Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. Lou Holtz 1937 - American football coach

Project management and motivation series

Motivating yourself

How can you motivate yourself?

With this exercise, try to

• recognize your sense of discovery
• take responsibility for your learning
• accept the risks inherent in learning with confidence, competence, and autonomy
• recognize that "failure" is success:
  learning what doesn't work is on the same path
  as learning what does work
• celebrate your achievement in meeting your goals

As young children, we have a great ability to learn and to see past setbacks.

As we begin to meet expectations created by our families, schools, and environment, the motivation of our early years shifts from our goals to pleasing others, and often our desire to learn suffers.

How can you motivate yourself?

Try to

• recognize your sense of discovery
• take responsibility for your learning
• accept the risks inherent in learning with confidence, competence, and autonomy
• recognize that "failure" is success:
  learning what doesn't work is on the same path
  as learning what does work
• celebrate your achievement in meeting your goals

Part I: definition

How can you motivate yourself?

1. Motivate yourself by first identifying your project

In a note book or on your computer,
define your learning project where you need to motivate yourself:

• Be brief and specific
• Don't be too ambitious.
  Remember: this is a trial project in developing self motivation
• Keep to a very reasonable and manageable timeframe,
  perhaps a two-month period at most

In a separate entry, on a scale of 1 - 10, how curious are you in this subject?
Your project must be greater than five or choose something else!
This project should have significant appeal to you.

Create a wallboard in a visible "study" space and post your project,
or begin a notebook or computer diary and post your project as its first entry.

My intrinsic and extrinsic values

Developing the project and selecting your mentor |

Monitoring your progress and project review |

Time management |

Avoiding procrastination |

Self discipline |

Prioritizing tasks |

My to do list |

Problem solving