It’s a question many parents have: “How do I inspire motivation in my kids?” The answer might be hiding in an unexpected place.
Physical Space and Motivation
Believe it or not, the spaces in which we spend our time can have an impact on our mood, and our mood impacts our motivation. The same is true for our kids. Colours, furniture, clutter or lack thereof – all of these things can make a difference in their mood and motivation levels.
Think about your child’s bedroom. Is it a space where you’d like to spend time working? If it’s dark and cluttered, or simply doesn’t reflect your child’s personality, it might be affecting their motivation levels!
It’s the Little Things
In Make Your Bed: Little Things that can Change Your Life, author William McRaven writes,
“If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”
Do your children make their bed every day? It’s actually a really important daily task! Motivation can be kick-started by a small, easy task that we do on a daily basis. This is one task that can benefit parents as well!
Starting the Conversation
Here are three questions to start asking your kids if you want to help motivate them.
How would you rate your overall motivation in life (0 – 10)? (We want them to start self-assessing their overall motivation).
What is your mood when you are in your bedroom? How does this affect your motivation?
What are some simple ways we could improve your bedroom so the space is more inspiring and motivating for you?
Next Steps
One practical way to inspire motivation in our kids is to look at the space where they are working. Does their bedroom have a dedicated workspace? Is it inspiring, and does it reflect who they are?
Brainstorm together with your kids some practical and creative ways to make their bedroom a space that inspires and motivates them; a place where they want to do their homework!
