Do you ever wish you could watch real-life videos on topics you’re interested in?
Except maybe you’ve realized it’s not that easy yet…
Videos that are really interesting to you might be just a little too hard to understand.
Or you’re not quite sure you understood the big ideas?
That way you can understand enough to make the video more meaningful.
You can learn plenty of interesting new expressions and immerse yourself in English for a bit. And you can explore a topic that’s interesting to YOU.
As a Neurolanguage coach, I know that all of those things are so important if you want to improve your English.
So what is today’s topic?
How to motivate yourself with positive techniques–like rewards!
Today we’ll watch a great TED talk together: How to motivate yourself to change your behavior–by Tali Sharot.
Have you ever needed to motivate yourself to keep working on something, or to make progress toward some future goal?
Believe me, I understand. Some of the things I need to stay motivated for are studying German a little every day, pulling myself out of bed in the morning to go running…avoiding sugar.
Ready to immerse yourself in English with me while you learn about reaching your goals?
Let’s get started!
Get the worksheet to test what you learn in this lesson!
Did you know that I’ve made a worksheet to go with this lesson so that you can practice everything you see here today? I want you to make this part of the English you actually use in real life!
GET THE WORKSHEET: Make sure you practice these expressions so you can use them in real life with this worksheet made for you by a Neurolanguage coach.
Index:
1. Understand a real-life TED talk on motivation in English: What not to do!
2. Understand a real-life TED talk on motivation in English: Focus on positive news!
3. Understand a real-life TED talk on motivation in English: Three principles of positive motivation.
1. Understand a real-life TED talk on motivation in English: What NOT to do.
This TED talk starts with what NOT to do if you want to motivate yourself.
And I laughed at this part where Sharot is talking about what you think when you open the fridge to snack. Do you ever tell yourself something like this?
“Beware! You’ll be fat.”
The clip is funny because…we typically talk to ourselves this way.
Or, we might make threats.
In other words, we might scare ourselves–or the people around us.
We might try to change behavior and reach goals by talking about all the bad things that could happen–if we don’t.
In the TED talk there is a funny image of a child smoking a cigarette(!!). Here’s what Sharot has to say about it:
“if this was your kid, you would probably tell him that smoking kills, and by the way, he’s in big, big trouble.”
The warning here is that if you smoke you can die or harm your health.
And that the parent is going to punish the kid.
The problem with this kind of motivation is that it doesn’t work!
It turns out that we are resistant to warnings.
That means that we don’t listen to bad news about what might happen to us in the future.
Too much bad news can even lead to inaction–in other words, just doing nothing about our problems!
Also check out my lesson: Understand a Real-Life Video in English & Learn about Habits and Motivation [+Worksheet]
2. Understand a real-life TED talk on motivation in English: Focus on positive news!
According to this TED talk, it turns out that we have the ability to learn from good news.
This means that positive information can really change how motivated we feel to make changes.
According to Sharot,
“Everyone takes in information they want to hear more than information they don’t.”
In this case, to take in information means to listen to and really pay attention to–instead of ignoring or forgetting it.
GET THE WORKSHEET: Practice these expressions so you can use them in real life with this worksheet made for you by a Neurolanguage coach (Me!).
3. Understand a real-life TED talk on motivation in English: Three principles of positive motivation.
There are three really important takeaways (things to remember) from this TED talk.
Three important things to give yourself if you want to stay motivated to reach your long-term goals by changing your habits now. Whether you’re working on your English or starting a new exercise routine. You need these forms of motivation:
Social Incentives:
You know what social incentives are?
They are small rewards that let you know that other people will see if you’re reaching your goal. Or that let you see how you compare to others.
For example, for the members of our Faster Fluency Conversation Club, a social incentive can be that others in the club will see if you come to the conversations. Or that they’ll know that you’ve prepared for the conversation topic before the sessions.
Immediate Rewards:
I wonder if you’ll be surprised about the next key to staying motivated: immediate rewards.
Immediate rewards remind us that a new habit is a good idea right now. They’re different from rewards we think will happen in a year…or more.
You and I both know that we have to work for a long time sometimes to reach our goals. So why do smart and hard-working people need immediate rewards?
Well, the future is uncertain. We don’t know what will happen and we want to choose present happiness!
That’s why immediate rewards work. They make us want to do something NOW that will be good for us…later.
Progress Monitoring:
What’s the last key to staying motivated to make changes in your life?
Progress monitoring–or taking note of the positive steps you’re making.
That could mean writing down each time you study your English for 5 minutes–or when it seems easier to have a conversation in English with a colleague.
It’s especially important to stay positive!
Also check out my lesson: Understand a Real-Life Video in English & Learn about Habits and Motivation–2 [+Worksheet]
What happens when you keep yourself motivated by staying positive and rewarding yourself?
I think you’ve probably already figured out that using positive motivation can really be much more fun than those old threats, or warnings…
It’s way more effective too.
And the best part? It leaves you with a sense of control--the feeling that you CAN do something about your situation.
GET THE WORKSHEET: Practice these expressions so you can use them in real life with this worksheet made for you by a Neurolanguage coach (Me!).
Take the next step: Improve your English in the comments
The best way to become more confident using Business English is to practice!
Here’s your Confidence Challenge for this week:
- Tell me one goal you have right now–or a new habit you’re trying to start.
- Can you think of an immediate reward you could give yourself to help you stay motivated?
If you learned something from this lesson, please share it with your coworkers & friends. You can send your message to them in English for more practice!
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Become more fluent & comfortable in conversations
If you would like to take the next step with me, discover my Faster Fluency Conversation Club Membership Program!
It helps you become more confident speaking in conversations, and get a lot more vocabulary on many different topics! And it’s a fabulous community of “English buddies” from around the world!
TIP: Use the code FFCC40 to save -40% off your 1st month of membership!
More details at
https://mybusinessenglishcourses.com/faster-fluency-conversation-club/join-now
Can’t wait to see you in the Club,
Christina
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As usual, excellent video Christina!
After two years of total inactivity, since January 2nd this year I am intending to walk every day. Three first weeks was terrible, no more than two days by week, totally broken at the end of each intend… Since the 4th week, I have improved and this week I feel will be able to walk five days. Let’s see, still is too hard to get earlier for me.
The reward for these small improvements I have not decided. More than my own satisfaction to verify I am a little more stronger each day.
Thanks for your enthusiasm to teach the English language. You are good for motivating to effort in this learning path.
Hugs!
Thank you so much, and continue to do the best that you can knowing that you’ve tried very hard!
Hello Christina,
I am Jenny. I has been following your you tube channel nearly 4 months. Your video inspired me to study English everyday.
Today I would like to share with you my feedback after listening to your video about How to motivate yourself in everything.
Firstly, I am impressed with the way you break down videos. it helps me a lot to understand full Sharrot’s presentation. Through it, I can see your dedication to coach Business English to students.
Secondly, my new goal this year is to master my English skills. I kick off by listening to podcast every morning, watch your videos.
It’s better to enroll your course, but I can’t afford to buy it now. It costs too much for me.
The immediate reward that I want to give myself to keep me motivated is travelling to new places. It’s not only to explore new place, but also to relax and refresh myself when travelling.
Thanks for your kind support and always keep me motivated recently although I have not sign up for your course yet.
Have a nice weekend ahead Christina.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Jenny.