Caitie McAneney - An Inner Drive: Self-Motivation

Published in 2020 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. 29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2020 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Editor: Elizabeth Krajnik

Cover Design: Michael Flynn

Photo Credits: Cover, p. 15 Hero Images/Getty Images; cover, pp. 1, 34, 6, 8, 10, 1214, 16, 1824 (background) TairA/Shutterstock.com; p. 5 (main) ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images; p. 5 (inset) Scott Barbour/Getty Images Sport/ Getty Images; p. 7 Asia Images Group/Shutterstock.com; p. 9 Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com; p. 11 Sergey Novikov/ Shutterstock.com; p. 12 Justin Kirk Thornton/Shutterstock.com; p. 13 Billion Photos/Shutterstock.com; p. 17 Andy Lyons/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images; p. 18 Courtesy of the Library of Congress; p. 19 sirtravelalot/ Shutterstock.com; pp. 2021 AlohaHawaii/Shutterstock.com; p. 22 Viacheslav Nikolaenko/Shutterstock.com.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: McAneney, Caitie.

Title: An inner drive: self-motivation / Caitie McAneney.

Description: New York : PowerKids Press, 2020. | Series: Spotlight on social and emotional learning | Includes glossary and index.

Identifiers: ISBN 9781725302051 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781725302242 (library bound) | ISBN 9781725302150 (6pack)

Subjects: LCSH: Motivation (Psychology)--Juvenile literature. | Personality and motivation--Juvenile literature.

Classification: LCC BF503.M39 2020 | DDC 153.8--dc23

Manufactured in the United States of America

CPSIA Compliance Information: Batch #CSPK19.For further information contact Rosen Publishing, New York, New York at 1-800-237-9932.

CHAPTER one

TIME TO GET MOTIVATED!

Imagine youve got a basketball game that you want to win. Imagine youve got an important test coming up that you want to ace. How can you get from point A (where youre starting) to point B (achieving, or reaching, your goal)? Its time to get motivated!

Whenever youve got a big goal or task ahead, you need motivation, or the desire to achieve that goal. Thats what drives you forward. Its like putting gas in the tank of a car. As long as the motivation doesnt run out, you wont give up on your goal, no matter what setbacks and disappointments may come your way.

Motivation works for tasks both big and small. Think of the motivation it takes for an athlete to make it to the Olympics. They have to practice and train for years and years, but their drive keeps them moving forward.

Trischa Zorn is a blind Paralympic swimmer for team USA who has won 55 medals, making her the most decorated Paralympian ever. Zorn has said, My motivation lies in the fact that I truly love what Im doing.

CHAPTER two

SKILLS FOR LIFE

Motivation is one part of the life skill of selfmanagement. Self-management is the ability to control your actions, thoughts, and emotions in different situations. Its the difference between fighting a classmate over a problem and calmly working it out. Its also the difference between studying for an important test and playing video games all night. You have the power to manage your actions, and therefore, the outcomes.

Another skill of self-management includes managing stress, which is something that causes strong feelings of worry or anxiety. Many things in school and at home can cause stress. However, how you deal with stress is what matters most. Impulse control is a skill that has to do with rising above our temporary wants and urges, or strong desires, to achieve our longer-term goals. Lastly, self-management includes setting and working toward goals, even if you know they might take a while to achieve.

Self-management is a social and emotional learning skill that helps you be a better friend, student, and family member.

CHAPTER three

YOU HAVE THE POWER!

The most important thing to remember when trying to stay motivated is that you have the power. You alone have power over your actions.

Imagine you want to learn to play the guitar. This takes a lot of time and practice. It takes motivation! However, your parents might not be able to afford music lessons. If thats the case, think of how you can take control of your situation. You might be able to borrow a guitar from school or you might be able to find instructional videos online. This can-do attitude, or way of thinking, can help you feel in control of the situation.

Its also important to remember that you have a choice in any situation. You can choose not to practice or you can practice hard. You can choose to give up or you can choose to keep going.

Sometimes its hard to get motivated when youd rather watch TV than practice or work. However, you have a choice. Do you want to give into short-term urges or achieve long-term goals?

CHAPTER four

INTERESTS AND PASSIONS

What are you motivated to do? In other words, what do you want to do, without anyone telling you to do it? These things probably have to do with your interests and passions. These are things you care deeply about.

If you love to read, no one has to ask you twice to pick out a book at the library. If you love to play basketball, then nothing can keep you off the court. Youre passionate about that hobby or task, so it doesnt really feel like work.

One way to get motivated to do something is to connect it to your interests or passions. Imagine you have to learn fractions in math class, but you dont really like math. However, you love to bake. You can connect baking to fractions to help get you motivated to learn!

Imagine you have to do community service for school. You can choose something youre passionate about,like a basketball charity event, to get you motivated!

CHAPTER five

WHAT DRIVES YOU?

Think about the things that youve achieved in your life. Maybe youve earned a purple belt in karate or organized a canned-food drive. What was driving you to do that task? Did you do it because you had to, or because you wanted to?

There are two types of motivationextrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is a driving force from outside yourself that leads you to do something to avoid punishment or gain a reward. You clean your room to avoid being grounded. Extrinsic motivation helps you achieve short-term success.