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Keeping Motivated
Enthusiasm

First and foremost you cannot expect to be inspirational to others unless you are inspired yourself. In business this means being truly passionate about the service or product you are offering and what it can do for the customer. This should transpire not only through the positivity of your individual words but also more importantly through the light in your eyes, the energy of your delivery and the dynamism of your body language. Enthusiasm can be felt and so to enthuse others, you need to transmit your passion to the point where they feel that they want a piece of it. Enthusiasm is infectious and in the words of my friend and author Nina Spencer, “Energy is the groundwork for enthusiasm, the only thing more contagious than enthusiasm is lack of it!” It is therefore important to take care of your own physical and emotional energy and develop a plan for doing this. My own personal plan involves a regular sports routine, energising foods plus some favourite mental activities which allow me to measure my own energy reserves and ensuring that I take time out to recharge my batteries when I’m feeling physically or emotionally below par. Low energy people are not inspirational.
 
So where do you get that burst of enthusiasm or energy from when you’re feeling lethargic or unenthusiastic? You create it – you get involved in an energetic activity, which is going to rev you up for everything else. Think new! Think different! Think out-of-your box! I recently took up paddle boarding – really not me at all. My feet have spent years thrashing tartan and tarmac in spikes and training shoes. But….I was feeling frustrated by the fact that years of competitive track and field athletics had taken its toll on my joints which means I now have to choose my sports wisely if I want to avoid doing any more damage. My trusty coach from www.befitmonaco.com suggested the paddle board as a fun, non-traumatic sports activity which means that I can (as along as I’m standing upright) watch everyone else thrashing themselves on their morning run along the beach path while I gloat from my paddle board and get a full body workout at the same time. So the coach was coached (very important – see below). Even if I do fall in (often) I can renew my enthusiasm by successfully standing upright again – so in my cases LOTS of opportunities for renewed enthusiasm. I’m motivated and thinking of buying a wetsuit for the winter. The idea behind all this is that if you actively seek out an opportunity to rev up your enthusiasm and energy, then that will subsequently transfer itself to all other areas of your life as if by magic and will do wonders for your body language. However a word of warning, just as you wouldn’t go sky diving without prior instruction, do not entrust yourself to your own devices when trying a new sport, however benign it seems, as you may achieve the opposite effect you set out to accomplish and kill your own enthusiasm – so take instruction. It’s also very motivational to hear someone saying: “yes you’re doing great – really good” especially when everyone else goes sailing past you at a rate of knots. Enthusiasm also doubles when you’re in good company and evaporates in bad, so steer towards the positive energy crowd and leave the others to wallow in their own misery.
 
My tip of the month: Not feeling enthusiastic? Sign up today for a workshop, networking evening, coaching session to kick start the motor. Remember motivation won’t find you unless you have gone out to pro-actively seek it. Try a new sports activity – but don’t go it alone!

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Judy can be contacted by email on judy.churchill@orange.fr or via her website www.Judychurchill.com