Information is worthless.
(Thank you, Mr. Internet.)
It’s everywhere. It’s free. There’s too much. And it’s getting worse.
But knowledge… that includes lessons from an expert, a teacher or coach… that’s getting better.
And at the top, I would say nothing these days has more value than motivation.
Because it’s only after we have motivation that we take action and get results.
How many people have information but no results?
(Information says, “Donuts make you fat”; No motivation says, “I’ll have another donut, please.”)
As any teacher knows, excuses are more common than successes, and the most frequent excuses are, “too busy”, and “I forgot.”
That’s why every time I teach I also give some motivation.
I don’t just give the “what”, I also teach the “how” and “why.”
Here’s one of the best techniques for motivating yourself to make any change. And you don’t even need a teacher.
They’re called “When-Then Statements.”
And they work like this:
Whenever you have a change you want to make… something you want to do or stop doing…
Write the new behavior in a sentence that begins with “When” (or “if”) and in the middle of the sentence put the word “then.”
Some examples…
In one study, when medical patients wrote, “When I brush my teeth then I will take my medication” 79% remembered to take their medication (up from 55%)
In another study, this one with recovering drug addicts, when they wrote the sentence “When I finish my lunch then I will start writing my employment history” (they were preparing to look for jobs after leaving the hospital), 80% did the task (up from 0%!)
It’s kind of like programming your brain.
What does this look like for someone working on his or her English?
How about…”WHEN I see James at the office THEN I will ask him, in English, about his weekend.”
Or how about… “WHEN I get into bed in the evening THEN I will watch “Friends.”
Try it now…
And I’ll see you in your inbox tomorrow.
