Motivation for the Severely Unmotivated

By Garrison Wynn

Everybody is motivated to do something. Some people are motivated to just lie on the couch and eat ice cream. Let’s face it: We have all heard that if we just try hard enough, we can do anything. The problem is we don’t all have the willingness to put forth the extra effort. In fact, we seem to have a consistent unwillingness to be willing — and it takes a high level of motivation to achieve that lack of drive!

Wynn Solutions’ interviews with top performers indicate a natural sense of urgency to take action and do the next right thing. These top performers extemporaneously move forward and complete the tasks that will lead them to success. “So how does that work?” you might wonder. “Why is this person sitting next to me so driven to succeed when I feel like I need a nap after breakfast? (Heck, I get winded sleeping!)”

When I speak at conventions, I talk about how our belief systems create our experience. If we hold a belief strongly, we go through life looking for reasons that prove it’s true. So if we believe that our supervisors do not have our best interests at heart, then we perceive it in everything they do. We confirm our favorite negative prophecy at every turn. On the other hand, if we believe good things are likely to come our way, we tend to spin mediocre events into “the beginning of something great” and end up investing the effort to make it a reality.

Having said all that, is it possible that we have willingness that is blocked
by a belief? It’s kind of like wanting to eat a salad so you can avoid having to wear prescription pants, but believing that one double-bacon cheeseburger (with extra bacon) will be okay just this once.

Could we be working very hard to motivate ourselves into doing something we think can’t be done? Or at least not done by us? If so, it means we can try with maximum effort and receive minimal results. I think the key to motivating the severely unmotivated is examining what they really believe.

Ask this question of yourself or of your staff: What is it that I believe strongly that may not be true? Look for the answer to that question and you may find out why the merger is not working, why the sales force cannot hit their targets and why you keep thinking about new career.

Garrison Wynn is a nationally known keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant. He is the president and founder of Wynn Solutions, specializing in turning talent into performance.  Visit www.keynote-speaker-motivational.com.

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