Seven Rules of Motivation

#1 Set a major goal, but follow a path. The path has mini goals that go in many directions. When you learn to succeed at mini goals, you will be motivated to challenge grand goals.

#2 Finish what you start. A half finished project is of no use to anyone. Quitting is a habit. Develop the habit of finishing self-motivated projects.

#3 Socialize with others of similar interest. Mutual support is motivating. We will develop the attitudes of our five best friends. If they are losers, we will be a loser. If they are winners, we will be a winner. To be a cowboy we must associate with cowboys. #4 Learn how to learn. Dependency on others for knowledge supports the habit of procrastination. Man has the ability to learn without instructors. In fact, when we learn the art of self-education we will find, if not create, opportunity to find success beyond our wildest dreams. #5 Harmonize natural talent with interest that motivates. Natural talent creates motivation, motivation creates persistence and persistence gets the job done.

#6 Increase knowledge of subjects that inspires. The more we know about a subject, the more we want to learn about it. A self-propelled upward spiral develops.

#7 Take risk. Failure and bouncing back are elements of motivation. Failure is a learning tool. No one has ever succeeded at anything worthwhile without a string of failures.

This chart is available in PDF format. Motivation and workplace leadership booklets are also available at this location. Back to Elements of Motivation

If you want to make things happen the ability to motivate yourself and others is a crucial skill. At work, home, and everywhere in between, people use motivation to get results. Motivation requires a delicate balance of communication, structure, and incentives. These 21 tactics will help you maximize motivation in yourself and others.

Motivation
1. Consequences Never use threats. Theyll turn people against you. But making people aware of the negative consequences of not getting results (for everyone involved) can have a big impact. This one is also big for self motivation. If you dont get your act together, will you ever get what you want? 2. Pleasure This is the old carrot on a stick technique. Providing pleasurable rewards creates eager and productive people. 3. Performance incentives Appeal to peoples selfish nature. Give them the opportunity to earn more for themselves by earning more for you. 4. Detailed instructions If you want a specific result, give specific instructions. People work better when they know exactly whats expected. 5. Short and long term goals Use both short and long term goals to guide the action process and create an overall philosophy. 6. Kindness Get people on your side and theyll want to help you. Piss them off and theyll do everything they can to screw you over. 7. Deadlines Many people are most productive right before a big deadline. They also have a hard time focusing until that deadline is looming overhead. Use this to your advantage by setting up a series of mini-deadlines building up to an end result. 8. Team Spirit Create an environment of camaraderie. People work more effectively when they feel like part of team they dont want to let others down. 10. Recognize achievement Make a point to recognize achievements one-on-one and also in group settings. People like to see that their work isnt being ignored. 11. Personal stake Think about the personal stake of others. What do they need? By understanding this youll be able to keep people happy and productive. 12. Concentrate on outcomes No one likes to work with someone standing over their shoulder. Focus on outcomes make it clear what you want and cut people loose to get it done on their own. 13. Trust and Respect Give people the trust and respect they deserve and theyll respond to requests much more favorably.

14. Create challenges People are happy when theyre progressing towards a goal. Give them the opportunity to face new and difficult problems and theyll be more enthusiastic. 15. Let people be creative Dont expect everyone to do things your way. Allowing people to be creative creates a more optimistic environment and can lead to awesome new ideas. 16. Constructive criticism Often people dont realize what theyre doing wrong. Let them know. Most people want to improve and will make an effort once they know how to do it. 17. Demand improvement Dont let people stagnate. Each time someone advances raise the bar a little higher (especially for yourself). 18. Make it fun Work is most enjoyable when it doesnt feel like work at all. Let people have fun and the positive environment will lead to better results. 19. Create opportunities Give people the opportunity to advance. Let them know that hard work will pay off. 20. Communication Keep the communication channels open. By being aware of potential problems you can fix them before a serious dispute arises. 21. Make it stimulating Mix it up. Dont ask people to do the same boring tasks all the time. A stimulating environment creates enthusiasm and the opportunity for big picture thinking. Master these key points and youll increase motivation with a bit of hard work. Ever wondered exactly how self confident you actually are? Click here and our FREE assessment will tell you in seconds.

