The Costanza “Opposite” Strategy
Poor old George. His whole life hasn’t turned out like he thought it would. Check out this clip.
Perhaps you’re feeling the same way. Your lack of motivation at work can be a result of a number of causes including burnout, not enough sleep, boredom, an overloaded desk, no clear goals, repetitive and monotonous actions or even just rainy days.
You are at your desk, staring at the computer screen, pushing yourself to type, create, develop, and instead, you find yourself totally uninspired.
You go through the motions, barely paying any attention to the work you are producing. Even people who love their jobs may have trouble pushing themselves to work at times.
Can’t get motivated to work to accomplish those goals you set for yourself? Or worse yet, that your boss set for you?
DO THE OPPOSITE!
Here’s a few examples:
1. Can’t get motivated to make cold calls because you don’t have the confidence? Do it anyway! Develop the confidence. Practice on those prospects you’d never want to do business with anyway. When I started in trucking, the owner sent me to Minnesota for a week to call on prospects. I had no idea what I was doing. After a week, I came back to the office with a notebook full of questions. I learned so much. And the owner told me he sent me there because he knew that as long as he owned the company, we’d never have trucks in Minnesota!
2. You’re a controlling type person. No one can do it better than you. But your reluctance to give something up is preventing you from moving up. Do the opposite! Trust your fellow employees. Allow them the opportunity to do the work they’re supposed to do. Free up your time and move up. It can happen!
3. Are you bothered by things you can’t control and things that don’t matter? Forget about them! Doing things that don’t mean anything costs you a ton of mental energy. Look at your to-do list, find things you know that you don’t care about, and get rid of as many of these activities as possible. You will stay more consistently motivated if you’re working on activities that are inherently meaningful or are part of a larger mission.
4. Stop setting the bar so high! I’ve always motivated myself by setting the bar low so I win! The more I win the more confidence I have. The more confidence I have, the more motivated I am to do more. Think about it. Don’t set the bar so high. Do the opposite!
Give it a shot. If you’ve been doing your best but still running into brick walls in some area of your life, just remember Jerry’s words: “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.”
~Russ