motivation

I'm thinking about this lately for myself and the p'tit minous.

One of them is extremely self-motivated (I won't reveal which is which) and, I would say, has a high level of belief in his self-efficacy. He can plan his time, stick to a challenging job, and get things done. He is also skilled at motivating others, and has been since at least age 3, though to his chagrin in our stubborn family this can sometimes create resistance.

The other is in no hurry to assume the mantle of responsibility. We have almost daily arguments about his ability to accomplish tasks. He can argue passionately for what feels like hours, elaborating on all the many reasons that he can't do whatever the issue at hand is. Needless to say, as his mama, this is extremely frustrating.

It got me to thinking about my own levels of motivation and self-efficacy. I recently took an interesting online personality assessment as part of a nursing education class, and I discovered that while I have high levels of achievement orientation (no surprise there), my levels of self-efficacy and self-discipline were only average.

Procrastination my old friend....(cue Simon and Garfunkle)...
I think that my awareness of this issue makes me lack some belief in my ability to accomplish all the things I want to accomplish. And I am ready to change this. I declare this year the year of Anti-Procrastination. Or maybe the Year of Planning is a better moniker.

Building habits, setting small measurable goals, and rewarding myself are the tools.
I hope to help the stuggling p'tit minou by, instead of lecturing, giving him an example of an imperfect adult working to change sa way of doing things that is no longer working.