How to Get and Stay Motivated in Less Than 5 Minutes

November 9, 2009 by Steve

Have you ever felt totally beat up and out of control?

Like no matter what you did, you couldn’t get yourself motivated?

Sometimes it can be hard to stay focused and centered as you move through your workday. It’s hard to get control. You have good intentions at the start of the day, but things seem to go off track.

You know what I mean?

Well, here is something that has helped me quite a bit. Not only has it helped me gain control, but it’s also helped me rekindle that inner fire.

It’s an important technique that I haven’t seen anywhere else on the web. And the best part is that you can use it over and over again once you “get it.” Here’s the video:

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10 Comments so far

Niels Gouman on November 9, 2009 10:41 am
I’ve tried it and it did motivate me to do the thing that motivated me in the first place

so for me I thought of the Karate Tournament I did recently, and now I do feel like I would like to do another tournament.

How exactly can I use this to motivate me for something new?
Steve on November 9, 2009 10:44 am
Hi Niels,

What specifically would you like to be motivated to do?
Niels Gouman on November 9, 2009 10:48 am
at the moment that would be either to clean my room, read a book or write a blog post

whatever is easiest to do, so I could figure out how to use it for anything else
Steve on November 9, 2009 10:52 am
@ Niels: Yup, pretty much.

You just want to take the specific structure of that time when you were motivated and integrate that structure into the new situation where you would like to be motivated.
Niels Gouman on November 9, 2009 10:55 am
So all I need to do is practise a bit more? :-)

I was expecting it to work like some of your other video’s where it could work instantly with the first try
Steve on November 9, 2009 11:03 am
Hi Niels:

It does if you have the whole strategy, but it’s not always necessary.

Our brain fires off signals so fast that sometimes we miss it - a little bit of training on how the brain works usually helps to increase our awareness…
Garin Bader on November 9, 2009 6:28 pm
We tend to quickly forget great moments in our every day lives in the mad rush to just make it through the day or make it to the next big goal. At the end of the day, it’s very helpful to write down even the smallest accomplishments and events that “made your day” or that just put the tiniest smile on your face - no matter how small.

You can always build on what you remember and can feel. But if you can’t even remember great moments of your day, week, or month with great clarity and warm feelings, it’s almost impossible sometimes to find the strength to access them to motivate and inspire you.

Writing these things down helps you go back and relive the feelings of exhilaration and excitement. These are the very things that Steve talks about that will imprint your brain with greater clarity, emotional content, and gratitude - the very ingredients that will build enthusiasm and motivation for you every time you access them.

So, for motivating yourself to do something new, think of all the times you didn’t want to do something and try reliving the exact moment of how great you felt after accomplishing that something you thought you couldn’t do; that people told you that you couldn’t accomplish; that dare you took and conquered. Relive hearing the compliments you and your friends gave you when you completed it. Live it in the present…

The faster your mind can pull up vivid images of success and associated feelings of triumph, the more motivated you’ll be to conquer the world in small or great things. :)

Keeping a log of the smallest and tiniest things can be extremely helpful. Stop waiting to recount only the big events in life; your week; your day. Look for great moments every second. In waiting for a cool moment like a solar eclipse, we can forget all the beautiful days of sunshine and nights with along with all those moments of our lives that build character, success, and gratitude.

Great work Steve. Love your videos and writing. Thanks for inspiring us with your work…

Garin
KEN J MEAKIN on November 10, 2009 1:11 pm
I try my best to keep out those negative thoughs by saying CANCEL then replace it right away with a postive thought which is some times a great memory when I was all fired up feeling good.I got all fired up at a church one time feeling low then moments later feeling on top of the world and loved by God.
Tiffany Routon on November 11, 2009 1:37 am
Wow…. You are amazing. I just learned more about myself in the past 5 minutes on your site than I have reading tons of books and attending leadership seminars. Kudos to you for understanding these concepts and sharing them with the world. Thank you for taking the time to do this!
Steve on November 11, 2009 8:01 am
@ Tiffany:

Thank-you