Hope and a good attitude
"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily." Zig Ziglar.
In the last week or so I have heard several stories of how people have had to deal with difficult situations whether it is about the present financial crisis, a relationship or something else. The one thing that has struck me about these stories has been how a person's attitude to such crises is likely to affect the final outcome. The more hopeful people are, the more likely we are to think of and act on all the choices we have.
So I would like to talk a little about hope.
The attitude we have as we face a crisis will most likely affect the final result.
Some people, for what we think are good reasons, believe that the worst is likely to happen and this often causes inaction or paralysis. "It's going to happen anyway, what can I do?"
But other people are altogether more positive and believe that things will turn out for the better. They are also more likely to believe that they can have control over things by their own actions. These people are filled with a greater sense of hope for the future.
The research that has been done about hope tells us that there are three essential ingredients to being hopeful:
1. You should have clear and specific goals of what you want -"I want to be such and such weight in 3 months", "I want to have that type of job by October" etc
2. You should also have a clear plan or pathway of how you are going to get there. If it seems like a big ask, break it down into manageable chunks you can achieve week by week. And also look at different ways you can achieve it. Don't just rely on one way.
3. You also must be motivated to do it. Is the goal really what you want? Is it challenging enough or so challenging you have little chance of getting there? Is this goal part of who you really are? If you suffer a setback how well can you bounce back?
The times we become sad or depressed about the future are when one of these elements is missing and often it is because we are not really motivated. Of course one way of increasing our motivation is by telling someone else what we are doing. This may be a friend who may support us or better still a professional coach who will not have a vested interest but will encourage you but not let you off the hook, listen and help but not tell you what to do.
Here's a bit of light relief if you think all this happiness is a bit overdone!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd4tugPM83c
Revive and Thrive Coaching is now offering group coaching as well as individual coaching. Group coaching has many benefits including
• being with other people facing similar challenges
• gaining motivation from others as well as the coach
• brainstorming solutions together
• benefit from the perspectives of others.
"The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything. "Theodore Roosevelt