Build Self Confidence

1. Dress Sharp Although clothes dont make the man, they certainly affect the way he feels about himself. No one is more conscious of your physical appearance than you are. When you dont look good, it changes the way you carry yourself and interact with other people. Use this to your advantage by taking care of your personal appearance. In most cases, significant improvements can be made by bathing and shaving frequently, wearing clean clothes, and being cognizant of the latest styles. This doesnt mean you need to spend a lot on clothes. One great rule to follow is spend twice as much, buy half as much. Rather than buying a bunch of cheap clothes, buy half as many select, high quality items. In long run this decreases spending because expensive

clothes wear out less easily and stay in style longer than cheap clothes. Buying less also helps reduce the clutter in your closet. 2. Walk Faster One of the easiest ways to tell how a person feels about herself is to examine her walk. Is it slow? tired? painful? Or is it energetic and purposeful? People with confidence walk quickly. They have places to go, people to see, and important work to do. Even if you arent in a hurry, you can increase your self confidence by putting some pep in your step. Walking 25% faster will make to you look and feel more important. 3. Good Posture Similarly, the way a person carries herself tells a story. People with slumped shoulders and lethargic movements display a lack of self confidence. They arent enthusiastic about what theyre doing and they dont consider themselves important. By practicing good posture, youll automatically feel more confident. Stand up straight, keep your head up, and make eye contact. Youll make a positive impression on others and instantly feel more alert and empowered. 4. Personal Commercial One of the best ways to build confidence is listening to a motivational speech. Unfortunately, opportunities to listen to a great speaker are few and far between. You can fill this need by creating a personal commercial. Write a 30-60 second speech that highlights your strengths and goals. Then recite it in front of the mirror aloud (or inside your head if you prefer) whenever you need a confidence boost. 5. Gratitude When you focus too much on what you want, the mind creates reasons why you cant have it. This leads you to dwell on your weaknesses. The best way to avoid this is consciously focusing on gratitude. Set aside time each day to mentally list everything you have to be grateful for. Recall your past successes, unique skills, loving relationships, and positive momentum. Youll be amazed how much you have going for you and motivated to take that next step towards success. 6. Compliment other people When we think negatively about ourselves, we often project that feeling on to others in the form of insults and gossip. To break this cycle of negativity, get in the habit of praising other people. Refuse to engage in backstabbing gossip and make an effort to compliment those around you. In the process, youll become well liked and build self confidence. By looking for the best in others, you indirectly bring out the best in yourself.

7. Sit in the front row In schools, offices, and public assemblies around the world, people constantly strive to sit at the back of the room. Most people prefer the back because theyre afraid of being noticed. This reflects a lack of self confidence. By deciding to sit in the front row, you can get over this irrational fear and build your self confidence. Youll also be more visible to the important people talking from the front of the room. 8. Speak up During group discussions many people never speak up because theyre afraid that people will judge them for saying something stupid. This fear isnt really justified. Generally, people are much more accepting than we imagine. In fact most people are dealing with the exact same fears. By making an effort to speak up at least once in every group discussion, youll become a better public speaker, more confident in your own thoughts, and recognized as a leader by your peers. 9. Work out Along the same lines as personal appearance, physical fitness has a huge effect on self confidence. If youre out of shape, youll feel insecure, unattractive, and less energetic. By working out, you improve your physcial appearance, energize yourself, and accomplish something positive. Having the discipline to work out not only makes you feel better, it creates positive momentum that you can build on the rest of the day. 10. Focus on contribution Too often we get caught up in our own desires. We focus too much on ourselves and not enough on the needs of other people. If you stop thinking about yourself and concentrate on the contribution youre making to the rest of the world, you wont worry as much about you own flaws. This will increase self confidence and allow you to contribute with maximum efficiency. The more you contribute to the world the more youll be rewarded with personal success and recognition.

Reasons We Lose Motivation

There are 3 primary reasons we lose motivation. 1. Lack of confidence If you dont believe you can succeed, whats the point in trying? 2. Lack of focus If you dont know what you want, do you really want anything? 3. Lack of direction If you dont know what to do, how can you be motivated to do it?

How to Boost Confidence

The first motivation killer is a lack of confidence. When this happens to me, its usually because Im focusing entirely on what I want and neglecting what I already have. When you only think about what you want, your mind creates explanations for why you arent getting it. This creates negative thoughts. Past failures, bad breaks, and personal weaknesses dominate your mind. You become jealous of your competitors and start making excuses for why you cant succeed. In this state, you tend to make a bad impression, assume the worst about others, and lose self confidence. The way to get out of this thought pattern is to focus on gratitude. Set aside time to focus on everything positive in your life. Make a mental list of your strengths, past successes, and current advantages. We tend to take our strengths for granted and dwell on our failures. By making an effort to feel grateful, youll realize how competent and successful you already are. This will rejuvenate your confidence and get you motivated to build on your current success. It might sound strange that repeating things you already know can improve your mindset, but its amazingly effective. The mind distorts reality to confirm what it wants to believe. The more negatively you think, the more examples your mind will discover to confirm that belief. When you truly believe that you deserve success, your mind will generate ways to achieve it. The best way to bring success to yourself is to genuinely desire to create value for the rest of the world.

