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Статьи How to Motivate Yourself: 11 Tip…

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How to Motivate Yourself:

11 Tips for Self
Improvement
Автор публикации: Coursera • Обновлено 10 мар. 2023 г.
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Achieve your goals with these science-backed

motivation enhancers.

Setting a goal—anything from getting a degree or

landing a new job to achieving a new level of
physical fitness—is a big step toward improving
your life. But following through to achieve what
we’ve set out to accomplish can be challenging,
especially on those days when motivation wanes.
So how do you follow through on your
commitments during those times when you just
don’t feel like putting in the work?

We all lose motivation from time to time. When

you’re feeling unmotivated, try one of these
science-backed strategies to get yourself back on
track toward your goal.

1. Put your goal on the calendar.

2. Make working toward your goal a habit.
3. Plan for imperfection.
4. Set small goals to build momentum.
5. Track your progress.
6. Reward yourself for the little wins as well as
the big ones.
7. Embrace positive peer pressure.
8. Practice gratitude (including for yourself).
9. Do some mood lifting.
10. Change your environment.
11. Remember your “why.”

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Self-motivation tips

Let's take a closer look at each of the above tips.

Here, we'll break down these self-motivation
techniques, detailing what they are and the science
behind them.

1. Put your goal on the calendar.

One way to give a boost to your internal motivation

is to create some external motivation: a target date.
Whatever it is you’re aiming to accomplish, put it on
the calendar. You may be working toward a goal
with a set finish date built in. Examples include
preparing for a test or taking a course with a fixed
end date.

If your goal lacks this structure, you can add it by

deciding on a date by which you could realistically
achieve your goal.

Want to run a 5k or marathon? Sign up for a race on

or near your target date. Considering a degree?
Research the application deadline and write it
down. Aiming to learn a new career skill? Register
for a course and set a target date to finish.

Having a target date not only helps you stay

motivated, it also helps you track your progress—
you always know how much further you have to go.
This can have a big impact on your performance [1].

Tip: Setting a target date

Be realistic when setting your target

date, but resist the urge to give yourself
more time than you’ll need. Studies
show that we sometimes perceive
longer goals as more difficult, even
when they’re not. This can lead to a
greater likelihood of procrastination or
quitting [2].

2. Make working toward your goal a

habit.

When you make working toward your goal a habit—

an automatic conditioned response—you no longer
have to rely so much on feeling motivated. How do
you turn a behavior into a habit?

Identify a trigger.

Choose something that you already do everyday,

like brushing your teeth or eating lunch, to be a
trigger for the action you want to make a habit.
Write out an “if-then” plan (also known as an
implementation intention).

For example, if you want to create a habit of

studying for a class everyday, your if-then plan
might look like this:

If I pour my first cup of coffee, then

I will spend five minutes on my
math homework.

To build consistency in exercise, it might look like

this:

If I get up and brush my teeth,

then I will immediately put on my
workout clothes.

Making this plan and committing it to writing could

increase the likelihood of following through [3].

Start small.

Notice that the above examples do not say that

you’ll read six chapters of your textbook, watch two
hours of lecture videos, or spend an hour sweating
on the treadmill.

Getting started is often the hardest part on low-

motivation days, and starting is much easier when
the task is small: Five minutes of study or putting
on your workout clothes [4].

These seemingly small actions can prime your

mind for the task at hand, so the followthrough—a
longer study session or a full workout—can happen
more naturally with less mental resistance,
according to The Science of Self Help [5].

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3. Plan for imperfection.

It’s great to feel excited and confident about

achieving your goal, but it’s also possible to be too
optimistic [6]. Not every day will go exactly as
planned, and that’s okay. Life happens.

One way to boost motivation on difficult days is

simply to plan for them. As you think about your
goal, jot down a list of the things that could get in
your way. If you’re taking an online course, this
could include:

Losing internet access

Getting a phone call in the middle of a study
session
Having a child home sick
Feeling stuck on a difficult concept or
assignment

If your goal is to go running everyday, some

obstacles might include:

Rainy weather
Injury
Illness
Getting asked to stay late at work during the
time you usually run

We can’t predict everything that could happen, but

we can predict those obstacles that are likely to
happen from time to time based on our unique
circumstances.

Once you have your list, make a plan for how to

handle the obstacle. How can you plan ahead for
when your internet goes out? Maybe you could
keep a few lecture videos downloaded to your
phone or computer for offline access, or you could
identify a nearby coffee shop that offers free wifi.

Now when that obstacle pops up, instead of losing

motivation and feeling deflated, you have a plan in
place to keep the momentum going.

Keep in mind that for some obstacles, missing your

task is a perfectly acceptable plan.

The WOOP method

Next time you’re setting a goal for

yourself, practice the WOOP technique,
pioneered by Dr. Gabriele Oettingen.
This stands for Wish, Outcome,
Obstacle, and Plan. What is your wish?
What would be the outcome of that wish
coming true? What main obstacle stands
in your way? What can you do to
overcome that obstacle?

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4. Set small goals to build

momentum.

“If you want to change the world, start off by

making your bed. If you make your bed every
morning, you will have accomplished the first task
of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride,
and it will encourage you to do another task, and
another, and another.”

