Drive is the thing that keeps propelling us toward our goals and aspirations. Drive is, fundamentally, the motivation and desire to put time and effort into our work. It’s the ability to work diligently at reaching our goals, even when obstacles crop up along the way. It’s feeling excited by and engaged in the work we do. Loan officers, like anyone else, can lose steam when we’ve been doing the same work for a while, and it happens to even the most productive and hard-working among us. When you see a decrease in your drive, there are a few proven strategies to resuscitate it. Here are some of my favorites:
Turn your Ambitions into Concrete Goals
Sometimes our drive can wane because we’re not being challenged enough. Other times it’s the exact opposite, maybe we have too much on our plate and it becomes overwhelming. Each of those instances can lead to a lack of motivation. When we feel our motivation diminishing, setting new goals be a helpful antidote. By setting specific, time-bound goals, we’ll be much more likely to hold ourselves accountable and succeed. More on setting and achieving goals, here.
Break Those Goals Down
If it ever feels like the goals you’ve set are simply unattainable, don’t give up right away. Goals can often be made more manageable by breaking them down into smaller, achievable steps. For example, let’s say your goal is to close ‘X’ number of loans in April. What are the smaller steps your can take to get there? Once you’ve charted your course, you can schedule these smaller tasks you need to complete Accomplishing these mini goals along the way to our endpoint helps keep us seeing progress and keeps our drive in full supply.
Surround Yourself with Inspiring People
Environment can also play a role in decreased drive. Sometimes a change of venue or immersing ourselves in a different group can make a sizable difference. Surround yourself with others that have a strong drive, or people who inspire you. They could be inside the industry or outside — it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you stay open up to fresh insight and new collaborations. Utilize your support system of friends, family, and colleagues, too. The people you care about who are invested in your success are a terrific resource when you need a boost.
Picture Your Success
It’s common that, from time to time, we need reminders why our goals exist in the first place and why they’re worth striving for. If you find yourself having a moment like this, it’s helpful to remind yourself of the original intention behind the goals. Once you remember exactly why you’re working toward a goal, try to visualize the success you want. Picture the moment of achievement. This visualization exercise can provide some extra motivation to keep pushing forward. It makes succeeding feel more real and more attainable.
Drive is important in every area of our lives, and these ideas can help you reawaken that motivation and continue taking the necessary strides to reach your goals.
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