For a successful job search, you need to be able to harness both short-term motivation and long-term motivation at will. The best way to do this is to have a plan and structure in place to deliberately motivate yourself. You cannot rely on sheer willpower or inspiration because that is exhausting and unreliable.
Champion athletes and performing artists are good examples of people who use deliberate motivation.
They have well-defined routines for the day of big events and for the long-term preparation leading up to the big events.
A good example of deliberate long-term motivation: One piano teacher at a leading conservatory gave his students very specific pacing for learning the concerto selected for the school’s annual soloist competition. It included finishing the piece several months before the actual competition so that his students could stop playing it entirely for several weeks, and then pick it up again refreshed. A break of several weeks was deliberately built in to give students a tactic for staying refreshed, energized, and motivated on the piece.
A good example of deliberate short-term motivation: A commercial and TV acting teacher gave his students a specific routine and set of guidelines for the days they had auditions. One of the rules was no watching or reading news or dramas the night before and morning of the audition. This was a deliberate choice to keep the students upbeat in the hours leading up to the audition. He also coached his students to focus on one good thing that happened to them in the previous three days—another deliberate tactic to maintain positive energy.
Similarly, you will need a deliberate routine before job interviews and other high-stakes job search events.
You will also need deliberate routines built in over your job search to stay refreshed, energized, and motivated. Deliberate motivation-at-will strategies will enable you to stick to your job search, regardless of nervousness, fatigue, or even forgetfulness.
- 789 reads