Naval Admiral William H. McRaven gave this advice

during his commencement speech at the University
of Texas at Austin in 2014. The former Navy SEAL
was onto something.

Research shows that frequent small successes can

build a sense of momentum that can in turn drive
long-term success, especially early in the process
[7, 8]. Whatever your big goal may be, start by
breaking it down into smaller chunks. Getting a
new job might be a big goal. Smaller goals could be
updating your resume, making a portfolio website,
earning a certification, or attending a networking
event.

Did you know?

Setting goals at the start of a new week,

month, or year can naturally lead to
increased motivation [9]. We tend to
mentally associate these temporal
landmarks with new beginnings while
creating mental distance from any
perceived shortcomings in our past.
Now that’s what we call a motivational
Monday.

5. Track your progress.

Seeing progress can be highly motivating [10].

You’ll find many tools out there to help you track
your goals. This could be as simple as a to-do list or
calendar where you can cross off tasks or days as
you complete them. Or you might opt for a free tool
like Trello, which allows you to create a
personalized digital task board to categorize your
big goal into daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly
sub goals.

Another option is to draw a progress bar on a sheet

of poster board or paper. Hang it somewhere where
you’ll see it regularly, and fill it in as you get closer
to your goal.

What is a SMART goal?

Sometimes the best goals are SMART

goals—specific, measurable, achievable,
relevant, and time bound.

6. Reward yourself for the little wins

as well as the big ones.

It feels good to be rewarded for our work. But

rewards can also improve motivation and
performance. Rewarding yourself for reaching small
milestones and completing big goals could boost
your interest and enjoyment in the work you’re
doing [11].

These rewards don’t have to be big or cost a lot of

money. Here’s a quick list of ideas you could use to
reward yourself:

Take a short break

Go for a walk outside
Enjoy your favorite snack
Read a chapter of your favorite book
Spend a few minutes meditating
Listen to an episode of your favorite podcast
Plan a night out with friends
Play an online game
Visit a free museum or attraction
Have a long bath or shower
Call a friend or family member

Spend a few minutes making your own reward list

so that you’re ready to celebrate your wins, big and
small.

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7. Embrace positive peer pressure.

You’re ultimately the one who puts in the work to

achieve your goals. But other people can be a great
motivator.

Research shows that feeling like you’re part of a

team can lead to boosted perseverance,
engagement, and performance, even if you’re
working alone [12]. Depending on your goal, this
might mean joining a study group, running team,
gym class, professional organization, or virtual
challenge.

Another study suggests that sharing your goal with

someone whose opinion you value can strengthen
your commitment to attaining that goal [13]. For
work goals, consider sharing with a mentor or
supervisor. You might choose to share educational
goals with a teacher or academic advisor, or fitness
goals with a coach or fellow gym member who you
admire.

8. Practice gratitude (including for

yourself).

It might seem like gratitude would lead to

complacency and acceptance of the status quo. Yet
some studies have shown otherwise. Feelings of
gratitude can:

Motivate self-improvement [14]

Make us feel connected to others (i.e. part of
the team) [15]
Enhance motivation across time, beyond the
duration of the gratitude practice [16]
Induce a sense of wanting to give back [17]
Improve physical and mental health, as well
as sleep [18]

There’s more than one way to foster an attitude of

gratitude. Spend the first five minutes after you
wake up going through all the things you feel
grateful for. Better yet, write them down in a
gratitude journal. Is there someone in your life
you’re particularly grateful for? Write them a letter
expressing your thanks.

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9. Do some mood lifting.

A good mood has been linked to increased

productivity, and improvement in both quality and
quantity of work [19, 20]. This doesn’t mean that
you have to be positive all the time—that’s not
realistic. But if you’re feeling sluggish about
working toward your goal, a quick mood lift could
be enough to get you started.

Need some ideas for how to boost your mood? You

could try to:

Spend some time in nature (or at least get

some sunlight) [21]
Look at some cute pictures or videos of
animals on r/aww [22]
Watch funny videos on YouTube [23]
Exercise [24]
Adopt an alter ego (i.e. the Batman effect)
[25]

10. Change your environment.

Sometimes a change of scenery can help you

approach your task with fresh eyes (and a new
sense of motivation). This is called the novelty
effect—a short-term boost that comes from altering
your environment [26].

If you usually study at home, have a session at your

local library. Do you always watch lecture videos on
your computer? Try downloading them to your
phone to watch outside in the park. Switch up your
running route, or try a new exercise routine.

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11. Remember your “why.”

Why is this goal important to you? Why is that

reason important to you? Why is that important to
you? Keep digging until you get to your ultimate
“why”—the core value that’s driving your goal.

To further reinforce your “why,” set an alarm every

morning to remind yourself to spend one or two
minutes visualizing what success would look like.
What would it feel like to achieve your goal?

What’s your career goal?

Empower yourself to achieve your career goals, big

and small, with Coursera Plus. Get unlimited access
to more than 7,000 courses, hands-on projects, and
certificate programs to enhance your resume. Get
started with a seven-day free trial.

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