Motivating Plans & Leadership Camp

Over a week this summer, I had the opportunity to serve as a camp counselor for Ohio 4-H Leadership Camp. This was one of my favorite experiences as a 4-H member, as was thrilled to be invited back.

My main focus throughout the week was spent on the Motivation Session with fellow counselor, Bonnie Welsh and staff member, Justin Bower. Justin put together an amazing lesson plan that incorporated everyone. It lasted three hours.

We started off the session with an ice breaker called handcuffed. This is a game with two participants handcuffed together utilizing rope. You can see an example of this game and solution here.

Next on the agenda was to ask participants a few questions, in hopes that they will keep this in mind as they proceed with the session. These included 1. What is motivation? What does it look like? 2. What is positive and negative motivation? Think of a few examples. 3. What is your personal motivation level in this exact moment?

We then transitioned into an activity that had participants writing out their hopes for the session, expectations for themselves, expectations of their facilitators, and expectations of their fellow participants. This was done utilizing the infamous post-it notes and flip charts. They were all then read and this laid the groundwork for how we, collectively, would proceed.

Then, we discussed , E=mc^2 and how that is tied to motivation. In this situation, “E” represents the motivational energy, “m” represents the people, and “c” represents the conductors of energy. These conductors include synchronization (clear goals and mission), speed (move quickly and attentive to motivate others), communication (clear, but gentle and trusting), other passions (finding intrinsic and extrinsic motivators of the individuals you are working with), and integrity (personal ethical code). Finally, the squared represents the leaders impact on the organization.

The conductors were taught through various hands on activities. One activity that was done was to determine who was a “sapper” and an “energizer.” To start, every student was blindfolded. They were then asked to answer questions by stepping forward or backward. They were reminded to be honest and truthful. No one could see them, so they had the opportunity to do so. Some of these questions included asking them about their work patterns, if others told them they were full of energy, how they organized, if they procrastinated, etc. They were then asked to take off their blindfolds and take a look around the room. The people toward the front were sappers and those toward the back were energizers. It was reiterated the importance of each to make a successful team and no group was better than another. The pros and cons were then discussed. For example, energizers are very excited, it takes little to motivate them, and they are easily distracted. Sappers take more time to become motivated, they enjoy detail and explanation behind why things are done, and they are dedicated.

The next conductor we discussed in more depth was synchronization. We had each participant write a mission statement about themselves, they work, school, family, etc. There was flexibility given for them to be creative. They were then asked to write this down and then create a visual aid for their mission statement.

Speed was next up on the list. To show the importance of reinforcing quickly, we sat in a

circle and each student wrote one compliment/affirmation to everyone. This was uncomfortable for some, especially, due to knowing each other for such a short amount of time. We discussed what attributes were involved in a compliment. Before we started this activity, 99 different ways to say “very good” were shared. By the time that they were completed and it was time to read what others had written about each other they were all filled with smiles, and some with tears of joy. There was then a short discussion about the impact that a compliment has. Sometimes, people noticed characteristics in another that they hadn’t even seen in themselves.

Communication was discussed next. Everyone was asked to challenge themselves to present their mission statement and why it is important to them. Public speaking is feared by many, so this was a challenge by choice. I might add that only one camper did not choose to share.

Next, we discussed passions. We discussed the meaning behind intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. We then played a game similar to musical chairs. We had everyone choose a chair within the circle and had one fewer chairs then participants. The “it” person then goes into the center of the circle and says “I am passionate about…” If others are passionate then they must stand and find a new chair that is not their previous one or one that is next to it. As we played, we began to hear things like “I like that, but I am not passionate about it.” This is exactly what we were hoping for. It also gave them a chance to find what motivates their peers.

The last conductor is integrity. We talked with the campers about being true to themselves. They then stood face to face with a wall alone (HINT: This can also be done with a mirror). They were then asked to repeat after me; “I must challenge negative thoughts with positive ones,” “I must bring others into my lifewho celebrate and cheer for me,” “Being Positive is not about projecting a perfect life,” “Being thankful is the first step to being positive,” “Being positive is a choice I make every day.”

