Understanding how you can stay motivated is a crucial component to accomplishing your goals. As the saying goes,
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”
If your motivation is waning and it’s been a while since you’ve taken action or made progress on your goal, here are some tips on how to get and stay motivated!
When you have cracked these techniques then you can remain motivated for the longrun.
Have a positive attitude.
Your attitude is one of your greatest assets. How you think about any given task or situation influences whether or not you will be able to accomplish it successfully. The following tips will help keep your mind and heart in a positive space:
- Be optimistic. Think positively, believe in yourself, and have faith in your ability to achieve success. When you believe that something is possible, then it becomes more likely that it will happen!
- Be grateful for all of the good things already within your life, including friendships, family members who love and care about you, an education (even if it’s just some high school classes), etc., because these things can help lead a happier life overall–and also make us more motivated when working toward future goals!
Be thankful for what you have in life. Be grateful for all the good things already within your life, including friendships, family members who love and care about you, an education (even if it’s just some high school classes), etc., because these things can help lead a happier life overall–and also make us more motivated when working toward future goals!
Setting a goal helps you stay motivated.
Your first step is to set a goal. If you don’t know what you want, how can you get it? The best goals are the ones that are realistic and achievable; if your goal isn’t possible for the time and resources available to you, then it might be better to adjust it rather than give up entirely.
For example, if I set as my goal to become an Olympic gymnast by age 30 (which would be impossible), then I could try setting more reasonable milestones along the way: getting into shape enough so that I could run 10 miles without stopping by age 25; learning how to do a backflip by age 24; etc.
You can also set timelines for achieving these goals—for example, when should each milestone occur relative to one another? What are some other milestones that would help me achieve my ultimate goal? Then write down all of this information somewhere handy where it will inspire and motivate you!
Setting a goal for your own personal development is as key as setting a goal or target in your professional responsibilities. Sometimes we can get polarised when we try to understand what is important – we can use a decision tree here to assist in our thinking.
Reward yourself for reaching personal milestones.
Reaching a personal milestone can be a big deal. Sometimes it’s the result of months of hard work, and sometimes it’s simply a matter of finishing something you’ve been putting off. Regardless of what motivates you to achieve these goals, reward yourself for doing so!
Don’t feel like you have to wait until your entire task list is done before rewarding yourself; rewarding yourself along the way will help keep you motivated and energized. You can find small ways to celebrate every time you check off an item on your list—maybe it means taking 20 minutes out of your day for some downtime or indulging in that lunchtime treat that’s been calling out from the fridge all morning (and afternoon).
Reward yourself with bigger rewards too: take some time off, go on vacation, buy something nice for yourself! The possibilities are endless! Just make sure whatever reward mechanism works best for you doesn’t involve food or booze; those two things tend not only hinder productivity but also hinder our health in general which isn’t much fun either way.
Understand what it is about the stuff that you do is that motivates you.
If you’re looking for ways to stay motivated, then you should understand what it is about the stuff that you do is that motivates you. This may seem obvious, but it’s important to understand this point because motivation can come from different sources and in different ways.
For example, some people are motivated by money and status while others are more interested in helping others or working on projects they enjoy. Some people like to work on big projects while others prefer small ones and yet other people like even smaller ones!
To better understand your own source of motivation, think back over your past jobs and ask yourself what was it about the projects or tasks that kept me going when I got bored or tired? Did I actually enjoy doing those things? Did I feel accomplished at the end of each day? Was there something specific about it that kept me going or did just getting paid keep me going?
Take regular breaks.
The best way to avoid burnout is to take regular breaks. It’s easy to get caught up in a project and lose track of time, but if you don’t take the occasional break your mind will become fatigued and you will be more likely to make mistakes.
Taking frequent breaks also helps you stay focused on the task at hand, as well as fresh and motivated. Taking short breaks is better than working for hours on end without a rest; it gives you an opportunity to refresh yourself mentally and physically before getting back into it again.
I often use the Pomodoro Method to help me focus. This introduces short burst activities to achieve quickly.
Get the right support.
To stay motivated, you need to surround yourself with the right people. This means those who are interested in your success and want nothing but the best for you.
If you’re having trouble finding some friends that fit this description, no worries! You can always reach out on social media or even post a message on an online forum like Reddit or Quora asking for advice on where else to look for potential helpers or supporters of any kind.
Surrounding yourself with people who don’t have your best interests at heart will only hinder your progress. They’ll drag you down and make it that much harder for you to achieve what you want. These can often be described as mood hoovers or energy vampires – you may have heard the saying. These are the people who manage to lower the energy in the room when they enter it.
Pair up with another colleague.
If you want to stay motivated, it’s important to pair up with another colleague. You’ll find that there is safety in numbers, and working together will be more fun and productive. You’ll both work harder when you know that there’s someone else counting on you for help. When one person isn’t feeling motivated, the other can encourage them—and vice versa!
You might have different skills than your partner, which means they can help you get unstuck faster than anyone else could. And if they run into problems that no one else seems able to solve, perhaps they’ll turn to someone like yourself who has some expertise in the area where their project runs aground (or explodes!)
Stop comparing yourself to others.
In the end, you are the only person who can make yourself happy. No one else will be able to do it for you. If someone else is doing something that you think might help them with their goals, then ask them how they did it and see if there’s anything in there that could apply to your own situation. But don’t let jealousy distract or pull you down!
You are not meant to be everything; instead, focus on being the best version of yourself possible.
Motivation can be both intrinsic and extrinsic, so try to incorporate both when trying to accomplish a goal or program!
Motivation can be both intrinsic and extrinsic, so try to incorporate both when trying to accomplish a goal or program!
Intrinsic motivation is internal, it’s the desire to do something because it is interesting or enjoyable. You may be intrinsically motivated by the challenge itself. For example, you might enjoy learning about a new subject and want to learn more about it for its own sake rather than any external reward like money or grades. Extrinsic motivation is external, it’s the desire to do something because it will lead to a reward or punishment. This kind of motivation would apply if you were doing something you didn’t enjoy just because of some outside consequences (like getting a good grade).
Intrinsic motivation can be difficult to get sometimes especially when it comes from a place of self-discipline and self-motivation alone. But there are ways to help you develop intrinsic motivation more easily! These include setting goals that align with your values, finding meaning in what you do, and rewarding yourself for doing well!
You are the one who decides how motivated you will be. It’s not just about having a positive attitude or setting a goal or even getting the right support; it’s also about understanding what it is about the stuff that motivates you. When we understand our motivations, we can use them to help us achieve our goals and make good decisions. And when those decisions work out well, there’s nothing better than feeling like we have been successful!
