Maybe you know it too: winter has arrived and something happens instinctively: you go into a kind of reflection mode. The Earth has taken another round around the Sun and we are moving into the quiet months, those that for many primarily are spent indoors, and it is time for self-reflection. For some it is a positive experience, for others it is not so nice, but the fact is that the seasons come and goes and there's nothing you can do about it. Completely like the changes in life we all face from time to time.
What you can do something about is the balance in your life and your motivation to develop yourself. In order to create and/or maintain motivation, one must, based on one's own worldview, try to see the bigger picture: What is valuable to you, where are you heading in life, does your path through the year fit with the path you yourself think, you've chosen; how's your social life, your work life, and how you maintain your motivation in relation to all of those things. It's about challenging your comfortzonecomfort zone so you don't languish. It's about the courage to change, and that can only come from within. It stems from your mental resilience.
Mental resilience can be trained throughout life. When the thinking brain and the reptilian brain are given suitable challenges – neither too big nor too small – the thinking brain can control the reptilian brain so that it is not activated inappropriately. When you have satisfactorily handled a situation that was demanding, the thinking brain sends a message to the reptilian brain: "That wasn't so dangerous. "That's how you get from comfort zone to growth zone, but not into panic zone, and you can meet like situations with a calmer mind. By doing things that challenge us a lot, we expand our comfort zone and train our mental resilience. fra comfortzone til growth zone, men ikke over i panikzonen, og man kan senere møde lignende situationer med større ro i sindet. På den måde udvider vi vores comfortzone og træner vores mentale robusthed, altså ved at gøre ting, der udfordrer os tilpas meget.
For some it works to have a goal, a project. It could be training to complete a race, reading a challenging book, climbing a mountain, making my bed every day or a specific task on the job. To set a goal, expanding your comfort zone just a little bit, keeps you from deteriorating. This actually applies to all people to one degree or another.
8 pieces of advice to keep motivation alive:
- Set a personal and realistic goal that benefits yourself and others. Other people's ideas about what goals you should set rarely work as well as your own. It's your life.
- Find out what you need to learn to achieve the goal - and split the goal into sub-goals. Even the greatest journey starts with a single step.
- Talk to people you are comfortable with and who can support you and/or those whose characteristics and qualities inspire you. This will make it easier for you to reach your goal. Make it a habit to look for new inspiration in books, lectures, art etc. Get involved.
- Find out how best to calm your reptilian brain if you're losing control and direction: You can use the body to calm the brain's alarm system by exercising, as it creates endorphins in the brain and makes it easier for us to learn something new. Active learning and movement are some of the cornerstones of self-motivation, which will also help you to better cope with your challenges.
- Be aware of how the thinking brain and the reptilian brain work, and what situations can get in the way of achieving the goal, so you can prepare before they occur. Take a deep breath right before! Those few seconds help you stay focused.
- Find your own way to keep track of your goals and sub-goals on an ongoing basis: What will it mean for you to reach your goal? Write down the good ideas that pop into your head along the way. Write down 3 good things, big or small, that have been successful - every day. A rule of thumb is that it often takes 8-12 weeks of daily practice to stabilise a new direction in life. It is a process…give yourself time.
- Reward yourself along the way: The best reward is when a milestone is met. Give yourself a high-five. Do it even if the goal is not completely reached, because praise creates an open and learning state in the brain, which again encourages to keep trying. Even if the road to get there may seem difficult.
- Reflection: If a project does not succeed, you must look at where to adjust next time in relation to these 8 pieces of advice. Sometimes it is due to the challenges being too small or too big, sometimes it's just a lack of practice. It is normal to be overwhelmed by the feeling that "it is too difficult" and also to be paralyzed by negative thoughts that run in circles. A good question in those situations is: "What do I need to learn right now?" That question can help you shift the focus back to action rather than staying in the feeling of being overpowered by the negative thoughts.
If you train and develop your mental resilience, you train your self-confidence and self-esteem at the same time and thereby gain increased self-control, which supports self-motivation. From here, your tolerance, social intelligence and openness can be increased.
Remember, we ourselves are the ones who put the greatest limitations on ourselves and our lives.
Happy thoughtful winter out there.
HEXES
This video motivates us on an off-day :o)