Developing Tangible Focus

The second motivation killer is a lack of focus. How often do you focus on what you dont want, rather than on a concrete goal? We normally think in terms of fear. Im afraid of being poor. Im afraid no one will respect me. Im afraid of being alone. The problem with this type of thinking is that fear alone isnt actionable. Instead of doing something about our fear, it feeds on itself and drains our motivation. If youre caught up in fear based thinking, the first step is focusing that energy on a well defined goal. By defining a goal, you automatically define a set of actions. If you have a fear of poverty, create a plan to increase your income. It could be going back to school, obtaining a higher paying job, or developing a profitable website. The key is moving from an intangible desire to concrete, measurable steps. By focusing your mind on a positive goal instead of an ambiguous fear, you put your brain to work. It instantly begins devising a plan for success. Instead of worrying about the future you start to do something about it. This is the first step in motivating yourself to take action. When know what you want, you become motivated to take action.

Developing Direction

The final piece in the motivational puzzle is direction. If focus means having an ultimate goal, direction is having a day-to-day strategy to achieve it. A lack of direction kills motivation because without an obvious next action we succumb to procrastination. An example of this is a person who wants to have a popular blog, but who spends more time reading posts about blogging than actually writing articles. The key to finding direction is identifying the activities that lead to success. For every goal, there are activities that pay off and those that dont. Make a list of all your activities and arrange them based on results. Then make a make an action plan that focuses on the activities that lead to big returns. To continue the example from above, a bloggers list would look something like this: 1. Write content 2. Research relevant topics 3. Network with other bloggers 4. Optimize design and ad placements 5. Answer comments and email 6. Read other blogs Keeping track of your most important tasks will direct your energy towards success. Without a constant reminder, its easy to waste entire days on filler activities like reading RSS feeds, email, and random web surfing. When my motivation starts to wane, I regain direction by creating a plan that contains two positive actions. The first one should be a small task youve been meaning to do, while the second should be a long-term goal. I immediately do the smaller task. This creates positive momentum. After that I take the first step towards achieving the long-term goal. Doing this periodically is great for getting out of a slump, creating positive reinforcement, and getting long-term plans moving. Its inevitable that youll encounter periods of low energy, bad luck, and even the occasional failure. If you dont discipline your mind, these minor speed bumps can turn into mental monsters. By being on guard against the top 3 motivation killers you can preserve your motivation and propel yourself to success. . Minimize Television Watching This is a hard sell. People love vegetating in front of the television, myself included more often than Id like. The problem is watching television doesnt use your mental capacity OR allow it to recharge. Its like having the energy sapped out of a muscle without the health benefits of exercise. Dont you feel drained after a couple hours of TV? Your eyes are sore and tired from being focused on the light box for so long. You dont even have the energy to read a book.

When you feel like relaxing, try reading a book instead. If youre too tired, listen to some music. When youre with your friends or family, leave the tube off and have a conversation. All of these things use your mind more than television and allow you to relax. 2. Exercise I used to think that Id learn more by not exercising and using the time to read a book instead. But I realized that time spent exercising always leads to greater learning because it improves productivity during the time afterwards. Using your body clears your head and creates a wave of energy. Afterwards, you feel invigorated and can concentrate more easily. 3. Read Challenging Books Many people like to read popular suspense fiction, but generally these books arent mentally stimulating. If you want to improve your thinking and writing ability you should read books that make you focus. Reading a classic novel can change your view of the world and will make you think in more precise, elegant English. Dont be afraid to look up a word if you dont know it, and dont be afraid of dense passages. Take your time, re-read when necessary, and youll soon grow accustomed to the authors style. Once you get used to reading challenging books, I think youll find that you arent tempted to go back to page-turners. The challenge of learning new ideas is far more exciting than any tacky suspense-thriller. 4. Early to Bed, Early to Rise Nothing makes it harder to concentrate than sleep deprivation. Youll be most rejuvenated if you go to bed early and dont sleep more than 8 hours. If you stay up late and compensate by sleeping late, youll wake up lethargic and have trouble focusing. In my experience the early morning hours are the most tranquil and productive. Waking up early gives you more productive hours and maximizes your mental acuity all day. If you have the opportunity, take 10-20 minute naps when you are hit with a wave of drowsiness. Anything longer will make you lethargic, but a short nap will refresh you. 5. Take Time to Reflect Often our lives get so hectic that we become overwhelmed without even realizing it. It becomes difficult to concentrate because nagging thoughts keep interrupting. Spending some time alone in reflection gives you a chance organize your thoughts and prioritize your responsibilities. Afterwards, youll have a better understanding of whats important and what isnt. The unimportant stuff wont bother you anymore and your mind will feel less encumbered. Im not saying you need to sit on the floor cross-legged and chant ommm. Anything that allows a bit of prolonged solitude will do. One of my personal favorites is taking a solitary walk. Someone famous said, All the best ideas occur while walking. I think he was on to something. Experiment to find the activity that works best for you.

