We all face challenges in life, one of them is to constantly be motivating ourselves to keep going with our daily tasks.
Imagine if you had a little help from a friend or a leader in that pursuit of motivation? Sounds cool right!? Reverse roles and you will find that you can actually be that motivator that your friends or subordinates need.
The question is how do you do that? How do you motivate other people?
You might want to help just a friend and motivating him for a specific problem he has, or, you might be a leader trying to motivate your team for a corporate vision or goals.
Either way, we got you covered with plenty of ideas and tips on how you can motivate others, enjoy!
How To Motivate Others To Achieve A Goal
1. Establish A Good Relationship
If you want to motivate people you first need to build trust with them.
They won't open up to you if they don't feel confident enough to even engage in conversation.
Does have to be formal all the time?
Can't you pull them to the side and go drink a cup of coffee with them, help them relax?
If it's a friend hang out with them in a unusual setting, go workout together or just catch a movie.
Make sure you communicate well, so that you can talk about anything and most importantly: let them talk!
You lead by asking questions in a informal matter first.
Once some rapport is established and you get to know people better, you can understand what juices or what triggers them. This is will be extremely important in the future as you're about to see.
2. Show Them That You Care
Notice that we put "show them" not "tell them". That's right! Actions will define you not words.
In everything you do, you must act accordingly to a person that's devoted to make other people better.
Delegate them some important tasks, give them responsibility.
This will make people feel engaged and happy doing what you ask them for.
Of course, you can also show that you care to a friend, by always being there when it's needed. Do that with your co-workers also.
Create empathy and build a great relationship of reciprocity.
Truly make people see that you believe in them!
One way of doing that is also helping them learn new things and practicing new activities. Sharing and teaching are great tools, people will be encourage to be better and surely will be grateful for it
3. Help Them Distinguish Goals From Wishes
We all want something out of life, but a goal is different from a wish.
Most people wish they have this or that, wish thy were happy, wish they were better, wish life was better, they wish, wish and wish non stop.
But wishing will not get us far, if you don't take the steps to make those wishes a reality. That's when goals appear in the picture.
You have a goal when you clearly define what you're trying to achieve. You know what's the target you have to hit. When you wish you're just firing shots all over the place without aiming at a specific thing. It's easy to wish for something, goals require a little more work.
So, the first thing you must do to motivate others to achieve a goal is to certify yourself that they are actually pursuing goals not just wishes.
If you're a leader you must make sure that your team understands the team goals.
If you're a friend helping a friend, make sure they clearly identify their goals.
Best way to do it is to check if their goals pass the big 5 test for setting goals? Are they specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time oriented?
- If they fail in all these characteristics those are not goals, they are just wish - you need to help them transform a wish into a goal by following this formula.
- If you can find some of these characteristics - you can help your friends with the lacking characteristics to strengthen their goals.
- If they pass the test - the problem is not their goal setting skills but probably some mindset issues.
4. Tell Them That It's Possible
This is a perspective I got from listening to the work of Les Brown.
No matter how silly their dreams and ideas might seem, never discourage people from their desires to achieve something.
First, you might not have their vision, so you might not understand what they are trying to achieve. Second, a person that dreams about something is tired of hearing others downplay his goals.
What you must do is to tell them that it's possible!
Possible that they achieve their goals.
This is different from saying you can or you can't. Even if you see that they can't achieve that something now, who knows with strong commitment and focus what they might learn or become.
By saying that it's possible you leave a possibility open. This possibility will make people open their eyes and start to believe that in fact it can become a reality.
5. Help Them Organize Better
Sometimes, people set these big goals, they actually start to do the actions to achieve them, they see some progress. Meanwhile they look at the big picture and find that they have a long way to go still, they get overwhelmed by it. Most of them gives up.
What you must do is to help them find short term goals within their big goal, and stop this overwhelming feeling.
Short term goals are like stages or steps they have to achieve to reach their long term goals. It's all a process in development.
As an example, if their goal is to lose weight by running, their short term goal could be to improve their time/distance every time they run.
They will feel challenged by it, and suddenly their focus switches from a big thing they know they can't accomplish now, to something they actually might do each time they try to do it. Eventually they will get better and better, and feel challenged to accomplish more.
It's very important to help them re-organize their goals into small goals they feel they can manage.
They get motivated by it, and they will be closer and closer to achieve the big goal also.
6. Remind Them Of Their Purpose
Achieving goals can be a long and hard process, it's easy to get discouraged and frustrated once in a while.
People might be on the verge of giving up, because they aren't seeing the progress, they desire and work so hard for. They start to lose the inside fire they once had when they set their goals and defined their purposes.
What you need to do is just to remind them of their purpose. That simple!
Ask the question: Why do you want to do it? Why are they trying to achieve that goal?
Always strive to be positive and help them see all the benefits.
For instances, if they are trying to quit smoking, they might answer you: "because I want to be healthier", that's the starting point for you to make them understand all the things they will gain if they can quit for good. Their family will benefit, their kids will stop to be passive smokers, they can have more money, they stop being stressed all the time because they need to smoke, they can get fit, and so on.
7. Be There To Listen & Provide Feedback
This is our last tip but an indispensable one, if you want to motivate others you need to listen to them.
It's so easy to get caught in our own thoughts and ideas, that sometimes we don't take the time to hear what others are feeling.
Make sure you got that time in your schedule, ever heard of 5 minutes meetings? Well that should do it, a time where your subordinate can talk about his problems and you can provide quick feedback.
Most times it's just a matter of assuring them that they are heading in the right direction.
Never hesitate to praise people if they deserve it, bring a create atmosphere to your relationship.
If others are finally motivated and they start to see the results they want, it's mandatory that you celebrate them and congratulate them on their achievements.
And who knows? Those results might actually be your team or family results! By helping and motivating others, you can also bring changes to your life.
So it's on you to help others and continue to...
Be GREAT!
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