Tip Tuesday : Milk Your Motivators

We all have our pet ways of motivating ourselves.  You have one or two things that almost always jolt you into action, right?  I function well under deadline, and tend to procrastinate until things are red hot and glowing, and then spring into a fury of action that has me sliding into home at the last possible second.  Quite frankly, I love it!  It makes me feel good, it’s fun, and yes at times it’s stressful for my family but it works.  Things get done.  I have a tendency to create artificial deadlines just to get myself moving. 

I realized last night that the marathon I’m signed up for is in (ouch) just over 4 months, and I’ve been seriously slacking on my mileage for the last 3 months!  I’m not just a bit off, I’m barely running at all.  Having crept right up to the “train or bust” stage (I’m not a serious enough runner to run without a good four months of buildup) I’m now in full-fledged training mode in my head.  My feet are slowly following :).

Pressure motivates me.  Guilt sometimes motivates me, but it’s not my default.  Accomplishment motivates me too … the more things I can cross off my list the better I feel.  I milk both of those ideas for all they’re worth, simply because it works!  There might be healthier ways, but when I’m desperately casting about for motivation, I’ll take whatever works.   

What motivators do you rely on?