LinkedIn Learning: Mastering Self-Motivation

Staying motivated with a project is definitely a struggle, I find that when I first start a project all I want to do is work on it. The further into the project I get the more of an issue my motivation becomes. Looking back I think that a lot of my problems come from a lack of confidence in my designs. I frequently strive for perfection and yet never feel like I’ve accomplished it. I’m not entirely sure if ‘lack of motivation’ is my issue or if its ‘avoidance’. As I’ve spoken about this previously, I have a problem with perfectionism, which unfortunately leads me to sometimes avoid things that I view as tasks I’m not good at, for instance writing. My main reason for completing something I might usually avoid is because I don’t want to disappoint someone, however my reasons for avoiding something stem from fear of disappointing someone. As you can understand it's rather convoluted. Be that as it may after completing the free writing tutorial with Catherine Tomlin, earlier on this month I have found writing itself to appear to be an easier feat. This has led me to explore other techniques that may help me in improving my work ethic.

This is why I have chosen to complete a short self-motivation course on LinkedIn Learning, to help me in overcoming my habits of avoidance and hopefully instil some self-confidence into my work.

Essentially, what Selena Rezvani mentioned on this course really resonated with me. For instance, seeking out approval even when you have authority to go ahead with your own ideas. Simply because of a need for validation and support, that delivers feelings of ‘safety’ as opposed to ‘risk’. I was shocked to learn that relying too much on others dampens your motivation, however upon reflection I’m aware that this is actually true to say about my own working patterns, when working with others.

Stroke your energy levels by adopting a mindset of Self-Reliance

Self-reliance begins with relying on your own power and judgement. It can really help with building confidence. It leads to proactive working by making your own choices and therefore having more control than you think.

“Procrastinate, Protect, Perfect”

The three P’s of Motivation Pitfalls. I have never found three words that describe me better. I am a master at procrastination, I once watched a TED talk on how to avoid procrastinating however whilst watching the talk I inadvertently procrastinated from the work I was supposed to be doing.

Feeling protective over my work is something I’ve discussed very recently in the reflection for my Short Film Project but I’ll reiterate. My work can sometimes feel quite fragile, and as a consequence I feel reluctant to share it with other people. Especially with those people that I consider to be important to its success: lecturers, parents, mentors, or any individuals that I view as having an authoritative position. As I think about it I can acknowledge that it is quite an irrational feeling to hold on to and now I feel that I could benefit from the opinions of these individuals as I now understand that they are instrumental to my own progression and improvement.

This also links to my issues of perfectionism, sharing something I feel is less than perfect can sometimes be suffocating inducing a feeling of panic. I have always had a problem with feeling a need for everything to be perfect, and feeling like a failure when it's not. It's only in recent years I’ve allowed myself the comforts of having a safe space - my notebook - to make mistakes and write in less than font perfect fashion.

Rezvani actually teaches a technique to help with this. It's about improving your self-talk. The voice you use to speak to yourself in your head can be a great motivator or a massive hindrance. Embed supportive and positive self dialog in your own mind. One way of doing this is drawing a table titled Negative Thought and Counterstatement. For example my negative statement would be “I know it's never going to be perfect, therefore it won’t be good enough and I’ve already failed so why try.” A counter statement would be “If I don’t try I’ll never know if I could have done it and worse yet I’ll never improve.”

Concluding this course I can already say I’m feeling more motivated about my current uni projects. The counterstatement table for improving self-talk is an exercise I have put to use substantially and I’ve found it really helpful in identifying what's holding me back and helping me in viewing it with a more positive outlook.