Motivation Videos and Techniques

In these videos, I share psychology techniques for transforming challenges into opportunities. Including clapping when students arrive to class!

SMALL GESTURES ENERGIZE
Staying Motivated During Challenging Times
Psychology Article in the Drive Magazine

The secret of endurance is to remember that your pain is temporary but your reward will be eternal.

Rick Warren

Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.

Charles Barkley

Your Turn

Share your tips in comments below

Published by Dr. Andrea Dinardo

Dr. Andrea Dinardo is a positive psychology expert, keynote speaker, and leadership trainer who helps people thrive under pressure and cope with stress. She is a psychology professor at St. Clair College of Applied Arts & Science in Windsor Ontario Canada and a retired psychologist with the College of Psychologists of Ontario. She is also the author of several psychology articles and textbooks and a TEDx presenter who shared her insights on how to turn stress into strength. She has a popular YouTube channel and a blog where she offers psychology tips and exercises for mental health empowerment and daily resilience. She is passionate about applying positive psychology to facilitate personal growth and transformational change in individuals and organizations.

Training and Development, Video

65 thoughts on “Motivation Videos and Techniques”

Add yours

  1. Small gestures help in the middle.. if it a road that is traveled alone we have to a gesture for the self to keep us going. That is why I always say pat yourself on the back for each small achievement. And to check and change nightly or weekly creates the opportunity to make the midlife not such a long barren desert.

    Always lovely reading you post your wealth of experience.

    Reply

  3. I hadn’t really paid much attention to this before – but you are soooo right! AsI was reading straight away I took myself back to my gym routine this morning when I was doing a 10 minute abs blast that was HARD-CORE. I started strong, and when the end was in sight I found that little bit of extra energy – but that middle bit I always get all dramatic with myself and think my muscles are about to explode and cant take anymore and I struggle to keep going. I am going to work on reframing the middle bits of challenges I fact to remind myself how far I have come, and make sure I do the same for others! Thanks for the motivation!! 🙂

    Reply

  6. I’ve never tried that before! It’s so true that it’s much easier to endure the beginning and end of everything. The middle feels like forever. I’m going to clap the next time I have to endure the middle of something hard, which is bound to come up.

    Reply

    1. Good Day Doctor! I love hearing someone say “I’ve never tried that before.” That sentence alone gives me motivation to keep writing this blog. Thanks for being my cheering squad Ipuna!

      Reply

  7. What motivates me in the middle is I dislike the thought of giving up, or having to start all over again. I try to focus on how far I have come and what I have accomplished, and that I am halfway done. Praying all along the way. 😉

    Reply

  8. Great seeing you back again Andrea. So true about needing encouragement in the middle of the challenge. You end with a great question! What keeps us motivated is hearing the stories of people that overcome obstacles in life and climb to greater heights as a result of not ever quitting. So when we feel at the end of our strength we think of those people and their perseverance and we get back out there again.

    Reply

    1. What a great strategy!

      I’m also motivated to keep going by others’ life story. Especially the underdogs! If they can do it, than why not I?

      This is why I love memoirs and movies about overcoming challenges so much. So much so that I included the real-life story of Aaron Rolston in my textbook. Aaron inspired the book 127 hours and movie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlhLOWTnVoQ A story that would be of interest to both of you given the time you spend in the wilderness.

      Thank you for adding spark to my motivation Tom & Audrey!

      Reply

      1. Thank you Andrea. Thanks for the great suggestion on the book/movie. Isn’t it the truth about seeing others overcome and then believing we can too. Life seems to be one big continuance of overcoming. We love it.

        Reply

        1. “Life seems to be one big continuance of overcoming.” Beautifully said. A Universal Truth – for us all.

          Though no one is exempt from the pain of challenge. Saving Grace = No one is exempt from the strength to rise up & thrive…. again & again & again. 🌷🍃

          Reply

  9. Having worked for a while now with people who always try to dampen your morale, to make you feel incapable of achieving things, I stay motivated by keeping my mind focused on the end result of any task I’m handling at the moment. That’s because I know I am capable of getting things done right, and I don’t need to view myself through their eyes. It works for me all the time. Of course I do it all with a smile.😄😄😉😉

    Great post, Dr. Andrea! Keep them coming. Do take care and have a great time!🌷

    Reply

    1. Good for you Kip!

      You have an amazing attitude & approach to life. Thanks for sharing what works for you. Your ideas will certainly help me & many others keep our eyes on the prize (aka our dreams) instead of our naysayers.

      Have a wonderful evening!

      Reply

  11. 👏👏👏👏👏
    Awesome post! 😀
    I agree the middle is usually the hard part. I see this often in a writing marathon called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month); usually it’s easy to write in the beginning because of the enthusiasm and towards the end because the end is in sight, but the middle is usually the part that is the easiest to give up. That’s usually when I pull out all the motivational “carrots” like ice cream and whatnot, and it usually works! 😆

    Reply

    1. Your example is divine. Thanks for sharing Nicolle. You’ve given me insight into a world that I only see from “the completed novel” side. Wishing you a day filled with writing motivation! 🥕 💻 🥕

      Reply

  12. Another good reminder- the middle can be difficult.
    At all phases of any goal or journey I try to remain focused on my why- my purpose- what do I want to achieve but more important what will it me for me or others.
    For me, that often means affirmations, visualization. It can also mean prayer, sharing with a coach or trusted friend – seeking encouragement.
    Keeping my eye on “the why”
    Helps tremendously.

