How to Motivate Yourself to Do Better

Personal development is a process that candidates can use to reflect or to evaluate themselves on. They can use it to understand what needs to be improved, and what steps to follow to help them discover their full potential and reach their goals.

Strategies for Personal Development

Create a personal vision or mission statement: Create a personal S.W.O.T. and clear goal you want to specifically focus on. Perhaps you want to apply for a new course, further study, volunteering, internships, or learn a language. Make a list of personal developments that you wish to develop in order to improve on them and to reach your goals. Set short-term or long-term goals for the next day, week, month or year. You can also create a fun vision broad or list, and place it where you will see it every day to motivate yourself.

Plan and record your goals: Once you have set your goals, it is time to plan how you will actually achieve them. Planning for both short-term and long-term goals is the key. Create a plan or schedule to follow that will help you stay on track, and will help you remember your daily tasks and goals. Put a check mark behind the days leading up to your goal also gives you motivation to continue to reach it.

Reflect on your progress: Review your goals and reflect on your progress. Think about what you were able to accomplish or not, and readjust your goals, priorities and re-plan if necessary. Ask for feedback from people you interact with on a daily basis, to further help you realize your development. Write down how the whole process made you feel, what you learned about yourself, and what you want to continue to improve.

Advantages of Undertaking Personal Development

• Self-awareness: improves your personal development and helps you make better decisions personally and professionally.
• Positivity & Optimism: can be energizing to you and those around you
• Volunteering: connects you to others, advance your career and it makes you happy
• Written skills: can help you communicate well in writing
• Enhanced CV: gives you more chances of a good first impression and getting a job
• Language acquisition: can be useful and valuable personally & professionally
• Internship: help you prepare for future jobs, and increases your network
• Further study: helps you enhance your knowledge
• Presentation skills: improves your ability to communicate and express your ideas effectively, and allows others to understand what you are saying
• Dress appropriately: give a good impression
• Time management: reliability under pressure
• Healthy lifestyle & breaking bad habits: invites balance to your life and boosts your energy

In a recent news article written by rtlnieuws.nl, young people will have priority at government jobs after participating in volunteer work in the Netherlands. Those who participate in the program will receive a certificate. It can be shown when applying to government jobs. Eventually, it is also the intention that businesses will consider the certificate to be a plus. The CDA has often advocated the introduction of (social) service obligations in recent years. The idea is that young people would be better at realizing that “society is not just for them but for everyone”.

How to Personally Motivate Oneself

When learning a new skill, it can sometimes be difficult to find the needed motivation, especially if you have to develop this new skill quickly. But breaking it down and asking yourself questions can actually help you feel motivated to learn faster. Identify the purpose, understand why you need to learn this new skill, and set your goals and tasks.

Take one goal at a time and break it down by researching everything about how to achieve this new skill. Gather and compare your findings on how the skill should be in order to achieve your goal. Create a list of reasons that show any hesitation you might have to complete this new skill; then with your findings create a list of what you need to do to improve and adapt yourself to master it. Motivate yourself by listening to motivational speakers, and by finding out how others are motivated when learning a new skill.

How to Overcome Any Inhibitions or Lack of Enthusiasm

Motivation comes from desire and interest, and it pushes you to want to take action and accomplish your goals. Therefore, to overcome any inhibitions or lack of enthusiasm, you need to first find out what really interests you or what makes you happy, and then you can improve your self-esteem and your self-confidence. Identify the reasons for lack of motivation, which sometimes includes unhealthy lifestyle, laziness, procrastination, fear of what others might say, fear of failure, and stress. Find solutions to end bad habits. Create a mindset or reminder of reasons why you should improve yourself and what you would gain by making small changes.

Aspects worth focusing on to help you include:
• Optimism
• Confidence
• Open mindedness
• Reading up
• Goal setting
• Consistency
• Determination
• Reflection and feedback
• Dealing with obstacles or set backs
• Constructive criticism
• Celebrating achievements

Good luck!

Maybeline Whitter

Sources:
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/volunteering-and-its-surprising-benefits.htm
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/personal-development.html
https://www.intelligenthq.com/education/25-self-development-skills-to-learn-for-free-online-this-year/
https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nederland/politiek/nieuw-kabinet-jongere-krijgt-voorrang-bij-overheidsbaan-na-vrijwilligerswerk
http://www.freemake.com/blog/top-20-websites-to-learn-a-language-online/
https://www.fastcompany.com/3051781/try-these-5-steps-for-learning-new-skills-faster
http://worldminded.com/why-is-personal-growth-so-imortant/
https://www.fastcompany.com/3025079/how-to-overcome-self-doubt-and-a-lack-of-motivation