Tag Archive for: motivation techniques

Becoming The Master Of Your Inner Voice

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How often does that inner voice pop into your head?

You know the one. It’s always there to provide you with an excuse, self-doubt or anxiety. It shows up when you need it least. Well, I’d like you to meet Barry, my inner voice.

He comes alive when I’m in bed and the alarm goes off. Telling me, I NEED 5 more minutes – like its life and death. He is there when I push my comfort zone. Reminding me of the worst possible outcome, assuring me that it will occur. Nagging me to choose mindless distractions over what I need to do.

Barry can also be encouraging – but only when it comes to working on what’s easy over what’s hard.

That inner voice serves a great purpose, to protect and make us aware of immediate dangers. Although this worked well while living in the wild, the only hazard I’m facing now is when I forget to pick up oat milk for my wife’s morning coffee!

In the world we live in today, that inner voice may be holding you back from reaching your full potential.

Taking the first step

Taking the first step can be difficult, or it can be easy. It’s easy to procrastinate, but hard to get started.

It’s easy to press snooze, but hard to get up and go to the gym. The first step determines which direction you’ll go in – productive or distracted. Fulfilling your goals or procrastinating on them. But there is a way to take back control — a way to override the inner voice that is holding you back from achieving something great.

5 seconds to succeed

You see, Barry is quick to jump to a conclusion, but he’s slow to react. There is a small window of opportunity where I don’t have to negotiate with him. Author Mel Robbins calls this, The 5 Second Rule. In those first 5 seconds, Barry is still hibernating and doesn’t realize what we’re about to do.

Counting down 5… 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 Springing out of bed at the sound of your alarm. Starting that report you know is due tomorrow. Making that sales call you’ve been dreading all week.

Taking action before the inner voice realizes what’s going on. Beating it to the punch before it can make a list of excuses, causing inaction.

Two minutes to greatness

Another technique written about by James Clear is called the two-minute rule. If you’re looking for a boost of motivation for taking on a looming task or project, this is the technique for you. The idea is to focus on the first 2 minutes of any project. Your only goal is to achieve those first two minutes. Anything that happens after is inconsequential. Get a coffee or tea and begin to write an outline.

Pack your gym bag and get in the car. Sit down and begin meditating. The sole purpose is to focus on completing the first two minutes of any task. Who can’t get motivated to complete two-minutes of an activity? I can even convince Barry quite easily to commit to this one.

Once the two-minutes are up, you can stop what you’re doing guilt-free. But by focusing on getting started, you’re more likely to continue. Use the two-minute rule as a source of motivation to overcome your inner voice and take on dreaded tasks or challenges you can’t seem to get started on.

Habit Challenge

It might sound odd, naming your inner voice. But when you own it, you become more aware of it. And through greater awareness, you can begin to slowly change its narrative. Who’s that inner voice that is holding you back? What if you didn’t have to listen to it anymore? What could you accomplish? We’ve seen that the first step is the most difficult, yet the most important. How you decide to act in the face of resistance will influence the steps that follow. Put into practice the

5-second rule and try it out for yourself.

Tomorrow morning as the sound of the alarm count down 5… 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 and jump out of bed without a second thought. Or focus on the first two minutes of any task and hold yourself accountable to only completing those first 120 seconds. You might fail at first, but that’s ok. The key is to focus on progress over perfection and keep practicing until it becomes a habit.

Becoming the master of your inner voice.

How Daily Tracking Can Help You Reach Your Goals

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If you begin tracking your daily routines or habits, you’ll begin to find some flaws in your memory. You might not be eating as healthy, burning as many calories on your runs or being as productive with your time at work as you think you are.

Our brains aren’t developed to store information, but rather be inventive and creative. That’s why tracking is more reliable, but you may be surprised at what you will find.

Why Should You Think About Daily Tracking?

Effective tracking can provide a better success rate in creating new habits, increase your productivity and hold you accountable. Tracking your actions will provide clear performance results. It will keep you honest by increasing your self-awareness and provide motivation through a chain of successful days, weeks or even months.

In the past, meditation was always a difficult habit for me to develop. Every time I’d start I would do well at first, and then my practice would fall apart. I had my excuses; not enough time, I forgot, or I thought I was meditating more often than I was – until my Insight Timer app would display a “two-day streak.” I struggled to make meditation a daily practice.

I only became successful after I started tracking my results and tying meditation to an existing habit. After my morning shower, I’d take 10 minutes to meditate and then check it off my list. I tracked every day I meditated, and the odd days I missed. After I had completed a week in a row, I became more motivated to keep the practice going. Every day, I’d take my morning shower and then head to the same spot in my condo, sit down and meditate. Through tracking and attaching it to one of my daily habits, it was easier to make meditating a regular practice.

The Dark Side of Tracking

Tracking can have a positive effect in achieving your goals, although negative consequences can occur– when tracking becomes too much.

Recently, a friend showed me his habit tracker and all of the activities he regularly completes – getting up early, stretching, doing push-ups/plank every morning. He proudly revealed his meditation app indicating 107 days in a row! I was impressed.

He went on to tell me a story about how on Day 79, after meditating on the plane, his streak reset to zero due to a time zone change. Understandably, he became upset and ended up contacting the app to update his streak.

