Motivation Matrix Model by Dr. Jim Taylor

What Change Would You Make?

"The starting point of all achievement is desire." --Napoleon Hill

Old habits die hard, right? It’s easy to stick to the status quo, to resist change.

Change is the process of moving to a new and different state of things. Change is your capacity to learn and integrate new information.

Because opportunities for change bring up uncertainty, you might find that change makes you anxious. That’s pretty normal. Don’t let that stop you, though. Instead, think of what would motivate you to change.

Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself:

1. What is it that you want to change? (Identify the direction that you want to take)

2. Why is this important for you? (The more you believe you will benefit, the easier it is to do the work)

3. What will motivate you to make the change? (The more motivated you are, the more you will succeed)

4. How is your behavior showing your resistance to this change? (Are you making excuses, complaining about it, worrying, or ignoring the need for change)

5. What step(s) can you take to start in the direction of this change?

Click on the link to see Dr. Jim Taylor Motivation Matrix model, which explains how your source of motivation will affect the outcome of your actions. It's a really interesting chart.

Perhaps there is nothing in your life that you’d like to change. In that case, I challenge you to learn something new. I just finished reading “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards (click below to purchase on Amazon). This excellent book can teach you how to draw, no matter your level of skill or talent.

What do you want to learn or change today?

You in 10 Years - A Survey to Get You Thinking

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New Year, So What?

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years” – Abraham Lincoln

Ready or not, 2015 is here.

In the past week, you might have heard family or friends enthusiastically share their New Year’s resolutions.

If making resolutions doesn’t sound exciting to you, you are not alone. Many people find it downright difficult to create new resolutions when they’ve done so many times and they’re still not perfect! Other people are overwhelmed by the challenge of figuring out what and how to change, or find life too busy to think about the future.

Here are two short writing exercises that can clarify for you what you want in your life, and shift your focus from short-term goals to long term ambitions. Let your resolution this year be to find out who you want to be.

1. Imagine yourself in the distant future – say 20 or 30 years from now. See yourself at that time living the way you want to live. What do you look like? What do you feel like? How do you describe yourself? Where do you live? Is anyone with you? What does your spiritual life look like? What is your financial situation? How do you spend your time? Take out a pen and paper after you’ve done some daydreaming and write it all down, with lots of detail!

2. Write your bucket list - A bucket list is a list of all the things you want to do in your lifetime. Block out 15 – 30 minutes to start your list and challenge yourself to think of 100 items! For ideas, take a look at www.bucketlist.org.

When I wrote my first bucket list, I surprised myself when I let my imagination take off. I was even more surprised when I crossed some items off in the next few years – and learned the lesson that if you dream it, you might just achieve it!