Welcome to the Best Life University podcast.
I'm Dr.
Lynn Brown,
A counselor and educator.
In this podcast,
I discuss a myriad of topics related to the five dimensions of personal growth,
Mental,
Social,
Spiritual,
Emotional,
And physical.
Thank you so much for listening.
Today's topic is motivation.
How do you stay motivated?
It's one thing to get motivated,
But it is another to stay motivated.
In order to maintain your motivation,
You must be able to visualize your success,
Identify the habits and attitudes you want to change,
Constantly reinforce new habit patterns,
And be flexible enough to alter the specific and positive reasons for wanting to reach your goal.
Let's examine each of these requirements one at a time.
First you need to visualize the result.
The key to success is visualizing the result as soon as you start working toward the goal.
You need to see yourself and your imagination achieving results.
You have to start envisioning yourself as you want to be.
Research results are speculating that the subconscious part of the mind,
Which stores memories,
Can be compared to a computer.
Since it is continually being furnished with data from the conscious part of the brain,
It is continually being programmed.
It is unable to change information,
But sends back data to the conscious portion of the mind when needed.
As data are fed into the subconscious,
The detailed information is integrated so it can be recalled to the conscious part when needed in order to help reach a predetermined goal.
So the information you feed your subconscious will determine your behavior.
Therefore,
If you give your subconscious the idea that you are living your goal daily,
You will exhibit behaviors that reinforce these concepts and ultimately you will find they have become reality.
Second,
Identify habits and attitudes that need to be changed.
In order to achieve your goal,
You need to know specifically what must be changed.
So you need to take the time to identify the particular habits and attitudes that promote your goal.
This is tedious,
But essential.
Also,
It is extremely important that you determine your specific cues that can interfere with attaining your goal.
Catalog the various situations in which these habits take place.
After determining the habits,
Attitudes,
And situational cues that are problem-causing,
You can begin moving forward,
Changing and reinforcing the new habit patterns.
Third,
Reinforce new habit patterns.
The habit patterns that promoted who and where you are now are so firmly established through repeated episodes that attempts to remove them by conscious effort,
Willpower,
Creates extreme stress.
And this stress usually causes the old behavior pattern to return.
A much more effective way is by programming a new pattern into the subconscious mind until it becomes a strong conditioned response.
So during the time you are working toward your goal,
It is necessary to constantly reinforce new habit patterns you are learning.
We all engage in mental programming.
An example is having an upcoming vacation.
During the months preceding your time off,
You think about the activities you'll be doing during your vacation.
You plan for,
Anticipate,
And visualize them.
Therefore,
You establish a mental set for enjoying the vacation.
When the vacation actually arrives,
You automatically do many of the things you have visualized.
When applying this method to goal-related habits,
Attitudes,
And situations,
You are inducing certain specific changes in your life patterns.
And fourth is the need for flexibility.
In order to maintain your motivation to achieve long-term success,
You must be able to change your reasons for going through the process as your situation changes.
The passage of time alone will necessitate an alteration in focus and priorities.
As time goes on,
There are changes in your schedule,
Lifestyle,
Concerns,
Goals,
And relationships.
As you are experiencing any change in your life,
You will need to re-examine how it is altering your desire and motivation to remain goal-directed.
If the long-term goal is no longer a positive aspect of your life,
Then it is time to re-examine your motives.
If you find they are no longer valid or have become less important to you,
Then you will need to start at the beginning by determining new specific and positive reasons for continuing to work toward your goal.
Remember,
As soon as your long-term goal becomes a ball and chain instead of an opportunity,
It is time to rethink your motivation.
Copyright 2020,
Lynn Baranius-Brown.
