I have known for a long time that motivation must result in good habits to be most effective. We can only get so much energy from a pep talk. The inspiration of goals will fade without something steady to help us through the sometimes less than glamorous day in and day out of follow-through. The mystery is often how to break bad habits and start good ones.
I have written a few things about how I think about things. Positive vocabulary is important, as are long term perspectives. If all you are thinking is “I should get some exercise today” you are failing to tap into the long term principled goals and you are thinking in rather negative terms.
A book I recently listened to gives some excellent tactical advice to get you through the moment and into action. I recognized that I subconsciously do many of the things suggested, but I also learned a few new things. It is always helpful to have such idea tools clearly available to work with. The book only takes an hour to listen to and you can get it on audible.com here: How Successful People Think Differently audiobook or from amazon here: How Successful People Think Differently in paperback.
I also have been listening to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. While this has a lot of interesting information, it is taking some effort for me to stick with listening after getting half-way through. He has great insight and helpful ideas, but it seems it could be more concisely presented. Also, some of his main ideas for implementing are more involved than I can see most people wanting to do. Even I, who like to write, cannot see myself updating a personal mission statement on a regular basis. Still, I would definitely recommend the book for a deeper analysis of problem solving with personal relationships and understanding the impact of core principles in life:
There is one more book on my list and I will let you know later if it is worth investing time in. It is also a short one, weighing in at 1.5 hours of listening, so that is definitely in its favor. Do you have any favorite motivational books or resources?