This is where I realized the negative side effects of tracking. When crossing off your task becomes more important than the benefits of the activity, you might want to stop and re-evaluate.

If you find yourself falling down this path, miss a day on purpose.

The point of creating a habit isn’t to create the winning streak of the century! It’s to benefit from creating a long-term habit by using tracking to assist you. Be aware if your competitive nature might be getting the best of you.

There are many more apps you can use, find one that works best for you. Or you can play it old school and keep track of your activities via pen & paper or on a calendar. However, an app provides better accessibility, and you can even set daily reminders!

Habit Challenge

If you have doubts about tracking, just try it – what do you have to lose?

Identify a few specific habits, that contribute to your performance at work and well-being. Spend a week tracking how many times you go to the gym, what you eat or how often you perform a bad or good habit. If you forget or miss a day, let it go, and pick it up the next day. Create consistency and avoid missing twice in a row.

If you take on too much it’ll be difficult to do it over the long term, so start slow.

Determine your WHY by asking yourself what is motivating you to improve this area of your life? Use this as a reminder during times of struggle or distress. Understanding why you are doing something will help you stay motivated to make the activity a habit.

Take action today and pick one specific habit or daily action that you already do or want to start and begin tracking it regularly. Post your commitment in the comments below and I’ll follow up to hold you accountable 🙂

5 Questions To Ask Yourself To Become A Better Leader

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When stepping into a new leadership (team) role, there’s often a lot to take in. You are now responsible for your team’s productivity in addition to the myriad of other responsibilities your new role requires of you.

While you may not be brand new to the workforce, learning how to lead and manage people can be daunting. Pulling from our experience working with growing start-ups, we’ve compiled the top 5 questions emerging leaders want to know.

1. How Do I Motivate My Team?

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to motivated teams, but there are some key ingredients to success.

First, what are the goals of the organization? Think about the company’s vision and what it’s looking to achieve. Clear expectations help people to feel invested by letting them know what they are working towards. This encourages teams to work collaboratively.

In addition, if you can follow the vision piece with clear and measurable goals it will allow your team to track their progress in a measurable way.

Next, consider how each member of your team fits into this equation. Is there something in particular that makes each person excited about the work they do? If so, how can you use those interests in alignment with desired outcomes? When we look at the work we do from the human side we can better understand why 2 people with the same training/skills perform differently within a role.

2. How Much Work Should I Delegate vs. Execute Myself?

Delegating effectively means assigning work to people that align with the desired outcome of the task/project – by evaluating synergies you can then capitalize on your team’s skills while simultaneously motivating them as we previously touched on.

Delegation also means giving people the autonomy and the trust to make decisions and overcome obstacles.

Some leaders are reluctant to delegate out of fear of being “out of the loop”. Others have difficulty relinquishing control over work historically they were responsible for.

But delegation isn’t about letting go of control; it’s about gaining perspective and providing your team with the tools and a safe-to-fail environment in order for them to grow and succeed.

3. How do I Have Difficult Conversations With my Team Members?

It may sound obvious, but it’s important to be honest about your concerns and expectations before you start a conversation with a team member. If you’re not being clear about what’s going on, then it’s harder for them to respond appropriately.

Communicate in person. It’s always better to talk face-to-face, but that’s not always possible — especially if you and your team work remotely. Emailing or messaging back and forth can create misunderstandings, which could make reaching a resolution difficult. Having a flexible goal in mind will give the conversation direction – the solution to a problem isn’t always immediately clear but if you discuss and can openly brainstorm a resolution it will go a long way in building trust with your team members/team.

4. How do I Build Trust and Accountability Among my Team?

Show up as your best self; as a leader, you set the tone for organizational culture and performance, so if you are perpetually late, push deadlines, or don’t acknowledge your own mistakes your team will see this as an acceptable way to conduct themselves.

In addition, teams need feedback; if behaviors or outcomes surface that don’t align with organizational objectives, there is a good chance there is a lack of clarity around expectations. Communicate with your team to try and identify where you can help close the communication gap to realign your team.

And, most recently…

5. How Can I Get The Most Out of A Remote/Hybrid Team?

Working remotely has presented new workplace challenges for leaders. Still, with some flexibility and the utilization of some great networking and organization platforms, leaders can find themselves successfully leading dynamic and organized teams from the comfort of their living rooms.

By adopting a flexible mindset, leaders can benefit from shifting focus from hours to outcomes. A stellar Q1 report remains stellar regardless of when it was sent/received.

Flexibility filters into team interactions as well. No longer are we meeting at the copier or popping into an office for a quick chat; setting up weekly team meetings and one-on-ones helps keep your team on the same page and allows the human side of your remote team to stay in focus.

In many cases, new leaders jump into the role and react to the challenges they face, learn from (hopefully) good managers and evolve their leadership skills with time. But what if there was a way to practice PROACTIVE LEADERSHIP?

Proactive leadership aims to eliminate or reduce the impact problems have on your team by implementing measures based on identified risks.

Want to know more? Using a coach-approach Intuity Performance can be your bridge from knowledge to actions so that YOU can become an effective human-centric leader.