What’s in Your Toolbox?
Have you ever had one of those days when you just can’t seem to get motivated? When you can’t seem to find time for yourself, your work, family AND schoolwork? I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all had those days, especially as adult learners with busy lives trying to balance so many things at once.
As a Success Coach, I talk to students every day with the goal of supporting them in developing skills that help them to succeed not only in school, but in life. I’m curious about how they turn things around when they’re struggling to motivate. I ask them this for two reasons:
- to help them pinpoint what works/has worked, so they can re-use that tool in the future, and
- to learn from them so that I can share these successful strategies with other students.
Many of our students already have an effective toolbox that they utilize on a daily basis. Below are a few strategies I have learned from some of our students. Maybe you do something similar, or maybe you can borrow one of these “tools” the next time you’re needing a little something to keep you moving forward:
- Talk the talk – expect that you will do well, say it out loud and follow up on your actions – that way, you are setting yourself up to succeed.
- Plan for it, expect it, achieve it.
- Focus and challenge yourself because you are responsible for your own success.
- Do not procrastinate, set your mind to it and just do it!
- Listen to a great song that gets you motivated!
- Choose a positive self-affirmation and post it somewhere so you see if often.
- Create your own self-fulfilling prophecy – don’t say “I can’t”, instead, say “I can” and “I will”
If you have other strategies that work for you, I’d love to hear about them. Post them in the comments below.
