Do you find it tough to work towards your goals – even when you know they’re worthwhile? Perhaps you’ve tried to push yourself forwards with willpower ... but it hasn’t worked.

Instead of willpower, you need more self-motivation. That way, you won’t run out of energy – and you might even find yourself enjoying life more!

Here’s how to become more self-motivated:

#1: Spend Your Time on Tasks You Enjoy
If you have a choice about what you’ll spend your time on – perhaps what job you’ll take, or what you’ll major in at college – then choose something that you’ll enjoy. Going for a job that pays a little more, or a major that sounds a bit more prestigious, isn’t going to help you stay motivated.

Even if you’re working in a job that you dislike, you probably have some control over the tasks you take on. Can you ask to be involved with a new, interesting project? Can you volunteer to help your manager with a particular piece of work?

#2: Take Pride in What You’re Doing
Some activities can seem pretty futile. Perhaps you’re a small cog in a big machine at work, and it’s tough to see how your contribution matters. The truth is, it does make a difference – your company wouldn’t have hired you in the first place if it didn’t.

It’s easier to be self-motivated when you take pride in what you’re doing, and you do it to the best of your ability. Whether you’re cleaning the house or dealing with customers, you can consciously decide to do your very best.

#3: Think About the Outcome
In an ideal world, every task would be its own reward. Of course, it doesn’t always work like that. You’ve probably got a bunch of tasks on your list that aren’t especially interesting or enjoyable – but you want to get them done anyway because they’ll take you towards your goals.

Try focusing on the outcome: that qualification at the end of your degree course, or the money you’ll have if you stick to your savings plan. You might even want to find an image that helps represent this outcome (the job you want to have, or the car you’re planning to buy) and keep it close to hand.

#4: Be Careful With Your Use of Rewards
Some people motivate themselves with rewards: Once I’ve answered these emails, I’ll have a chocolate bar. This can be helpful if you really need to push yourself through a particular task – but if you do it too often, you’ll find yourself relying on the reward instead of your natural motivation.

Think instead about the rewards inherent in the task itself: Once I’ve answered these emails, I’ll feel on top of things or Answering these emails helps me to keep our customers happy. Instead of seeing the task as yet another item on your list, think of its real impact on you and others.

#5: Learn Something New
We’re all natural learners – it’s how we survive. “Learning” isn’t just for children and students: it’s something we do throughout our lives. If you’ve ever struggled to figure out a new piece of software and had an “aha” moment, you’ll know how good it can feel to learn something new.

If there are specific areas in your life where you feel very unmotivated, is that because you’re not confident? You might hate cooking, writing, exercising or some other task, because you know you struggle to do it well. Taking the time to learn about it could really boost your motivation.

#6: Stay Focused While You’re Working
You might be motivated to start a new task ... but if your attention wanders after five minutes, you’re going to struggle to keep that motivation going. Every time you switch to something else (like Facebook or your phone), you’re breaking your concentration.

Stay focused on one thing at a time – even if that means turning off your internet connection or blocking websites that distract you. If you keep stopping and starting, it’ll seem like your task is dragging on forever – it’s much more motivating to make steady progress.

How do you become – or stay – self-motivated? Let us know your tips in the comments!

Written on 10/23/2011 by Ali Luke. Ali writes a blog, Aliventures, about leading a productive and purposeful life (get the RSS feed here). As well as blogging, she writes fiction, and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing.

Photo Credit: BrentDPayne

Lillet Buttermilk Shakes Recipe

August 21, 2011     |   105 Comments

A lot of things were banished to the basement in our recent move. The basement is expansive, and the general rule of thumb was this: if we weren't going to need it in the following three weeks, use a big, fat, Sharpie to indicate basement/sotano on the cardboard box. Straight to the basement. One perplexing item that ended up in the kitchen was a milkshake maker. After living in the garage for years, it seemed like the sort of thing that would go to the basement without much of a discussion. But apparently not. Wayne wanted to put it to use, so it has been hanging out, in my line of sight, for weeks. Correspondingly, the idea for this shake popped into my head. Tiny, thick vanilla buttermilk shakes spiked with Lillet.

