I carry with me daily, one of the silver rounds from my very first investment.

On the very first page I wrote down my goal. I wanted to see it every single time I opened the notebook.

Once that was completed I was stumped. Do I use the journal to chronicle all of my thoughts or to keep track of specifics? I decided to dedicate a single page each month to a cold, hard summary of my progress. I’ve decided to share it with you now.

I didn’t tell you at the time but I began this journey on my birthday earlier this year. I was hesitant to share because the idea sounded stupid even to me. Seriously, an old woman working part time for minimum wage who wants to enter the financial ring with the Big Dogs? The idea was laughable! Who the hell do I think I am, even considering this? Because of my inner demons I kept quiet until I became comfortable enough with the idea to have the courage to share.

The next month I decided to jump in with both feet. I scraped together every single penny I could spare from my book royalties and my income tax refund, took a deep breath, and kissed that money goodbye. I knew that I didn’t know much; I could very well lose it all, but I had to at least try, you know? Wishing wasn’t going to get me anywhere without definite action:

I managed to score free trading from my brokerage until August 8th. Sometimes it pays to ask plenty of questions. I took advantage of the blessing to make a few experimental trades so that I could figure out just how this stock market thing worked. I was completely clueless and I knew it. To my surprise I did pretty well. Not only did I manage to profit from my trades, I even received my very first round of dividends. I was chuffed!

July was the last full month that I qualified for free trading. I’m sure I drove the workers at my brokerage batty with all of my questions that month! I discovered the difference between exchanges, the fact that my brokerage will not allow anyone with a balance of less than $25,000 to trade on certain exchanges “to protect them,” and lodged a formal complaint about not being allowed to invest in the real “penny stocks” — those whose shares trade for literal pennies. A worker there actually called me to apologize personally for the limitation after that stunt and he helped me figure out exactly what I was allowed to invest in through the brokerage. I modified my search criteria appropriately, albeit grudgingly. As I explained, the five or ten bucks I’d planned to toss towards those particular purchases would not be near enough to budge the stock prices and I was well aware of the risk I was taking. By this point I was literally kissing my money goodbye as I transferred it to my brokerage account, and I STILL feel that my brokerage should eliminate that limitation.

When August is over I’ll add another page to my journal as I continue to chronicle my adventure. This will allow me to look back and see a visual reminder of just how far I’ve come. Due to the fact that I don’t require much to live on I’ve managed to accomplish quite a bit over these past few months. When you add the money I invested in early August I’ve managed to top $1,500 invested in the stock market–most of which came from my minimum-wage day job.

I’m not sure if I should be proud or terrified at the fact that I’ve hit it so hard. Fifteen hundred dollars isn’t exactly chump change for me. That’s three months’ worth of living expenses in my world. I guess time will tell as I continue this journey. In the meantime I have a physical reminder of my progress for those nights when I wonder why I’m even trying.

In addition to my goal notebook I carry that silver round in my pocket as I move through my day. Whenever things get tough at work I dig it out, turn it over in my hands, and repeat my goal:

I will do whatever it takes to invest $60,000 in the stock market.

I hope it’s enough.

What do you do to keep motivated about your goals? Please share your stories in the comments below.