Positive Motivation – a powerful performance consulting and coaching strategy
One comment changed my life … forever.
We often wish we could have a more positive, motivational influence on others (if you’ve ever coached, managed employees or raised teenagers — I’ll bet you get this)! There are ways to say things that will increase their positive impact. Here’s an example of how one amazing comment changed my life (emotional intelligence is incredibly valuable in motivating others)!
Create internal motivation with positive thinking motivation
In seventh grade, my gym teacher, Mr. Schable, gave us a fitness test. One of the challenges in the test was pull-ups, and most of the kids hadn’t been able to do any. When my turn came, I walked under the bar, curled my hands around it, and pulled and pulled with all my might. I barely got my chin over the bar, then dropped to the ground. I had done one.
Mr. Schable smiled at me, and what he said next changed my life forever. He said, “Boomer,” (Boomer was my childhood nickname), “that was a good pull-up; I’ll bet you could do 10 if you practiced every day.”
“Wow!” Ten pull-ups. “That would be really cool; that would make me like … like Superman,” I thought to myself. So I practiced pull-ups every day. When I could do 10, I showed Mr. Schable. He was so excited that I’d met his challenge — he jumped up and down and turned in circles (kinda like my dog does when I feed her breakfast). OK, maybe he wasn’t quite that excited, but it was a glorious moment.
If you want to positively influence others, notice what Mr. Schable did right:
1) He accepted me right where I was. “Boomer, that was a good pull-up … ”
2) He believed in me and challenged me in a positive way. “ … I’ll bet you could do 10 … ”
3) He taught me how to be successful. “ … if you practiced every day.”
What an amazing, one-sentence statement! Not only did it inspire me to do 10 pull-ups, it also inspired me to be fit for life. Over forty years later, I still work out (and still fantasize about being like Superman).
How can you use this type of comment that creates internal motivation with positive thinking? What can you suggest that makes it seem like its 100% the other person’s thought and choice. If you make these positive thinking motivation statements, or questions. You will be effective in helping others create internal motivation.
What will you do, what can you say
to be a more effective positive motivator?
