MOTIVATION & SELF-ESTEEM

I believe in two premises: (i) most people are good people but can do
better; and (ii) most people already know what to do, so why aren't
they doing it? What is missing is the spark--motivation.

After a person's basic physical needs are met, emotional needs become a
bigger motivator. Every behavior comes out of the "pain or gains"
principle. If the gain is greater than the pain, that is the motivator. If
the pain is greater than the gain, then that is a deterrent. Gains can be
tangible, such as monetary rewards, vacations, and gifts. They can be
intangible, such as recognition, appreciation, sense of achievement,
promotion, growth, responsibility, sense of fulfillment, self-worth,
accomplishment, and belief

What is the difference between inspiration and motivation?

There is a direct correlation between motivation and productivity. People

who do just enough to get by so they don't get fired will never be
valuable to any organization. inspiration is changing thinking; motivation
is changing action. Motivation is like fire unless you keep adding fuel to
it, it dies. Just like exercise and food don't last long, neither does
motivation. However, if the source of motivation is belief in inner values,
it becomes long-lasting.

Motivation is something that encourages action or feeling. To motivate

means to encourage and inspire. Motivation can also mean turning on or
ignite the feeling or action.

Motivation can be defined as a motive for action.

Motivation--how does it work?

Your internal motivation is your drive and attitude. It is contagious.
Attitude is the key to getting the response you want from others

Motivation is classified into two types: external and internal.

External motivation

External motivation comes from outside, such as money, societal approval,

fame, or fear. Examples of external motivation are fear of getting spanked
by parents and fear of getting fired at work.

Fear motivation the advantages of fear motivation are:

# ¨ it gets the job done quickly.

# ¨ it is instantaneous.
# ¨ it prevents loss, by meeting deadlines.
# ¨ in the short run the person's performance may improve.

Performance goes up

The disadvantages of fear motivation are:

 ¨ it is external, which means the motivation is there while the

motivator is there. When the motivator goes, the motivation also
goes.
 ¨ it causes stress. Performance is limited to compliance.
 ¨ in the long run, performance goes down. It destroys creativity.
 ¨ they get used to the stick and then need a bigger stick.

Incentive motivation

External motivation can also take the form of incentives, bonuses,

commission, recognition, etc

The major advantage is that it can work very well as long as the incentive
is strong enough. Think of a donkey with a carrot dangling in front and
with a cart behind. Incentive motivation will only work if the donkey is
hungry enough, the carrot is sweet enough and the load is light enough.
From time to time, you have to let the donkey take a bite of the carrot;
otherwise, it is going to get discouraged. After the donkey takes a bite, its
stomach is full, and you need to wait for the donkey to get hungry again
before it will pull the cart. This is typically seen in our business
environment. The moment salespeople meet their quota, they stop
working. This is because their motivation is limited to meeting their quota.
That is external, not internal. We are all motivated either positively or
negatively

Negative motivation brings the desire to take the easier way which ends
up being the tougher way.

Different things motivate different people

Internal motivation comes from within, such as pride, a sense of

achievement, responsibility, and belief.

Internal motivation

Internal motivation is the inner gratification, not for success or winning,

but for the fulfillment that comes from having done it. It is a feeling of
accomplishment, rather than just achieving a goal. Reaching an unworthy
goal does not give the gratifying feeling. Internal motivation is lasting
because it comes from within and translates into self-motivation

The two most important motivating factors are recognition and

responsibility. Recognition means being appreciated; being treated with
respect and dignity and feeling a sense of belonging. Responsibility gives a
person a feeling of belonging and ownership. He then becomes part of the
bigger picture. Lack of responsibility can become demotivating. Monetary
rewards are temporary and short-lived; they are not gratifying in the
long run. In contrast, seeing an idea being implemented can be emotionally
gratifying by itself. People feel that they are not being treated as objects.
They feel part of a worthwhile team. The reward of doing the right thing
by itself is motivating. The

FOUR STAGES FROM MOTIVATION TO DEMOTIVATION

1. Motivated ineffective

The stage when the employee is most open-minded, receptive, and easy
to mold to the culture of the organization. Training and orientation
become imperative. Unprofessional organizations have none or very poor
orientation programs. On the first day on the job, the supervisor shows
the new employee his place of work and tells him what to do, and leaves.
He teaches all the bad along with the good that he is doing. The new
employee quickly learns all the mistakes the supervisor is making because
that is what he has been taught. The organization loses the opportunity to
mold the individual to the culture of that organization. Professional
organizations, on the other hand, take special care to induct people into
their organizations. They explain to them, among other things, the
following: ¨ the hierarchy ¨ expectations of each other ¨ do's and donuts ¨
parameters and guidelines ¨ what is acceptable and what is not ¨ what are
the resources

2. Motivated ineffective

This is the stage when the employee has learned what to do and does it
with drive and energy. He has learned the trade and it reflects in his
performance. Then he moves on to the next stage.

3. Demotivated effective
After some time the motivation level goes down and the employee starts
learning the tricks of the trade. This is the stage when the employee is not
motivated. He continues doing just enough so that the employer has no
reason to fire him but he is not motivated. This stage is detrimental to
growth--most people in organizations fall into this third stage.

