Get Moving!
Author: Jeanne Johnson

Why do we put off doing things? It’s easy to make excuses. The most popular one is that we are too busy. But that is often not the case. There is an old adage “If you want something done ask a busy person”. Busy people are usually highly self motivated.

But being highly motivated to get everything done all the time may lead not only to the desired success, prestige or wealth but also to stress and burn-out.

So it’s not altogether a good way of living.

Neither is the alternative of being too laid back, getting nothing done and possibly ending up feeling bad about ourselves or seriously depressed.

Somewhere in between is the healthy balance we need to be aiming for.

There are many kinds of motivation. We may be motivated by money, the need for approval, guilt, conscience, fear, love, greed, hunger, thirst, etc., etc. The list is long and ranges from the primal drive to ensure basic needs to the highest altruism.

But for now let’s just look at the basics of self motivation – at getting moving.

Are you one of those people who find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning? Have you ever really asked yourself why? Tomorrow morning ask yourself what’s holding you back. (It’s OK you can do it while still lying in bed!) The chances are you are dissatisfied with either yourself or something major in your life and feel there is nothing you can do to change the situation. And maybe you can’t all in one go. But acknowledging there is a problem is a big start. The next step may be getting some help to deal with it – talking to a friend or family member you trust or a counsellor perhaps. You may need to boost your self esteem (see previous Selfhelper articles) to convince yourself you deserve better. If you feel you may be clinically depressed it’s important to consult your GP for help.

The big thing is getting started and the bottom line is only you can do that.

Often when we are unable to motivate ourselves we feel overwhelmed by what we have do or what is expected of us. Everything gets “on top” of us and weighs us down and we expend our energy in worrying about what we ought to be doing rather than getting on and doing it. The best way to improve your self motivation is to take small steps which are likely to lead to immediate success.

If you have a number of tasks to be tackled start by writing a list. First sort your list by priorities then look to see which of these you can most easily achieve. Be realistic.

You may have put off decorating your spare room for the past umpteen years because to be able to do that you first have to clear out the junk that’s accumulated, make more storage space, fix the window, etc, etc. So the job becomes overwhelming and you are deterred from starting. So first priority (relatively easy to achieve) is to get rid of the junk. It’s amazing what a great stimulus to getting moving throwing out the junk in your life can be! Try it.

Large tasks may need to be broken down into achievable units. If the garden is a wilderness don’t try and put it right all in one go (unless you are fortunate enough to be able to afford a professional landscaper!). Mark out one small area and put that right before moving on to the next Try this process with other large tasks which seem overwhelming taken as a whole..

Integrate smaller tasks with the larger ones. This will prevent boredom and exhaustion and ensure completion and positive levels of achievement. All of which will help to keep you motivated.

Don’t forget to reward yourself. Often when the what we should be doings and ought to be doings get on top of us we stop doing the enjoyable things in life – and end up achieving nothing and feeling bad about ourselves. So write another list of what you’d really like to be doing and integrate these items in your list of tasks.

Take care of yourself. The better shape you are in physically, emotionally and mentally the more energy you will have to tackle all those tasks on your list.

From time to time review your list and ask yourself questions. Why am I doing this? Do I need to be doing this? Who am I doing it for? Is it more important than ……..? Maybe you can cross off not only completed tasks but unnecessary ones as well.

And remember the hardest task of all is getting started. Sometimes we just have to give ourselves a kick up the pants to get moving!

©Jeanne Johnson








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Jeanne is a regular contributor for www.selfhelper.co.uk and has her own column as ‘Agony Aunt’. Jeanne is an experienced teacher, personal and relationship counsellor, polarity therapist and healer. Through these four mediums and her wisdom, insight and life experience Jeanne has developed a unique style of healing, guidance and personal empowerment. She has counselled for Relate, the prison service and in a GP surgery. She has worked successfully with a wide range of people and problems and had her own counselling and polarity therapy practice in North Birmingham. She now lives in America, but continues to practise and write in the Sierra foothills of Northern California."

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