Five guiding principles to a motivating day

– Be active: set realistic and challenging activities.

– Get inspired: inspiration can be found anywhere.

– Have a meaningful day: Ask the ‘what?’ and the ‘how?’ question.

 – Progress and achieve: success is satisfying.

– Reflect and rejoice in what you’ve done: “What did you learn today?”

What if being at work is like having a day off? Your day off generally consists of things you want to do and some things you need to do that day. If you managed to do what you had to do, and you had time to do the things you enjoy, you look back on a day (full) of joy, happiness and accomplishment. It does not necessarily have to be a day off to feel this way, in fact, this could also be true after a day of obligatory (work-related) activities. Follow these five guiding principles, and see what happens! Let’s elaborate what they’re all about.

Be active: set realistic and challenging activities.

Rise and shine, open the curtains, let the sun in and brighten your morning. Have your morning ritual and get ready to be active. Set realistic and challenging activities for the rest of the day. You don’t have to write them down, as long as you have an idea of what your day is going to be about. Having a structured day will make sure your precious time is used effectively. An activated person is a lot more productive and driven. This will provide you, and others, with the energy to strive and reach for the best possible goal(s).

Get inspired: inspiration can be found anywhere.

Open yourself up to your surroundings, take in the positive around you and use it to gain inspiration. In doing so you might come up with new ideas, meet new people and experience something new. By allowing yourself to be inspired externally – on whatever level – you will be able to challenge yourself and those around you more, learning something new every day. This will provide you and others with the energy to accomplish things such as the ones that were set in the first guiding principle.

Have a meaningful day: Ask the ‘what?’ and the ‘how?’ question.

What are you going to do, and how are you going to achieve it? Answering these questions can facilitate a meaningful day. The ‘what?’ question can be done individually or in a group, depending on the project. It is important to collaborate with others in setting goals before continuing to the next question. Starting a discussion together is an important tool in creating a common goal and to let every voice be heard. The ‘How?’ question; Give responsibility to and empower those that will do the work. Make sure that you are with people whom you trust and who you can rely on!

Progress and achieve: success is satisfying.

Results give you a sense of accomplishment. Getting things done gives a relaxed feeling. While necessary, be careful not to get lost in tasks and duties. Try to pinpoint the reason you’re doing certain things, and see the benefits of completing them. Of course, some things you just need to get out of the way. Once they are done however, it will provide space and time for more inspiring and stimulating activities. Importantly, make sure that each time you cross out another thing on your to do list, you pause and relax for a moment.

Reflect and rejoice in what you’ve done: “What did you learn today?”

Try this: when the day is pretty much over, take a moment to relax and reflect. Are you happy with your day, do you think you learned something, challenged yourself and did you make someone smile? When reflecting, you increase your learning capabilities, this will help you the next day, and the day after that, to be a better you. Take pride and joy in what you’ve accomplished, by yourself or together with others. Also reflect on failure, if you’ve done something wrong, make sure you acknowledge it, so you remember what to do next time.

Being motivated does not depend on the one day, but is a result from a series of events, days and weeks. Make sure you interact with people who inspire you, and people who share in your beliefs and principles on how to design the perfect day off or at work. These five guiding principles provide you with necessary skills for a motivating day, but perhaps more importantly; the feeling you get from motivating others.

Written by and for: controlandmotivate.nl  & nourishpositivity.com