    Reply

  13. Dr. D…I told you, we’re like motivational twins. Something similar happened between my trainer and I years ago. He said, “You know every time you finish a set, you do a little dance” lol I hadn’t really realized it, but it was true. I was cheering myself on in the middle of the workouts lol I couldn’t agree more; CHEERING in the MIDDLE is AWESOME!

    Reply

    1. Amen sista! Motivational twins for life. And now you’ve given me a whole new level of sparkle to add to the technique! Youzza! Time to get my CHEERING in the MIDDLE motivation dance moves on! Dedicated to the one & only Dr. G. 💃🎉

      Reply

  14. Way to go, Dr. A! Sometimes showing up is the hardest thing to do because motivation just isn’t there. But being there–like you are for your students and how they continue to show up for you–has a greater impact than most anything. When we show up in the middle of hard or long or boring or frightening, I think we learn more about our true character and motivation.

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much Dayle! 🌷

      I really like how you frame motivation as “showing up”. As so often we zone out & disassociate in the midst of challenge as an unconscious way to avoid the pain.

      When in fact it is being present with ourselves (the struggle, the pain, the goals, the dreams) that is our greatest opportunity for learning & overcoming.

      Bearing Witness is a subtle yet powerful force indeed.

      Reply

  16. Once again, you’ve hit the nail on the head! On my runs, I often hit a point at which I think to myself that it would be nice to stop. It would feel good, even. But I force myself to celebrate how far I’d already run, I remind myself that I have not fallen short of a distance goal yet (and I’m not willing to start cutting runs short), and I make sure I enjoy the run. Am I sometimes out of breath? Yes. Am I sore? Most of the time, yes. Are my muscles burning and willing me to stop? Almost always. But the feeling I get when I finish and meet or exceed my goal is so much better than any benefit I’d get from stopping.

    Reply

    1. Thank you for sharing your experience & for the positive feedback! I feel like I’m right the with you!

      As a fellow runner, I can relate to everything you wrote. Your real-life example underscores how we must be our own cheerleaders (everything else is a bonus) – in fitness & in life!

      Walls are to be expected. Otherwise we wouldn’t be growing. It’s what’s waiting on the other side that makes each challenge worthwhile. 🏃 👏

      Reply

  17. Nice read! What keeps me motivated is knowing how much people use me to keep them motivated. I have a big family and I also know that I am their biggest influence so that as well keeps me motivated.

    Reply

    1. How wonderful!

      The boomerang effect of motivation is powerful indeed. The more you motivate your family – the more motivated you become. Something I experience too in the classroom.

      Watching students shift from unmotivated -> motivated is one of the many reasons I’m so excited to teach psychology year after year. Motivation is contagious! 📚💚

      Reply

    1. It’s so much fun Brigid! We often think of motivation techniques as painstaking & arduous. But they don’t have to be. Like attracts like. Positivity creates more positivity. And the more the merrier! All around the world. Clapping my way to you in Ireland & back again. 🇮🇪💚

      Reply

  20. You are quite right! It’s difficult to pull through from half way. After the mid point, I generally stretch myself bit by bit…mentally pushing myself to do 10% more. Then cheering myself that I completed more than half. So I push myself a little more towards 70-80% and thereby end seems near. Just 20% left! Yay! I know it might sound childish but it works for me 🙂

    Reply

    1. Not childish… very very smart!

      Breaking down big goals into a series of small steps paves the way to success. Endurance needs resting points along the way, and so do you! Great strategy! Thanks for sharing. 👏🌟

      Reply

  21. Sometimes is the thought of being the first to give up that keeps me going. At other times a sense of responsibility drives me on through that momentary point. Obviously, the celebration of achievement in whatever way for reaching the end is also a motivator.

    Reply

    1. Great strategies! All three.

      The option to quit keeps me going too. Just like you, the moment I see an exit point = my opportunity to re-commit to a goal (or walk away). Choice is a powerful motivator.

      Reply

  25. Right on Dr. Andrea!

    You know at the gym. I too start clapping to myself, for myself. I think it first started out as a way to warm up my grip on the bars but in the long run, the claps have become a way to encourage myself, a little gesture to my subconscious that I got this. Sometimes I even pat myself on my chest, which is more of me showing some love to myself for trying and giving my all.

    Loved reading your post! Looking forward to your next!

    Take care!

    Reply

    1. So cool to hear that you use the same motivation strategies.

      Clapping is the easiest way to move energy that I know of. And you’ve taken it one step higher with the love pat. My favourite so far.

      Such small gestures creating such a big impact. A ripple effect of positivity from my hand to yours.

      👏 👏

      Reply

      1. Dr. Dinardo, I truly love your posts and have just started my recovery blog at Anonymous People on WordPress. I would love to be able to discuss a couple things with you regarding reblogging your posts on my blog. Is there a way I can contact you to do so. Thanks in advance for your time and consideration, Bobby C. (Anonymous People)

        http://anonymouspeople.net

        Reply

        1. Hi Bobby, Please feel free to reblog my posts on your site – anytime. Many of my readers do the same. And I am quite grateful when they do. (As long as they reference my work / blog.) The more shares = the more opportunities for a ripple effect of positive change and personal growth. Something I hold dear to my heart and soul. Today and always. Sincerely, Andrea

          Reply

Leave a comment

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