Buttermilk shakes are my favorite. But I like them small - more of a big shot than anything else. These turned out nicely in part because the Lillet brings a subtle booziness and fragrant citrus flavors to the creamy slush. I suspect a lot of you have herb gardens with basil plants that are sprouting pretty flowers right now - I picked a few from my planter, and sprinkled them on top of each shake.

Let me know if you have other things you like to do with Lillet. I mention a few basic ideas down below in the head notes, but I'd love to know if any of you do anything super interesting with it. It's a favorite around here for sure. But typically just on the rocks or with a splash of sparkling water.

 

Lillet Buttermilk Shake

If you end up buying a bottle of Lillet just to make these shakes, don't limit it to shake-making. The occasional Lillet on the rocks, or Lillet & soda water are favorite summertime drinks around here. And a good way to work through the bottle.

2 cups / 1 pint vanilla ice cream (or, creme fraiche ice cream)
1/3 cup / 80 ml Lillet
1/3 cup / 80 ml buttermilk
basil flowers, optional

Let the ice cream sit out for 5 minutes or so, just to soften a bit. Add it to a bowl or milkshake cup. Pout the Lillet and buttermilk over the ice cream, and mix to combine. If you don't have a milkshake maker, you can use a hand blender, or just let the ice cream soften a bit, and mix by hand. In a pinch, you can make the milkshakes a bit ahead of time, and leave them in the freezer until needed. But not more than an hour or so - I like a thick shake, but you don't want them to set up / freeze too much. Serve in little glasses topped with a few basil flowers if you have them handy.

Makes a bunch of little shakes, or 4 larger shakes.

Prep time: 5 min

Print Recipe

If I weren't vegan, I'd be making this in a split second! Yum! I can only imagine . . .

My mom always says “there’s nothing new under the sun.” And that’s mostly true. Sure, you can put a different spin on something but chances are, it’s not entirely new. Some piece of it is always a part of the old.

The only thing that there has never been another of and will never be another one of in the future is YOU. There may be others who have the same skills you have, the same eye color or hair color. Maybe they share your name or some other trait. But there will never be another person with the culmination of all your experiences, your perspectives, your thoughts.

There is only ONE you.

Your job on this planet is to be the best YOU possible. Let your light shine. Let is shine brightly. Because that’s your birthright. That’s your claim to fame. Nobody else can be you. No matter how hard they try.

And no matter how hard you try, you’ll never be anyone else.

You can copy others all day long but in the end, you’re not them and you’re not being true to yourself by acting like someone else.

Remember the 4th rule on my 10 Rules for Being a Badass Trailblazer?

“To thine own self be true.”

You know what else this means? And I’m guilty of this too – you can’t let shyness hold you back!

Whatever happened in the past that made you clam up and become afraid of being you – whether you were bullied at school or treated poorly by family, whatever it is – it doesn’t matter. It’s in the past. The only thing you can do with the past is learn from it and then move on.

Today is a great day to move on from that self-imposed prison.

Let your light shine.

Because what kind of life is hiding in a corner all the time? Not a very fun one, is it?

Let me ask you a question . . . what kind of person are you when nobody else is watching? Or when you’re with your best friend?

Maybe you’re like me and sing at the top of your lungs and dance around the house. Maybe you write really awesome music. Maybe deep down you really enjoy running through the sprinklers like a little kid. Or maybe you’re moved by coloring in a kids coloring book. Or maybe you really love acting or something. Who knows?

But I’ll let you in on a secret – 99% of the time, nobody else IS watching.

In which case, you’re afraid of being you for no real reason.

Now, realize I’m not saying you’re being wimp here. Or that it’s not a good reason. I’m sure for you, it’s an excellent reason and you’re getting some payoff from it. But, how do you get around that? How do you learn to be yourself even when someone IS watching? How do you learn to be you no matter what’s going on around you?

Well, I could tell you grow a pair. Or maybe I could tell you to sit with this feeling and just let it be. Or just let go of it. But you know what? Maybe you’re not able to do that at this point of your journey.

That’s ok. Sometimes those things don’t work in the real world. So, what does work?

• First, figure out what makes you feel shy. Identify the root of the issue.
• Build up your self-confidence. Learn what makes you tick – what’s that one thing you’re super good at?
• Surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you.
• Think of situations where you might be shy and visualize having confidence and things going well.
• Convey an open and friendly attitude to those around you. This means don’t act busy or occupied with something else. Be open and inviting.
• Practice speaking clearly. You can do this alone outloud or with a partner or group of friends.
• Make new friends by taking community classes or going to local meet-ups for things you’re interested in.
• Try new things. Like bungee jumping or skydiving or something. It’ll give you a rush as well as something to talk about with other people.

