Motivating Teens

Teens can sometimes be hard to get motivated. Believe me, I know. It seems that some of them reach a 'magical age' when they think it acceptable behaviour to become a lounge lizard and expect everything to be handed to them at their beck and call. On a silver platter no less.
I have had moments when I could literally pull my own hair out at the attitudes of my teens and their lack of motivation sometimes, normal ? yes of course, and I am certain that I did the same to my own mother more than once.....

The truth of the matter is, all teens are motivated, just in different ways. There are teens who are motivated to get the best grades possible, and strive to be the best students they can be. And there are teens who are motivated to be the best at sport and fitness. It doesn't matter where there motivation lies, as long as they try hard to achieve the best results that they can, is really all that matters.

Over the years it has at times been a struggle to keep my teens on track and keep them interested on the path of motivated success.
There are always many distractions in a teens life (not all of them bad) and I guess the trick is to keep a healthy balance between study/training, fun and games. Everyone's mind wonders and we all need a break sometimes and teens are no different.

My best tips to keeping my teens motivated, and myself sane (even though it doesn't always work)
is to....
*Always encourage them to do their best.
*Let them know that even though they may not have achieved the best result that they are capable   of, you are still proud of their effort, but that next time with a little more applied effort their             result maybe even better.
*Try to stay calm (yeah hard I know) but loosing the plot when your teen puts up barriers can do     more harm then good. I have learnt this the hard way.
*Talk-talking is the ultimate tool, make sure your teen knows your there for them and always           available to them.
*Don't stress LOL I know, I know but in the end your teen will surprise you, at times they/we all     lack motivation, but in the end when it really counts they will pull through and can achieve the         unachievable. Never loose doubt or confidence in your teen, no matter what, they WILL make         you proud.
*Remember that ultimately, your teen is responsible for his/her own choices.

Motivation is the key to success, and as far as your teen is concerned it will click in. It may be a little later then we may like it to, but click it will and when it does everything will fall into place and we wonder what all the fuss was about :)

How do you keep your teen motivated ?
I would love some more tips so that I can get through the remaining teen years with at least some hair !