Irrespective of wherever we are, and whatever we do, there are always situations in life, where one starts feeling a little helpless. At this point in time, as now the advanced research in applied behavioral sciences has proved, it is the power to motivate one oneself, stay positive, concentrate of time management and stay focused on one's strengths, develop the strength to do good hard work, and so on, transforms the individual to a new level, and helps the individual to come out of any tough situation.

Self-motivation is no rocket science.  It is just a combination of all common sense oriented principles or ideas.  It is still very much possible for any individual to understand the basics of self-motivation.

The first central idea is to understand that all is never lost in any situation.  Even big businesses that run up losses, are transformed through one single leader, who sees light at the end of a tunnel, marshals his resources very well, and attempts to take the organization to the next level, by infusing hope and optimism in whatever one should do, here and now.  In fact, this emphasis on action is central to the process of revival.

What is true to an organization, is true to an individual too.  The advise and feed back of elders is vital. The advise of good friends and relatives can help too.  We need to be alive to such possibilities and take steps forward.

In 2008, there was a severe recession in the industry.  A very young MBA, recently married, lost his job, in supply chain management, in a very good organization.  His wife was trained to be a teacher, but was not employed.

A near hopeless situation was turned around quickly.  A good counselor, who had heard that one organization dealing in spices and masala powders of all kinds, was recruiting administrative managers, advised to man to apply.  The MBA graduate immediately was interviewed and landed in the job, and placed in a job that involved supply chain management responsibilities.  The salary was less, but this was made up by a job as a school teacher for the wife.  

The power to motivate ourselves, has to answer one important question, at any point in time: what next? For, all yesterdays, are dreams that will never come back.  Tomorrows are always mysterious and anything can happen.  That is why they are referred to as the challenge of the unknown.  This is the reason that we need to do things only TODAY, for today, is the only day available to us.

When we postpone things that can be done today, we are denying ourselves the joy of some results that can come out of today's efforts.  In other words, the zero effort leads to zero results as well.  This is the cause of many a worry, that actually eats away our happiness, and lowers our self-esteem. 

The second central idea is to gear up to equip ourselves with some skills that are relevant for our times.  This will happen when we are forced into a corner.  These are times, when we should actually wake up and do something very fast.

A very young man, with an ordinary engineering degree in electronics and communication engineering, from a very ordinary college, affiliated to the Anna University, managed to do a very simple certificate course in SAP from a street vendor, who would pirate the software and offer the course in Chennai.  

The boy has no choice, as the regular course in SAP HR, would cost at least one hundred thousand rupees.  He went to Bangalore, worked with very small organization on some SAP project, picked up the skill, and in under four years, was a senior executive in a good software organization, drawing upwards of over forty thousand rupees a month. 

The route to success of this young man, who had limited resources at his command, was his self-belief.  He was also receptive to others and managed to make the best use of his scarce time, so much so, that he was able to gather quality experience. 

The third central idea of self-motivation is to innovate and do what others do not normally do.  Even in the above case, others did not venture to study in the place as they felt that the institute had limited resources.  But this young man was ready to innovate -- learn the ropes when the going was tough, and find out what can be best done with just twenty thousand rupees for his course, in SAP.  Similarly, at Cavinkare, a Chennai based organization, innovation is the name of the game.  They have the big self-belief that they can face competition from the likes of Unilever.  However, they have stayed on, and have prospered from strength to strength.

The fourth central idea is to keep on changing with the times.  Those who are not able to adjust to new trends, will fall by the wayside.  In fact, this is once again seen in the Corporate Sector, for example, in HR. 

Gone are the days when one could manage with the implementation of labor laws and threatening of trade unions.  Today, the rules of the game have changed two hundred per cent, and the advanced research in behavioral research has brought into play, a new set of rules and games.  These rules are piloted by young MBA s from top notch institutions, who are highly pro-active and self-motivated.

The fifth central idea to self-motivation is to keep routed in one's culture, and not attempt to play around with new cultures, for the sake of playing around.  For example, it is a strong belief in certain families that one should never smoke or drink.  The youngsters who tend to break such rules, often ruin themselves, and enter the danger zone, where self-motivation does not work, more so, when they jump into wrong company of really bad friends, who take them to the path of ruin.

The sixth central idea is to collectively organize all learning and make continuous improvements.  The Japanese are experts in this area of expertise.

For example, they started with the innovative Quality Circles, and then jumped to Total Quality Management.  When this become a norm for success, they went into Six Sigma and several innovative initiatives.  Their idea of learning is simply world-class, as they tend to be tremendous experts at documentation. 

The world will not stay still for those who are weak and mentally unstable.  It is wide open for the self-motivated people, who should start from ground zero and then advance to the greatest heights, given the current realities of modern life.  Self-motivation is not a mantra, it is a way of life, for continued success.   


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