The final activity gave me goosebumps every time we did it. The first step was to write something that you have been meaning to do, but haven’t had the motivation to do so. Justin then read the following speech that he wrote:

Now you think you might be missing motivation to do that task. You might be frustrated with yourself that you haven’t done it. You might be struggling to be excited about it. It might be hard for you to step up and do it because it’s new. You might struggle to finish it until you have to have no more time left and you have to rush to get it done. This is normal. We are wired to not feel motivated by things. Our brains are designed to protect us and stop us from doing anything that might hurt us. Often, we are facing things that we think will harm us. Even if it won’t. For example, not being motivated to go to school. Your brain might assess that you might be teased, or you want have fun, or it will be boring, awkward, or a waste of time. So our brains naturally hesitate. They make us think. They make us stop and self-doubt. That’s the key, hesitation. In our lives we have to do things that are difficult, complex, hard, unknown, risky. And honestly, we aren’t going to be motivated to do those things. The only things we are motivated to do are the things that come easy to us. We get excited about listening to our favorite music. We are motivated to go see our favorite sports team. We want to do the things that are easy for us but struggle with the things that are hard. Think about the intrinsic and extrinsic activity we talked about. We feel motivated to do things when we care about it enough that we are willing to do something right now.

I’m going to say something here and it might sound harsh but I want you to listen. You might never feel motivated to do the thing on your paper. That is a reality.

What we need to do is stop waiting for ourselves to “feel” motivated to do it. At some point we need to just start doing it. Think about this; you are one decision away from a totally different job, a totally different relationship, a totally different future, a totally different life. That shouldn’t scare you but encourage you to do something. DO SOMETHING! None of us wake up and say today is the day I get nothing done in my life. Instead we slowly start to check out, we start to hesitate. We hesitate because we are afraid, we hesitate because we have self-doubt, we hesitate because we feel overwhelmed. And then we make tiny decisions over the length of the day that slowly push us down in life and farther from our goals. We press the snooze button, we get to school late, we don’t turn in an assignment on time, we don’t talk to our family about that day. Then one day we wake up and wonder what’s happened and aren’t feeling motivated at all. Where I have seen motivation been the worst is when we get trapped in what is called the knowledge-action gap. We know what to do, but we can’t seem to bring ourselves to do it. We are all one Google search away from getting instructions on how to better our lives. But how do you get out of your head and actually make these things happen? You have to stop thinking. You know what to do. And often it’s the little things that get us motivated again. Getting up on time, eating breakfast, stop isolating ourselves from friends and family, go for a walk, exercise, journal, read. You all know this. But we get stuck in our head. We know what to do but we don’t do it. We hesitate and think to ourselves if we “feel” like doing it. Again the reality is. You might not feel like doing it.

We’re going to take the last 10 minutes and give yourselves some time to write. All I want you to write down, is again, what is stopping you? Why aren’t you doing this? And I’d encourage you, if you’re in the reality that so many of us are in. Where we know what to do, we just don’t want to do it. Then be bold with yourself and remind yourself that NOTHING is stopping you and you are amazing and you’re not going to sit around and wait for you to feel motivated. If you need me or want to chat. I’ll be over there. You all are strong, you are amazing, and you can do whatever you set your mind to, but you have to stop hesitating and do something.

We then left them with bookend questions that sparked final conversation. Some of these included, 1. How has your definition of motivation changed? 2. Which of the five energy conductors can have the biggest impact on your group’s energy? 3. Are you the best role model you can be? 4. How can you improve in either your personal motivation or your motivation of others?

All in all, this was a wonderful week. I know that I personally learned so much, and the campers did as well.

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Camp is just one of those things that make a difference, one of those groups that you instantly bond with, and one of those moments you cherish forever.

Leadership Camp 18

Leadership Camp 18