Conclusion I hope you arent disappointed that none of the techniques Ive proposed are revolutionary. But simple, unexciting answers are often the most valid. The challenge is having the will to adhere to them. If you succeed in following these 5 tips, youll be rewarded with increased mental acuity and retention of knowledge.

ag-aalala kay Celia baka nakalimot

Sa mga unang saknong, itinatanong ni Balagtas kung nasaan na ang kanyang Ceciliang dating minamahal. Ipinag-aalala niya rin kung baka nakalimot na si Selya sa kanilang pag-iibigan. Ang pagkalimot na ito, ayon kay Balagtas, ay ang ikinalubog ng kanyang kapalaran sa lubhang kalungkutan. Pero iginigiit naman ni Balagtas na hindi niya nakalimutan ang pagmamahalang iyon. Lumipas na ang mga araw na iyon, ang natira na lamang sa kanyang puso ay ang pag-ibig kay Selyang iniaako ni Balagtas na mananatili habang siya ay buhay pa.

Kalagayan ni Balagtas

Mangga

Dahil inaakala ni Balagtas na nakalimot na si Selya, siya ngayon ay nangungulila, nangungulila sa pagmamahal, at nagdurusa. At para maibsan ito, inaaliw niya ang kanyang sarili sa pag-alala ng kanilang nakaraan, at sa pag-alala pa lamang niya sa mukha ni Selya, siya na ay nagiginhawaan. Kanyang inaalala ay ang larawan ni Celia kanyang iginuhit na ayon sa kanya, ang kanyang tanging naiiwang pampag-alala kay Selya, at nililigawan ito sa ilog na makati. Inaalala niya ang kanilang pinagpasiyalan noong sila ay magkasintahan pa, at nang si Selya ay nagkasakit. Ito ang ilog ng Beata at Hilom, at ang puno ng manggang hangad na pitasan ni Selya. Isa pa sa kanyang inaalala ang ang dagat na kanilang pinagliliguan dati, na, ayon kay Balagtas, kanilang inaagapan upang hindi abutan ng alat ng dagat.

Hinahanap niya si Celia, ang kanilang pagmamahalan, lahat ito ay wala na sa kanya. Lahat ito ay lubha niyang ikinalulungkot. Sa bandang hulihan ng kabanata, ipinag-aalala naman ni Balagtas na baka nalulungkot ngayon si Selya, at para maibsan ito, dapat man lamang sana siyang alalahanin.

Kaugnayan sa totoong buhay ni Balagtas

Maiuugnay ang kabanatang ito sa buhay ni Balagtas. Ito ay dahil hango ito sa pagmamahalan nina Balagtas at Maria Asuncion Rivera, MAR o, ayon sa pagbansag sa kanya ni Balagtas, Selya. Sila ay nagtagpo sa Pandakan noong 1835, at silang dalawa ay naging malapit sa isa at isa. Ang pagmamahalang ito ay agad naudlot nang si MAR ay inagaw mula sa kanya ni Nanong Kapule, isang mayaman at makapangyarihang tao sa Pandakan. Ipinakulong siya ng mga magulang ni Kapule, at sa pagkawala niyang iyon, doon inagaw ni Kapule si MAR, at pinakasalan siya.

SA BABASA NITO Ang kabanata ay payak. Sa unang bahagi nito, ang mambabasa ay higit na pinasasalamatan ni Francisco Balagtas, at ipinahahayag niyang kung papahalagahan ang awit ay totoong magiging nakakapakinabang ito. Habang sa sunod na bahagi, na hindi nangangahulugang ang aklat mang nagpapasaloob ng awit ay mumurahin at payak ang pabalat, ang nilalaman naman nito ay maiibigan ng mga pantas; sa ibang salita sinasabi ni Balagtas na kung nakakaalam ang mambabasa, malamang ay maiiibigan ito. Sa ikalawa sa huling saknong, itinuturo naman ni Balagtas kung paano higit na madaling magagamit at maiiintindihan ang awit sa pamamagitan ng mga talababaan. Ngunit higit sa lahat, sa lahat ng saknong, mariing iginigiit ni Balagtas na kailanman, huwag baguhin ang awit. Ito ay para hindi ito matulad sa iba-ibang salaysay at kuwentong-bayang sa katandaan at muling pagsasalaysay mula sa iba-ibang labi ay nagkaroon na ng iba-ibang bersyong taliwas sa nauna.