You really have no excuses now!

I want to see you shine!

“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” - Charles F. Kettering

Tell me one thing you can do to get out of your shell and open up to a whole new world. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

And I expect you to . . . keep blazin’!

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I’ve been thinking more about this whole idea of truly creating one’s own path over the past few days. Especially this part from the original post:

See, the times in my life when I have had the greatest successes and the most happiness have been during those times when I went against the flow. Against convention. The status quo. During the times I have gone my own way and made my own path have been the best times of my life.

And what I want to remind you of with regard to that is – I don’t mean you should have to fight everything that’s in your way. I’m not telling you to throw caution to the wind entirely, here. Don’t get yourself in trouble.

I do mean – be reasonable. Be serious. Be cautious to the point where you’re not going to do something to hurt yourself or someone else.

If it’s not going to hurt anyone, then throw caution to the wind, by all means.

But more than that – living a life of your own making means that sometimes you’ll be scared shitless. Sometimes people will really be pissed off at you. Sometimes you’ll feel like you’re not going anywhere or that what you’re doing is totally wrong. You’ll second-guess yourself.

Let me tell you – if you’re pissing people off and feeling scared, you’re probably on the right track.

If things are too easy, well, you might want to reassess your direction. Now, realize I’m not saying you should be struggling to make ends meet or fighting your way through everything. I’m saying that if you’re not experiencing some challenges, you’re too close to your comfort zone.

And if you’re too close to your comfort zone, you’re not growing and you may as well be a dead fish. Because remember?

Only dead fish go with the flow.

And I’m pretty sure you’re not a dead fish.

So, this next week, I want you to think about ways you can push the envelope. Reach out, stretch your comfort zone. Go beyond what you know and find something that challenges you.

As for me, I’m going to connect with some local interest groups and get involved in my community. Something I’ve wanted to do for a while but always found a reason not to.

And as always . . . keep blazin’!

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Sweet!!! What an awesome addition to the house. Makes me want one too. ;-)

Easy, tiger. Put your wrists where we can see them and step away from the Silly Bandz, nice and slow. Geneva-based watchmaker Altanus has a more creative solution for accessorizing with color on the cheap. Its new Patch timepiece, hailed by the almost-centenarian company as the world’s first paper watch, is available in 10 neon colors and a litany of seasonal prints. Plus, each epidermis-hugging watch costs €24, or roughly $33.50 at current exchange rates—more than half the price of a Swatch and a mere fraction of Altanus’ typical luxury chronometers.

TIME OUT

The Patch, which was inspired by the papier-mâché floats at the annual Carnival festival in Viareggio, Tuscandy, took four years of research and development to create. Weighing only 11 grams (0.3 ounce), the LED ticker is designed to adapt to your wrist like a second skin. But don’t pooh-pooh the timepiece as the next fad in disposable fashion. The Patch is treated with a coating that makes it waterproof and shock- and tear-resistant, which means that with a little TLC, it should stand the test of, well, time.

+ Patch

+ Altanus

[Via WWD]

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Official permission granted

If you still feel you need official permission to get started, please use this form letter to craft a note to yourself, from yourself:

Dear Me:

By the authority vested in me, and only me, I hereby grant you permission to (fill in the blank) (start your business), (launch your website), (write your book), (begin your nonprofit), (go for the big job).

I understand you do not currently have all the skills, resources or experience to launch this new venture. Fear not, for the only way to gain them is to start today, without hesitation, and without regret.

And if, in your pursuit to change the world for the better, create jobs, change minds or solve problems, you do not meet your goals, I offer this disclaimer:

Welcome to the human race.

In complete confidence of your ability to kick ass,

-Me

Excerpted from: http://myescapevelocity.com/whose-permission-are-you-waiting-for-to-start-you...:+myescapevelocity+(Escape+Velocity)

YUM!

Very interesting looking. Not sure it would fit in a standard bike lane, though. It's a concept developed in partnership between students in Mexico and students in Germany. Check it out.