I’m not sure what the inverse of “the dog days of summer” is, but whatever you call it, we’re in its polar bear clutches! The days are short and cold, and the nights are long and cold. Although we’ve had relatively “warm” weather this week, this is still a tough time of the year to stay motivated. Trying to limit our exposure and not venturing too far from home in the midst of a pandemic doesn’t help either. Throw in distance learning and working from home, and we have the perfect (winter) storm.

BUT there’s HOPE! It’s a New Year, and we have a chance to set the tone that will get – and keep – us motivated. I’m going to share a few tips for how you can help the students in your life get and stay motivated. Try them for yourself too:

  • Set a vision. Who do you want to be in 2021? 
  • Set goals. What do you need to achieve to help you be who you want to be? Your goals become a deciding factor in determining which way to act in order to help you achieve what you want. 
  • Find things that interest you within goals that don’t. Sometimes other people will set goals or tasks for you that you won’t find interesting or want to do. Find something within that task that does motivate you. For example: “I find Zoom classes challenging, but they give me the tools necessary to get the GPA I need.” OR “I want to go snowboarding today, so I need to get all of my work turned in.”
  • Plan your progress. When you’re working towards something, it can be really motivating if you can see evidence that you’re making progress. Draw or create a visual representation of how you’re coming closer to achieving the goal you’ve set yourself. And REWARD your progress.
  • Don’t do it alone. Find a parent, teacher, or someone you can share the experience with. Other people’s encouragement to keep going can be a big boost to your motivation.

Practice and repetition make progress. And we’re aiming for progress, not perfection. If this were easy, the self-help industry would be out of business. And the recording of our micro webinar on using The Wheel of Life: Using The Wheel of Life to Set Your 2021 Vision can assist you and your student in making this a reality.

If you have questions, If you’re interested in learning more, or if you need suggestions about how you can modify this to more specifically meet your student’s needs, please reach out! Remember, great minds don’t think alike, and we’re more than happy to help!

Cara Thorpe
Founder & Visionary
Yellow Parachute Learning Partners
www.yellowparachute.com
612-361-7266

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