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How To Motivate Yourself?

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If you can be more specific about what your job consists of and how you think about I might be able to give you some better advice as motivation is usually task-specific. The one thing I want to point out is that your lack of motivation doesn't seem to be the major problem. The problem seems to be that your lack of motivation seems to be a sufficient reason for you not to do the work. But this doesn't hold water. After all, you were able to go through all those shitty jobs before.

To get things done consistently, you have to learn to stick to old-fashioned discipline (and it looks like you have that) instead of motivation. It is helpful to see motivation as the icing on the cake. This way, you will always get all your work done even though you may very often not feel like it.

Of course, if this lack of motivation keeps on, it would make sense to switch jobs to find something that fits you better. But even in your dream job, you will sometimes have to do things you don't especially like or have days when you're not motivated. Thinking "I shouldn't have to do this." just keeps your mind off your task.

But for more specific advice, tell what exactly has happened (your description was very vague), and I'll be glad to offer further advice. :thumbsup:

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Something that can help is to get into a hobbie or activity that you really enjoy. This will give you something to look forward to at the end of the day or week. Also, planning a vacation will have a similar effect.

Another thing to do is just read up on Objectivism more; that can sometimes really motivate and keep you on the right track. Works for me :thumbsup:

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Something that can help is to get into a hobbie or activity that you really enjoy. This will give you something to look forward to at the end of the day or week. Also, planning a vacation will have a similar effect.

Another thing to do is just read up on Objectivism more; that can sometimes really motivate and keep you on the right track. Works for me :thumbsup:

My hobby is basically building a racecar, and thats a big part of the project i

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You sound like you have a lot of debt, or family-related financial obligations. Otherwise, there is no reason why you need to keep this singular crappy job. Just find another one.

If you are planning on leaving your crappy jobs for a future in race car construction (by yourself!), are you sure you can make an adequate profit to suit your future needs and wants, without adding an extra job? If not, you should forget about building race cars as a means to support yourself and think about finding something else you enjoy which will actually make you money.

For me, sales is about the most miserable drudgery I can put myself through, so I would choose almost any other job over that. To me it sounds like your sentiments may be similar.

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You sound like you have a lot of debt, or family-related financial obligations. Otherwise, there is no reason why you need to keep this singular crappy job. Just find another one.

If you are planning on leaving your crappy jobs for a future in race car construction (by yourself!), are you sure you can make an adequate profit to suit your future needs and wants, without adding an extra job? If not, you should forget about building race cars as a means to support yourself and think about finding something else you enjoy which will actually make you money.

For me, sales is about the most miserable drudgery I can put myself through, so I would choose almost any other job over that. To me it sounds like your sentiments may be similar.

Well, my family has helped me get a loan, so i

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Well, okay. If you are in a tough financial situation you may have to take some time to get through this. But as far as I read, you seem to have an interest in learning to be good at selling.

Now there are two ways I read your situation:

Now this is really the way it
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Alfa,

I also work in sales (outside sales, music instrument distribution), and what you have to keep in mind is cause and effect.

Some months, my low motivation level affects sales negatively. I think "no one's buying today, what's the point?", then rationalize it so I won't feel guilty for not having tried. Given that I deal with a degree of depression, it's easy to slip into this evasive state. What "cures" that for me are business-motivational materials, such as the writings of Zig Ziglar. I keep photos of Bill Gates and Richard Branson in my cublicle (much to the sneering delight of coworkers), and that helps sometimes. I also think of Rand characters, like Howard Roark or Henry Rearden, who worked themselves into exhaustion every day. [i'll also sometimes take a cigarette break (I know, I know) out back where my boss parks his Ferrari ... I've no need for a Ferrari, but it's a physical reminder of the work it takes to succeed; and a beautiful one, too.]

Other months, low sales affect motivation. A string of "no, I've got all I need" responses can wear me down. I've spent hours cheerfully and excitedly talking up my product and trying to close deals, but nobody's buying. At the end of the day, drained with nothing to show for it, I feel that urge to sink into "who cares" land. A few days of that, and I'm ready to find a new job. But, I use some of the self-motivation techniques above, and I pull out of it before it manifests itself in my sales. The initial mistake is making success a factor in motivation - and that reverses cause and effect. Not to sound all Disney, but think of those motivational failure stats - Babe Ruth's strike-outs vs. home runs, or President Abraham Lincoln's career - and realize it was determination, not results, that kept them going.

It may seem like a chicken/egg scenario, but it's not. Motivation comes first, and it has to come from setting and pursuing goals (both short and long term), being productive, making a difference, enjoying the work itself, and evaluating your process once the results are in. Be willing to change if you're wrong, and the results will speak for all the work you've done.

Selling is hard. As Rand said, what businessmen do is the embodiment of all her philosophy - capitalism, egoism, reason, reality. The weight of it can't be on you mind when doing a follow-up call, but if those foundations aren't there, you can easily resort to a number of evasions to justify failure: my boss is too demanding, no one understands what I'm doing, I'm not cut out for this, whay can't these idiot customers wisen up ...

One other thing I can point out: you're never going to be a great seller if you don't believe in your product or can't get excited about it. I'm a keyboard player and have always loved music technology; now I'm the only outside sales rep for one of the most respected brands in my industry. The fact that I'm in my element and would buy and perform on "my" products over everyone else's makes up for a lot of issues that could otherwise de-motivate me. (Conversely, I don't know anything about cars - oil, gas, and physics make it go. Might as well be magic for all I care. So if I were selling automobile parts, I'd be so mind-numbingly bored that I'd develop a psychotic dissociative disorder within 3 days.)

Get excited about your product, and not only will it motivate you to sell it, but that excitement will positively affect the client's buying decision. Instead of a being a guy out for their money, you're really happy to get them into whatever sprockets or widgets you're selling. If you're not excited about it, find something else to sell.

Perhaps I'll head over to the AR Bookstore and see what they've got on business ... I don't know if there's a sales-specific Objectivist text available, but I'd sure like to read one!

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Could I say that creation is my productive purpose in life?

No. A central purpose in life, as an abstract statement, identifies what you want to do that is productive and personal to you. Being creative is common to all productive people.

As Ayn Rand explains in The Romantic Manifesto, Ch. 10, "The Goal of My Writing," she wanted to create a certain kind of character, an ideal man. My CPL is to write success stories from history. A psychotherapist's CPL, for his particular life, might be to mentally help good people live better lives. All these are creative, but each is distinct.

Your comments about your many creative activities are very encouraging. You are not a slug who is willing to sacrifice beloved work for the sake of "comfort."

You need to decide what you would love to do, make sure it is objective, devise a plan for getting there, and go for it. You have the courage to "go for it," but you will need to identify the rest. Ask more questions here, if that will help when you are stuck.

Edited by BurgessLau
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Synthlord's concrete advice is very good. I think you may be, at least in part, attaching your motivation to a factor that's not entirely under your control. This is a fabulous way to kill your motivation. Don't ask yourself, "did I sell X amount today?", ask "did I do the best work that I could?" Focus on what you can control, namely the effort you put into your work, and the X amount will take care of itself.

I have been trying to figure out what I did right back when I started this job, and what i

Edited by Alfa
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