How to stay motivated

How can you stay motivated when things get tough and all odds seem to be against you? Can you think of a friend or colleague who remains positive, no matter what the circumstances? They always seem to find the good in any situation and be doing better than everyone else. A positive attitude is a huge contributor to one’s level of motivation.

Think of someone you know who always has something negative to say. No matter what the situation, they’re always complaining. Maybe when you go out to eat at a restaurant, this person mention that the food is “too hot,” “too cold,” or “took too long,” even if the restaurant has 5 stars on Yelp and everyone was impressed.

Nobody likes a “Negative Nancy”

If you’re a positive person, keep up the good work! If you’re more like the negative character mentioned above, you have some improvements to make in your mindset. Try to re-frame your thinking from negative to positive. Let’s look at a few examples and how we can re-frame our thinking from negative to positive.

Scenario A: You are laid off from your oil & gas job due to the industry downturn

Negative thinker: “This stinks, I can’t believe they laid me off. I’ve been loyal for all these years and they didn’t appreciate anything I did. Now I’m going to have to find another job, learn everything all over again, and build my network from scratch.”

Positive thinker: “Well, I was fortunate to have gotten laid off later in the game. Others weren’t so lucky. Fortunately, I’ll get a few weeks’ pay with my severance package and can file for unemployment until I get back on my feet. This might be a great opportunity to finally make some career changes I’ve been wanting to make and network with new people.”

Scenario B: A car accident is blocking all lanes on the freeway and your commute home will now take an hour longer.

Negative thinker: “Wow, this is so annoying. I was going to try to watch today’s episode of The Walking Dead. Now I’m going to have to watch it tomorrow.”

Positive thinker: “Geez, I feel sorry for the people involved in the wreck. I hope that they’re okay. I’m fortunate to be healthy and unharmed. I can always use this extra hour to catch up on a few podcasts I haven’t had time to listen to lately.”

Ever notice how positive people are much more fun to be around? They are not buzzkills like their Negative Nancy counterparts.

I was extremely inspired by a video I came across recently. In this video, Randy Pausch talks about the fact that he is going to die soon and there is nothing he can do about it. He chooses to remain positive. He says “I can’t control the cards I’m dealt, just how I play the hands.” He goes on to say that “the brick walls that are in our way are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. They are there to give us a way to show how much we want it.”