NEED TO KEEP MOTIVATED? FIND YOURSELF A PUSH-BUDDY!
We've all been there. We have soooooooooooooo much to do, things to achieve, and we really, really want to do them so we can make progress toward our goals and targets. And yet...
We just can't seem to find the juice to get on with the task(s) in hand.
There are a lot of reasons why this may be so. Fatigue. Stress. The task itself may be as exciting as watching paint dry. It may be a long, boring task that you feel can be put off for another day. After all, your desk needs re-organising doesn't it?
In these instances, unless you have a boss with a big boot standing right behind you, trying to motivate yourself can be tough. Even the knowledge that if you get that task done and out of the way, you can progress toward an exciting goal, is, sometimes, not enough.
What you need to know however, is a very simple truth. Most of us will do far more not to disappoint others than for ourselves. Think about it. Haven't there been times when you were feeling tired, burnt out, in need of just putting your feet up with a glass of wine and catching up on your NetFlix. But you promised your friend you would meet up for a drink to help them with a problem? So, you go meet your friend.
There is just something in the human psyche (for most normal people that is!), that makes us not want to be a disappointment to people we know. We make a commitment to ourselves, we often break it and justify it in some logic bomb kind of way. Make a commitment to a friend or colleague, and we will rarely break it. Even if there's a lot of other stuff going on!
This is where a Push-Buddy (PB) helps. It's an extension really of your training partner, or gym mentor. Getting fit can be a real chore, but they will encourage and cajole you along the route. A PB is someone to help you get momentum in other aspects of your life.
The concept is simple, and has a very simple set of rules.
Your PB should be someone who is also engaged in similar activities. So for example, if you are building your business, find someone else who is also building a business. If you want to change your career, find someone who wants to change their career. They don't need to be in the same field as you, just moving in a similar trajectory.
Your PB should be someone you feel is hard-working and determined in their own right. If they don't seem too bothered a few weeks in, drop them (politely) and find someone who is.
Once a week, you make your commitments to your PB, who reciprocates with their own.
You also review with them the previous week's commitments.
You never judge your PB, you listen and advise when advice is asked for.
You share useful tit-bits, even if they might not be relevant to your own venture or goal, but might be very timely for your PB.
And that's it. Of course, as your relationship develops you can exchange ideas, ask for advice and generally drop by to be a helpful listener and friend.
Now, as something to consider, your PB doesn't even need to be someone you already know. In fact, in many ways, this can be an advantage. For example, my PB came into being during an online training course. We live in the same part of the UK, and said hello. In all other aspects save one, we are completely different. We work in different fields. Our set up is completely different. We are even different nationalities. But we have one key similarity: we want to build something special, that helps others in some way, whilst making a living from it.
We started exchanging comments on the training we were receiving, and exploring some of the offers for follow on training. I liked what she had to say, and asked her if she would like to be my PB. In an instant she said yes! We've never met, it's all done in Messenger, and yet, when I make my commitments I am determined to do them, as she is with her commitments to me. And when I don't quite get them done in that week, I feel embarrassed and work all the harder the following week. I know that my PB feels the same.
Since finding my PB, I have done more in a few short months than I had managed, with my someone chaotic life at the moment (don't ask!), in a year.
So, go find yourself a PB. Hopefully, you'll find someone as great as the one I found.
