Self-motivation Quiz » Otago Polytechnic

Answer the questions and give yourself a score

Record how well each of the following six items describes you. Be honest; there is no one to lie to but yourself!

Use the following scale:

Hardly at all = 1
Rarely = 2
Sometimes = 3
Often = 4
Almost Always = 5

1. I am certain that I can achieve the goals I set for myself.

2. When working toward my goals, setbacks motivate me to work harder.

3. I establish my goals on the basis of what I want for myself in the future.

4. If I put forth enough effort, my abilities and talents will help me reach my goals.

5. I feel confident I can meet approaching deadlines associated with my goals.

6. Unexpected obstacles do not deter me from trying hard to reach my existing goals.

Now add up your score.

Study your score

Your score is 22-30: You are powerfully self-motivated and spend a good deal of your time and effort working to achieve the things you want most. Even so, you can probably increase your level of self-motivation, if you wish. Read on.

Your score is 14-21: You are acceptably self-motivated. However, you can increase your self-motivation by more frequently setting goals, and by focusing more consistently on accomplishing them. Setting a goal gives you a stronger sense of direction, and provides an organizing principle around which you can direct your energies and your actions. If failure to meet a goal hurts too much, you may want to work on your resiliency — the emotional bounce-back that confident people experience after a failure. By more quickly regaining full confidence in your talents and abilities, you will equip yourself to try for more demanding goals. This need not be scary. Setting and working hard toward a challenging goal can be fun. Remember that rewarding yourself for accomplishing each goal contributes to your self-confidence, energy level, and self-motivation.

Your score is 6-13: You should try to increase your level of self-motivation. Do not let your doubts and fears fence you off from the level of success you desire. Remember that any past failures to accomplish your goals are not omens of future failures. Failure to accomplish a few of your goals is normal, natural, and an inescapable part of goal-setting and accomplishment. Instead of thinking “That goal was too demanding for me,” try to think “Next time, I’ll increase my chance of success by working smarter.” Remember to set clear goals that are neither too simple nor too complex for your current capabilities. Also, set only those goals you really want to achieve, because commitment is a major element of self-motivation. As you work toward a goal, measure and record your progress. Limit the number of concurrent goals you set, too. You might not have enough time or energy to accomplish all of them, so setting too many goals throws open the door to feeling like a failure. It is also critical that you ask people you trust to evaluate your ability to accomplish your goals: making your own judgment that a goal is beyond your capabilities creates discouragement, dissipates energy, and may reflect low self-esteem more than an accurate assessment. Before you dial back your immediate aspirations, be very sure you are actually reaching too far.

Attribution

This work includes material from the following sources:

Moskowitz, R. (2011). How high do you score on this self-motivation quiz?

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