Are you overdue for some attention? Wondering why you aren't getting the compliments and recognition you deserve? Feeling disgruntled because your praiseworthy efforts are not being praised?
Here's a surefire solution to make sure you always get the recognition and appreciation you deserve. Stop waiting for it to come from someone else. Give it to yourself in a measure equal to what you are entitled to receive.
Being self encouraged is a kin to being self-motivated. Waiting for extra and sick encouragement is only going to become an exercise in futility and frustration. Others are simply too unreliable to give you encouragement when you need it most.
This is especially true in the sales profession which is a business founded in "what have you done for me lately?" thinking.
So rather than waiting around for that pat on the back that may never come, here are 10 ways you can encourage yourself.
1. Be mindful of your small wins and achievements. Make a mental note of them and be sure to recollect them at the end of the day.
2. Celebrate progress toward your goals. Set yourself up with milestones so that each goal is broken down into manageable chunks that you reward yourself for upon attaining.
3. Bask in the simple pleasure of a good days work. Know that your efforts will eventually pay off, and be satisfied in the knowledge that hard work is its own reward.
4. Find some peace of mind in the knowledge that you have done right or that you have done enough. This is not to make excuses for yourself. It is to set realistic boundaries so that you are not constantly striving, but are pausing to recognize the merits of your achievements and efforts.
5. Stay future focused. Be inspired by your hopes, dreams and plans. Know that the work you are doing is a means to an end. That end will be realized as long as you continue working toward it and focusing on it.
6. Believe that you can. Believe that you will. Giving up is pointless. It serves no purpose other than to prove you are right when you say "I can't." The simple statement "I know I can" is, in and of itself, an encouragement.
7. Surround yourself with positive influences. Seek out motivational quotes or positive people or uplifting music. Don't wallow in negative thinking, and don't allow others who are discouraging to steal your joy.
8. If you have confidence and nothing else, at least have confidence enough that you will find away. If what you are doing doesn't work, be confident that you will find a different way. If you have failed, be confident that you will learn and grow and succeed another time. Confidence is not the ability to do something. Confidence is the ability to try again to find a way so you can, eventually, succeed.
9. Take matters into your own hands. Those people who are not encouraging you – they're not in control of how you feel. The universe that keeps putting obstacles in your way – it's not in control of how you feel about your day-to-day efforts. You are in control, and seizing that control will be encouraging.
10. Open yourself up to learning and growing. It is hard to find courage in what you already have. It's easier to have courage in what you will become. Encourage yourself by seeking new opportunities for development.
When you encourage yourself, you will feel less deprived of others' encouragement. You will be less reliant on external praise. You won't be as needy, and you will be effective regardless of what others are or are not saying around you.
In sales, a lonely profession at times, you need to encourage yourself.