To generate motivation becomes the key which kicks us out of bed Monday morning, and guides us to stay on track. Doing so pushes us closer, so we can see the light at the end of the coffee. Motivation is that internal kick in the groin we give ourselves, knowing some days can be harder than others.
What most however will do is flick the default switch and remain lazy, stagnate and as static as possible. To do the bare minimum.
So what it take’s is that nudge to get where you want to go, as there’s a variety of obstacles which strays our path.
The truth being, staying motivated requires a bit more than having the urge to do something.
Once our goals become unclear, unrefined or too difficult to reach, what life does is throws us roadblocks, forcing us to question our intent.
“Am I doing the right thing?” “Do I really need to push myself even harder?” “Is this worth my time?” “Do I want to keep going?”
Once doubt begins to creep in, what’s lost is that initial excitement, then we ultimately at times give up on our goals.
Why People Quit
The reason why people stop chasing their dreams while others reach theirs, is self motivation.
Proper sustainable motivation begins from the inside out, supported by well-defined goals, which bridges a strong emotional connection to keep going.
What’s known is intrinsic motivation is more sustainable than extrinsic motivation, as what we value is our internal motives more favourably.
Different Types Of Motivation
How we motivate ourselves can fall into a variety of categories. When it comes to motivation that’s sustainable, it’s self-interest and concern for others which matters the most.
For instance, you’re more likely to get a promotion once you show you really care about improving your standing where you’re employed.
You find reward in wanting to please your spouse, parents, or wanting your kids to get the best education possible, etc.
Similar to a house being built on a weak foundation, what motivation based on unclear goals will do is result in poorly defined outcomes, and begin to crumble.
To Develop Strong Motivation
So what you need is to set your goals according to what your priorities are, and then have a firm plan which will help you follow through to the end, until it’s completion.
Know the answers to “why” your doing something, such as knowing why it’s the right or the proper goal to pursue at this time.
Also know the reason why you need to reach the goal, such as the reasons why achieving it is important.
Once you set a strong foundation, construct a firm reason why you decide to do something, then you can fortify these reasons.
You can then justify the reasons to sustain your effort and motivation, until you succeed.
Put Everything In Writing
Identify what you need to do and put it in writing. Be clear and specific, including both quantitative measurable and experiential aspects of the goal.
Once it’s written out, keep it visible somewhere in sight, to keep you on track once you stray.
What we constantly do is make promises and plans to ourselves, but it’s just a verbal commitment we soon forget, once life interferes and we get too busy.
What putting things in writing does is holds us accountable to complete our goals, while also serving as a reminder.
Keep Focused Minimize Distractions
When disorganized, what happens is you can’t make progress as everything’s in disarray, as your attention is divided between a variety of tasks.
Then procrastination sets in, because of all the wasted energy on things that doesn’t matter.
Nothing’s more distracting and demotivating than a mind that’s cluttered and wandering.
Once you get confused and begin running around in circles, step back and hit the “pause” button. Take a moment to think what your true intentions and priorities are.
Once you set objectives, then it becomes easy to flush out all the time wasters which sucks up your energy, keeping you stagnant.
Know The Pitfalls
Know all the potential obstacles you might encounter while making progress towards reaching your goals.
It becomes important to know all of the likely stumbling blocks, so you’ll be expecting them while knowing how to deal with them.
Once you encounter them, you won’t be surprised as you’ll eliminate them while keeping your motivation.
Once you take note of all the possible obstacles, categorize them into situations you can control, situations you can influence, and situations you can’t control.
Never waste your energy on things you can’t do anything about, but instead, focus on just the things you can do, while remaining focused on moving forward.
Remain Positive
Always be mindful of positive self-talk, by doing things that makes you happy and content.
The reason for this is because when you’re happy, what being so does is gives you more energy and motivation.
Once something bad happens, it’s negatively can affect your attitude, as what our minds will automatically do is default into thinking the worst, which weakens our drive.
What forcing yourself to think positively in every situation does, is helps you recover quicker to your original intent, at times not skipping a beat as if nothing happened.
Always Reward Yourself
What rewards does is injects further motivation because they make you feel valued and justified.
The reward doesn’t need to be that big for it to have a positive effect. A well deserved break can serve as a reward.
So give yourself little rewards here and there once you make progress, which will help inject further motivation.
Doing so will allow you to maintain a positive outlook, reminding yourself you’re on the right track.