This article was co-authored by Sydney Axelrod and by wikiHow staff writer, Christopher M. Osborne, PhD. Sydney Axelrod is a certified life coach and the owner of Sydney Axelrod LLC, a life coaching business focused on professional and personal development. Through one-on-one coaching, digital courses, and group workshops, Sydney works with clients to discover their purpose, navigate life transitions, and set and accomplish goals. Sydney has over 1,000 hours of relevant coaching certifications and holds a BBA in Marketing and Finance from Emory University.
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Every sports movie or war epic has a great motivational speech by a coach or commander, inspiring everyone as the music swells to a crescendo. In reality, motivating someone is normally a quieter, more subtle, and more personalized effort. This article lists several helpful motivational strategies, starting with tips for saying just the right thing in the moment, then moving on to some more “big picture” advice. So read on to get motivated to be a motivator!
Motivating Others
- Offer specific critiques and ideas to give someone a clearer idea of how to improve.
- Ask them questions about how they feel and why, and how they think they could find inspiration.
- Give them concrete goals and offer appealing rewards every time the person reaches that goal.
Steps
Expert Q&A
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QuestionWhat do you do when your loved one lacks motivation to exercise?Justin BarnesJustin Barnes is a Senior Home Care Specialist and the Co-Owner of Presidio Home Care, a family-owned and operated Home Care Organization based in the Los Angeles, California metro area. Presidio Home Care, which provides non-medical supportive services, was the first agency in the state of California to become a licensed Home Care Organization. Justin has over 10 years of experience in the Home Care field. He has a BS in Technology and Operations Management from the California State Polytechnic University - Pomona.
Senior Home Care SpecialistRemind your loved one that being healthy will allow them to spend more time traveling, spending time with family, and doing things they enjoy. It may also help to remind them that a person's physical body needs to be used in order to stay healthy, but they might be more open to that advice if they hear it from their doctor. -
QuestionHow do you motivate someone who is unmotivated?Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed.Alexander Ruiz is an Educational Consultant and the Educational Director of Link Educational Institute, a tutoring business based in Claremont, California that provides customizable educational plans, subject and test prep tutoring, and college application consulting. With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher education. He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University.
Educational ConsultantThere are a variety of reasons why someone may be unmotivated, so it may help to just talk to them about what's going on. Maybe there's something going on in their personal life, or maybe they're just simply uninterested in what they're doing. Sometimes people just need a break, too. You can never count out that possibility. But generally speaking, it's important to be supportive and helpful. It can be tempting to want to push people to be more motivated, but they're not going to change their tune if you're too hard on them. -
QuestionWhat can you say to someone to motivate them?Sydney AxelrodSydney Axelrod is a certified life coach and the owner of Sydney Axelrod LLC, a life coaching business focused on professional and personal development. Through one-on-one coaching, digital courses, and group workshops, Sydney works with clients to discover their purpose, navigate life transitions, and set and accomplish goals. Sydney has over 1,000 hours of relevant coaching certifications and holds a BBA in Marketing and Finance from Emory University.
Certified Life CoachYou could always encourage them to change their perspective. Tell them to think about challenges and obstacles like a ship out on the ocean. If that ship changes its course by just 1 degree, it's going to end up in a totally different location by the time it arrives. Think about it like that. It isn't all about making major life changes or accomplishing giant goals. All they need to do is make small, minor changes.
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Tips
References
- ↑ https://hbr.org/2013/07/if-you-want-to-motivate-someone-shut-up-already
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5961625/
- ↑ https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-power-of-positive-internal-motivation#1
- ↑ Sydney Axelrod. Certified Life Coach. Expert Interview. 30 June 2020.
- ↑ https://positivepsychology.com/positive-reinforcement-psychology/
- ↑ Sydney Axelrod. Certified Life Coach. Expert Interview. 30 June 2020.
- ↑ https://hbr.org/2013/07/if-you-want-to-motivate-someone-shut-up-already
- ↑ https://positivepsychology.com/how-to-motivate-someone-or-yourself/
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/curious/201407/16-ways-motivate-anyone
- ↑ https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/six_ways_to_help_people_change
- ↑ https://positivepsychology.com/compassion-at-work-leadership/
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-new-home/202201/how-increase-self-motivation
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-right-mindset/202009/why-failure-is-your-ally