Motivation and Subconscious mind

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Last Updated on March 3, 2022 by Coach M

When I talk to business owners and executives, I often hear them want to motivate their employees.

Have you ever had such a problem?

Even yourself can find it difficult to stay motivated, but when it becomes an employee, we don’t know what’s going on in their minds, so you don’t know what to do, do you?

But if your people get motivated, including yourself, your work performance will improve. The better the performance, of course the better the profit. If the profit goes up, motivation goes up further! !

It would be great if we could create such a good chain.

This time I wrote about motivation.

1. What is motivation?

1-1 Definition of motivation

What is motivation in the first place?

If you look it up in a dictionary,

motivation or sense of purpose when a person does something.

[Source] Oxford Languages “Motivation”

And it comes out.

1-2 External factors and inner factors

There are two factors in motivation which are external and internal

External factors are motivations given from outside, such as salary, bonuses, and social status.

Internal factors are motivation that springs up within you, such as a sense of mission, happiness, and a sense of accomplishment.

Which do you think will last longer?

For example, there is an organization’s position as an external motivation, but in this case, it is often heard that he or she burns out when they goes up to the target position.

On the other hand, if you are really motivated by a sense of fulfillment and mission and work, you don’t need to be stimulated from the outside, and you can naturally keep your motivation.

1-3 Subconscious and Motivation

People have a conscious and a subconscious mind.

A conscious mind is a logical consciousness, such as thinking and making decisions that you make consciously.

The subconscious mind is a part of mind that you are not conscious of, such as memory and emotion. The ratio of this subconscious is about 95%.

In other words, only 5% are conscious mind

That means the subconscious mind is many times more powerful than the conscious mind.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, in order to last longer, internal motivation is important.

This is a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment. In other words, the emotional part. And it is the work of the subconscious mind.

1-4 Goal setting and goal getting

I’ve decided to get up at 5 a.m. on weekends for my road bike training, but it’s hard to get up!! so sometime I end up sleeping until 6 o’clock or even I miss training and say, “I’ve done it again!!”

However, when I train at the beach or in the mountains with good scenery, I am excited from the day before when I imagine how great feeling it is, and I can easily wake up in the morning.

For example, when you decide to get up at 5 a.m. every day to exercise, this goal setting is determined by a conscious mind.

And maintaining motivation and achieving the goal is mostly rely on the subconscious mind.

So, if you have a sense of “troublesome” or “want to sleep more” for this goal, this new habit doesn’t last long, right?

So to achieve a goal, having a conscious and subconscious minds same direction is crucial.

2. How to motivate your employees?

2-1 How to increase motivation by person to person.

When choosing a job, if you say “My company can take a lot of vacations”, to a person who’s most important value is money, will that person’s motivation be ignited?

So what about the person who’s most important value is time?

How to raise motivation depends on people’s values.

An easy way to know the other person’s values is just asking questions such as,

“What is important in your work?”

Some people may say salary , some say vacations, some say self-growth.

So what you need to do to motivate them will differ frpm person to person.

This also depends on their personality.

It depends on the type they want to succeed on their own, the type they want to support people behind the scenes, and the type who wants to work as a team with everyone.

This can be known by taking the personality test or by carefully observing the person.

For example, some types being motivated when they are entrusted with work alone, others perform better by teamwork, and those who demonstrate their ability with peace of mind when there is support from their superiors.

In addition, the type who likes detailed work, the type that raises a big goal and lead team.

It is effective to look at a person’s personality, strength, and weakness, and to raise the motivation that is individually matched.

2-2 Sharing Company philosophy and vision and setting Goals

Imagine you’re sailing with your employees.

Your company philosophy is the North Star.

The ship is the organization headed for it.

As a leader, you are the captain.

If you set sail without a goal, the ship will drift and won’t be able to reach anywhere.

Without goals and purpose, money is the only thing that motivates them, and talented employees move to the better of the conditions.

By instilling the company’s philosophy, setting goals, and working together toward the same goal, you can demonstrate our wonderful power.

It gives sailors a sense of mission and excitement by tell them what they will see when they arrive.

2-3 Continuous support

Even if your goals are decided, it is very important to always watch over them and support them in their actions.

You can stay motivated by helping them get the most out of their abilities.

Coaching skills are effective for this.

3. What can I do to motivate myself and my employees?

3-1 Objectively observing yourself

Your words and actions affect your surroundings. Even more so if you’re a leader.

First of all, You look at your state with objectivity.

Ask yourself what is the state of your body and mind now.

The body, the mind, and the thought are connected.

If your body is healthy, your mind, your health, and your thoughts will be positive. And vice versa.

If you don’t have enough energy level, try to motivate yourself.

My ways of motivate myself are dancing with my favorite music, meditation, visualization of what I really want to be and exercise in the morning.

3-2 Observation and approval and recognition of employees

As I mentioned earlier, what motivates you is different. In addition, there are times when it is not so when the mood rides depending on the day and the time of day.

By observing each individual carefully and approving the other person, they will feel their worth.

This is the stage of Esteem needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory.

Recognition can be just a greeting, and of course, if they’re performing well, it’s good to approve them, and it’s also effective to look for good things and praise them.

3-3 Let them decide for themselves

If you are told that ” You had better go to the gym to get healthy.”

自分で「最近運動不足で不健康なのでジムに行くことに決めた！」と思ってキムに通うのと、どちらが長続きすると思いますか？

People do what they decide to do.

How to make your employee feel they made their own decisions and take action is a show of the leader’s skill.

It is also effective to improve your coaching question skills.

Summary

Triathlon racing is lonely. Fighting with yourself. On the way, I often ask myself, “Why am I doing this race with expensive money and time invested?This is the last time!”

However, the sense of accomplishment at the moment of the finish and the joy of expanding my ability become an indefeasible factor of motivation, and I entry the next race again…

I think business is exactly the same.

“Why am I doing this job?” 」

If the reason for this is weak, motivation does not continue.

Why am I doing this? If this sense of mission becomes clear, it will not be discouraged by a little quiet failure. Rather, failure is an important experience for success and can keep you motivated.

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