Summary

As we leave 2020 behind us, it is as important as ever to step into 2021 with purpose, a healthy mindset and motivation for the year ahead. In this episode of the resilience real-time podcast, Peta Sigley explains how you can get your motivation to stick long enough to fuel lasting habits and behaviour change. At a personal level, this could be related to exercise, diet, mental health, financial competence, optimistic thinking style, meditation or compassion for others - to name a few. At a team or organisational level, it could be about stimulating motivation to reach new performance levels, bed down new capabilities or build leadership trust.

It's one thing to have strong motivations but it is an entirely different thing to turn these feelings into action and lasting behaviour change. Research has shown that simply repeating the desired behaviour doesn't do the job. The new behaviour should continuously be paired with positive affirmation from yourself and your peers. Receiving feedback is a powerful form of motivation. It allows you to pause and reflect on what went well in the past and what you would like to repeat in the future.

It is also important to remember that existing behaviours are driven by existing beliefs. These are the stories we repeatedly tell ourselves about our skills and attributes. The primary challenge when creating a new habit or "new norm" is to deconstruct a current negative belief and replace it with a positive belief that will motivate you to support the new behaviour.

When it comes to your goals, there is a practical method to ensure that you are ambitious, specific, transparent and motivated enough to achieve it. This is what rewires brains to take on the new behaviour in the long-term. Many will find huge value in focusing on their own personal motivation and by being aware of how the elements mentioned above can influence both their personal and professional success. Listen to this podcast to learn more about how to use FAST goals to your advantage in order to stay focused and motivated to achieve your goals in 2021.