Effective self-motivation is one of the main things that distinguishes high-achieving professionals from everyone else.
…(it’s) one of the hardest skills to learn, but it’s critical to your success.
Ayelet Fishbach, Professor, University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business
takeaways of note:
To propel you forward…
1- Design Goals, Not Chores… specific & with intrinsic rewards (focus on the elements that you do find enjoyable).
2- Find Effective Motivators… either based upon “personal reward” or potential “loss aversion”.
3- Sustain Progress… break your goal into smaller subgoals or change the way you think about the progress you’ve achieved (think about already made headway, rather than the goal ahead).
4- Harness the Influence of Others… simply, passively watching successful teammates is risking being demotivated. Instead, talk to these peers about what they’re accomplishing with their hard work & why they would recommend doing it. Also recognize that the best motivators are not necessarily those who do the tasks well; instead, it’s the folks who share a big-picture goal with you: close friends & family or mentors.