Self-motivation: How to overcome your inner demons

Self-motivation allows you to pursue goals and overcome obstacles without external incentives. But often, your inner demons get in the way. We’ll show you methods you can use to organize and motivate yourself.

Self-motivation is the ability to drive yourself to pursue goals and overcome obstacles without relying on external incentives. Like other skills, you can train your self-motivation and thus overcome your inner demons. This can even further help you in mastering online betting.

In this article, we present various methods you can use to cultivate self-motivation and thus promote self-management in your everyday life.

Self-motivation: Sort tasks by importance

The Eisenhower principle helps you get an overview of your tasks. Self-motivation begins with becoming aware of what you really want to achieve and, at the same time, recognizing what you don’t want. The crucial first step is to have a clear picture of your goals and to distinguish between what is essential and what is unimportant.

One method for distinguishing unnecessary tasks from necessary ones is based on the Eisenhower principle. This is how US President Eisenhower sorted his tasks according to importance:

• Write down all the tasks you need to complete at some point on a to-do list.
• Draw an Eisenhower diagram as shown in the picture. Then enter all the tasks from the to-do list into the four fields accordingly.
• It is best to complete the tasks in field A immediately, as they are particularly time-sensitive. Further down, we will reveal which methods can help you with this.
• In field B, enter tasks that are important but do not need to be done immediately. To avoid forgetting them, you should set a fixed date for when you will complete them.
• Field C is for all tasks that you do not have to do yourself but can delegate to others.
• You do not need to motivate yourself for tasks in field D. They are superfluous and do not need to be done.

Incidentally, this method is not only suitable for self-motivation, but also for time management.

Overcoming your inner demons: goals instead of tasks

Climbing a mountain is always difficult. But the view is all the more rewarding. With a to-do list, however, the tasks at hand are far from being completed. And their mere existence is often enough to dampen your self-motivation and prevent you from continuing. It is therefore important that you visualize the goals you have set for yourself.

The mountain metaphor helps to counteract procrastination:

Your goal could be to climb a mountain, for example. You’re standing in the valley, about to start your ascent, but your inner couch potato would rather have a cup of coffee. Then you think about what it will be like when you reach the summit: you see the snow-covered peaks, the clouds drifting by, the sun shining, the air clear and refreshing—and suddenly you’re taking your first steps toward the summit.

Visualization like this can boost your self-motivation. Imagining success can awaken an inner urge to make that vision a reality.

Salami tactics and like-minded people spur you on

If you divide a big task into many small ones, it immediately seems less daunting. You have to climb this insanely high mountain. That’s a huge task, but you can break it down into smaller ones:

• the distance to the fork in the path,
• then to the alpine pasture,
• the stretch through the snow
• and the via ferrata in the rock.

You can motivate yourself better if the path to your goal consists of realistic and clear stages. According to the dictionary of psychology, this is “a form of voluntary control that does not exhaust or wear you out, but energizes you.” And that is a basic requirement for staying on track and not letting your inner demons win.

Tip: With a not-to-do list, you can also plan your projects efficiently and prioritize tasks according to importance.

The Pareto principle: Perfectionism is inefficient

Sometimes it’s not worth putting in 80 percent effort for 20 percent return – the Pareto principle. Nobody is perfect, not even you. And even if you don’t quite manage to complete a task, partial success is still success! To stick with the mountain climbing metaphor: you may not have made it all the way to the summit because your knees won’t let you. Nevertheless, you’ve made it above the tree line and can see a wonderful panorama.

This is an example of the so-called Pareto principle: with 20 percent of the effort, you can do 80 percent of the work – but for the remaining 20 percent, you need 80 percent of the effort. In other words, with your exhausted knees, you are 80 percent of the way to your goal. However, the last 20 percent would take four times as much effort as the distance you have covered so far.

It can therefore help your self-motivation to remember that you don’t always have to go all out. The important thing is to overcome the first hurdle—namely, pursuing a goal in the first place—and to do your best without getting bogged down. It is crucial to take the first steps and keep moving forward without letting the idea of perfect results hold you back.