Motivation (Book Thoughts: ‘Smarter Faster Better,’ by Charles Duhigg)

I’ve been trying to read more Personal Development books this year (instead of just the latest Star Wars novel – on a sidenote, The High Republic books are REALLY GOOD!) and finished “Smarter Faster Better” by Charles Duhigg recently.

I wanted to share some of my takeaways from the book since it resonated deeply with me related to Motivation. With Social Media, you see other people doing BIG THINGS and it’s easy to get envious. With smartphones, Netflix, video games, Instagram (and the list goes on) it’s easy to get endless distracted. So how can you take a “pause” and find a way to motivate yourself and your own goals? Here is a mix of my own thoughts and topics he covers in the book.

First, find an INTERNAL “locust of control.” Tell yourself you can (and WILL) control your destiny. Find one small thing you can do to start working towards a goal. For me, it is learning to code. Code has always scared me. It looks like complete nonsense to me. But if I want to reach my #journeytoCTA goal it means I need to actually learn the “Technical” in CTA. So I started with Apex Academy (thank you David Liu and SFDC99), bought the Focus on Force study guides and practice exams for Platform Developer I, and started small.

Your Action: Make one small decision to put you on the path to your goals.

Second ask yourself the “Why?” Why do you want to achieve that goal? Is it to enter a new career and find new passion and inspiration? Is it to better provide for your family by being able to increase your salary? For me, it’s being able to provide for my family, and find a career where I can make a meaningful difference – which I find in the Salesforce Ohana.

Your Action: Make a list of 3 reasons why you want to achieve the goal from Step 1.

Third, try and think different. Coding is hard for me. But instead of thinking I’m learning something HARD I think I’m learning something invaluable. This leads to a focus on Mental Models. I can see myself learning to code, going through Apex Academy and study guides and Trailhead learning more and passing the Platform Developer I exam.

Your Action: How can you think different about your goal to help you find the motivation? Build that Mental Model where you see yourself succeeding.

Fourth, GOALS on your path to your Goals. Have both short-term and long-term goals. Those small short term goals give you “Cognitive Closure” to help motivate you on the path to larger goals. That small goal can be “review this section” in the Focus on Force study guide but you can find satisfaction in completing it.

Your Action: Name 1 short-term (next 1 year), 1 mid-term (next 3 years) and 1 long-term (next 5 years) goals.

Fifth, find someone to help motivate you and encourage you. If you hang around people who focus on distractions you will focus on distractions.

You Action: Find someone in the Ohana who can help encourage you.

I hope you feel motivated by this post. I feel motivated writing it! Now excuse me, I’m going to do some studying for Platform Developer I.