It is not your fault if popular self-help courses have never worked for you over the long term.

How to get motivated is not adequately dealt with.

Why?

Because generally speaking there are problems with the material you have read and listened to in these courses:

To appeal to a wider audience the self-help experts often leave out the more complex and the more powerful concepts and techniques - the best ones for getting motivated!

Instead you get a burst of short term inspiration that cannot and will not last. While the best material is only taught to a small group of enthusiasts who are willing to pay extra for it.

The irony is that the most powerful techniques, although sometimes unusual, are understandable and effective for most people. As long as you are taught a step-by-step approach you can follow to get motivated.

It is usually the explanation of why it works that leaves people totally confused. But as long as you have the how-to you can start getting results right away and get motivated.

As a result of the decision to leave out the best material you end up learning some simple ideas that work only when you already feel positive and dynamic.

For example, someone tells you to get motivated and to give it your best. If you are feeling unmotivated a pep talk like that will do you very little good.

Imagine what it would be like if instead you could tune in your motivation in the same way you tune in a TV. Well you can once you know how to.

And this is possible for you only when you discover the step by step approach that unleashes the dormant motivation power inside you.

Knowing what to do is very different from knowing how to do it.

Many self help courses teach you what to do but not how to do it or how to stay motivated over time.

As a result you may feel wiser AND more frustrated! At least before you did not know what to do --- now you know what to do but cannot do it.

Stay clear of any material that does not focus on the how to of motivation. And make sure you get the key distinctions you need to master the strategies.

For example, we have all heard a lot about the importance of goal setting. And we might even write our goals down and review them from time to time.

But how do you explain your lack of interest in pursuing your goals? Your lack of motivation?

It is because an essential element is missing from the goal setting process.

Unless your goals are in alignment with your highest values and they feel right for you it is highly unlikely you will achieve them.

In fact, you may sabotage your efforts to get ahead. And all your work will be characterized by lethargy and seemingly never ending and tiring effort.

To sum up - look for practical self-motivation material that takes powerful processes and breaks them down into simple step by step systems.

And realize that knowing what to do is pointless unless you know how to.

Spend a little time each day conditioning your mind and you will be astounded at your rapid progress....

Author's Bio: 

Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report, the 5 Step Motivation Report. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at: http://www.getmotivatedstaymotivated.com/blog