Understanding the task

You are going to write a summary of a magazine article about self-motivation Your summary should be about a third of the length of the original article. First read the article and ask yourself questions about it, then make notes on what you consider to be the most important areas of information.

Get motivated

Do you ever suspect that people are taking advantage of you? Do you feel that you have been undervalued or your efforts go unappreciated? Do you ever kick yourself because you haven't achieved the things you wanted to?

Well, now is the time to get motivated! People who are highly self-motivated never sit back and let luck take over the driving seat of their lives. They make plans - not just for big projects but for everyday tasks as well. They plan what they are going to buy before they go shopping and they plan what they are going to say should someone call.

Good plans keep us motivated because they stop us feeling overwhelmed, and, at the same time, they make us undoubtedly much more efficient at almost everything we do. Planning ahead is always to our advantage.

Of course, even the most carefully constructed plan must sometimes be put aside, especially if an unexpected stroke of bad luck or good fortune happens to come our way. The secret is to be adaptable!