Our objective is to bring them back to the second stage of motivated

effective through training. An employee ought not to stay in the third
stage too long; because from here either they move back to the second
stage, which is being motivated and effective, or they move into the fourth
stage.

4. Demotivated ineffective

At this stage, the employer does not have much choice but to fire the
employee, which may be the most appropriate thing to do anyway at this
point. Remember, employers, want the same thing as employees do. They
want to succeed and improve business and if employees help in this
objective, then they make themselves valuable and achieve their success.

DEMOTIVATING FACTORS

Some of the demotivators are:

 ¨ unfair criticism
 ¨ negative criticism
 ¨ public humiliation
 ¨ rewarding the non-performer which can be demotivating for the
performer
 ¨ failure or fear of failure
 ¨ success which leads to complacence
 ¨ lack of direction
 ¨ lack of measurable objectives
  ¨ low self-esteem
 ¨ lack of priorities
 ¨ negative self-talk
 ¨ office politics
 ¨ unfair treatment
 ¨ hypocrisy

A satisfied person is not necessarily a motivated person. Some people are

satisfied with very little. In this case, satisfaction may lead to complacence
{feeling satisfied with oneself}

Motivators

The greatest motivator is belief.

When people accept responsibility, everything improves quality,

productivity, relationships, and teamwork. A few steps to motivate others:
¨ give recognition ¨ give respect ¨ make work interesting ¨ be a good listener
¨ throw a challenge ¨ help but don't do for others what they should do for
themselves.

SELF-ESTEEM

Self-esteem is how we feel about ourselves. Our opinion of ourselves

critically influences everything, from our performance at work, our
relationships, and our role as a parent to our accomplishments in life.
Self-esteem is a major component in determining success or failure. High
self-esteem leads to a happy, gratifying and purposeful life. Unless you
perceive yourself as worthwhile, you cannot have high self-esteem.

All great world leaders and teachers throughout history have concluded
that one must be internally driven to be a success.
People with high self-esteem grow in conviction, competence, and
willingness to accept responsibility. They face life with optimism, have
better relationships, and fulfilling lives. They are motivated and
ambitious. They are more sensitive. Their performance and risk-taking
ability go up. They are open to new opportunities and challenges. They
can give and receive criticism and compliments, tactfully, and with ease.
Self-esteem is a feeling which comes from an awareness of what is good
and having done it.

ADVANTAGES OF HIGH SELF-ESTEEM

 ¨ builds strong conviction.

 ¨ creates a willingness to accept responsibility.
 ¨ builds optimistic attitudes.
 ¨ leads to better relationships and fulfilling lives.
 ¨ makes a person more sensitive to others' needs and develops a
caring attitude.
 ¨ makes a person self-motivated and ambitious.
 ¨ makes a person open to new opportunities and challenges.
 ¨ improves performance and increases risk-taking ability.
 ¨ helps a person give and receive both criticism and compliments
tactfully and easily.

STEPS TO BUILDING A POSITIVE SELF-ESTEEM

1. TURN SCARS INTO STARS - Read the life histories of people who
have turned a negative into a positive, adversity into an advantage,
stumbling blocks into stepping stones. They refuse to let
disappointment and failures pull them down.
Learn intelligent ignorance education teaches us what we can do and
also teaches us what we cannot do. I'm looking for a lot of men with an
infinite capacity for not knowing what cannot be done. --henry ford

The bumblebee

We need to learn from nature. According to scientists, the

bumblebee's body is too heavy and its wing span too small.
Aerodynamically, the bumblebee cannot fly. But the bumblebee doesn't
know that and it keeps flying. when you don't know your limitations,
you go out and surprise yourself. In hindsight, you wonder if you had any
limitations. The only limitations a person has are those that are self-
imposed. Don't let education put limitations on you.

2. DO SOMETHING FOR OTHERS WHO CANNOT REPAY YOU IN

CASH OR KIND
3. LEARN TO GIVE AND RECEIVE COMPLIMENTS
4. ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY
5. SET GOALS
6. ASSOCIATE WITH PEOPLE OF HIGH MORAL CHARACTER
7. TEST OF FRIENDSHIP
8. PEER PRESSURE
9. MODERATION - Many people say, "in moderation, it is ok. I try a
little and quit." the question is, "in moderation, is it okay?" ¨ to
cheat? ¨ to steal? ¨ to take drugs? ¨ to lie? ¨ to have illicit affairs?
Some people frequently rationalize, "I can quit whenever I want."
they don't realize that negative influences are more powerful than
will-power.
10. BECOME INTERNALLY DRIVEN, NOT EXTERNALLY DRIVEN
11. DEVELOP A MINDSET THAT BRINGS HAPPINESS
12. GIVE YOURSELF POSITIVE AUTO-SUGGESTIONS
13. OUR GREATEST STRENGTH CAN BECOME OUR GREATEST
WEAKNESS - for example, in sales, the good speaking ability is a
strength. It is not uncommon to see salespeople with good speaking
ability talk themselves into a sale, then talk too much and talk
themselves right out of the sale. Their strength got them into it;
however, overextended, it became a weakness and they lost the sale.
Listening is a strength. Overextended, however, it could mean that
a person listens a lot but does not speak enough. It becomes a
weakness.
14. OUR GREATEST WEAKNESS CAN BECOME OUR GREATEST
STRENGTH
15. HAVE PATIENCE