I don’t know about you but I sometimes find it very difficult to maintain the same level of momentum when working on something. I start off really inspired and pumped and somewhere along the line I may find myself in a rut or struggling to get past a certain step. So I started wondering how can I get myself to stay motivated and on track. I just want to share with you some of the things that I found and I hope these will inspire you too to stay motivated and working hard towards your dreams.
First things first, you gotta remember why you are doing what you are doing. Always remind yourself of the reason behind your goal. If you forget why you are working towards something, you will not be motivated enough to see it through. There was a good reason why you set that particular goal, constantly remind yourself of it so you remain encouraged to see it through.
Make It Fun: Get excited about your goal. Find fun ways of achieving it. Break r
outine and do things differently. For example if you work through things better with some music in the background, do that. If writing out your plan on a white board makes it more fun for you then be sure to incorporate that. Make the process fun and you will find that you can actually achieve more.
Try A Different Approach: Maybe you are in a rut because you have been trying to do things in a certain way which hasn’t worked well for you. Why don’t you try a different approach? See things from another perspective. They say there is more than one way to skin a cat. So say your aim is to keep fit and you have committed to jogging every morning and somehow that just doesn’t work for you...why don’t you try other forms of exercise like swimming or going to the gym or get a jogging partner so you can keep each other motivated. So the goal stays the same but the approach differs. Don’t be a rigid person, set in your old ways...try new things they could work way better than what you are used to.
Set Achievable Milestones: If you have no achievable milestones you are bound to feel very overwhelmed. So while it is very important to have your ultimate goal in mind, set smaller goals that you can work on either weekly or monthly or quarterly and so on. This will help you stay in control. An example is say you want to save R12 000 to purchase a car...LOL... don’t I wish cars where that cheap...but yeah, say you need that much to buy a car. Now looking at that amount as a whole may get you thinking, “how would I ever achieve that?” and you could get really overwhelmed. However if you break it down to say, I will save a R1000 every month for the next 12months...now that sounds a lot more manageable because you have set easier goals that will in the end achieve your ultimate dream of saving R12 000.
Have A Reward System: Reward yourself...if you deserve it that is. After you achieve certain milestones give yourself a reward for you have done a good job. Rewarding doesn’t necessarily mean getting big things like shopping for shoes or buying a car. It can also be small things like taking a break or going to watch a movie. When you know that you can reward yourself for all the hard work you put in, you will be motivated to get the work done, and get it done quickly.
Post It: Write your goals down and post them on a wall where you can see them every day. There is some
thing about writing things down, it says I’m serious about this and will do what I can to make sure I achieve it. It reminds you of what you intend to do and this could just be the inspiration you need. If you see it up on your wall every day, it will stay on your mind and you will be encouraged to keep doing something about it.
Have Someone Hold You Accountable: Tell someone, a friend, a business partner or whoever you trust...tell them about what you are doing and ask them to keep you in check. They are not there to baby sit you, they are there to just check on you at certain times. They don’t even need to know all the nitty gritty details of what you are doing...they are there to keep you accountable. Having them around means you sort of have someone to tell of your progress and you wouldn’t want to tell them you have just been bumming around all month long...you want them to know that you have done this and gotten that and gone there, all so as to achieve your goal.
Fight Negativity: Maybe you keep thinking can I really pull this off, or who am I kidding people from my family don’t achieve such things, or I can’t get this done. You have to fight negativity. Fight it! You can make it. Start to think positively. Tell yourself positive things and believe them because they are true. Don’t listen to people who do nothing but criticize you and tell you that you could never go through with it. If you are going to achieve anything in your life you are going to have to realize that people will always talk but that’s all they do...talk...they don’t do anything themselves they just pull others down. So start to bring into your life people that speak positivity, people that encourage you, and people that challenge you to be better. Always remind yourself that you are capable and that you will make it...because I tell you friend, if you do not believe it yourself, how then can you achieve it?
Shift Focus: The human mind tends to concentrate more on the difficulties of life and why one cannot achieve certain things. You have to shift your focus from difficulties to benefits. Stop looking at reasons why you possibly won’t make it, and look at what benefits you can achieve. This is not to say don’t be realistic, but find ways to overcome and have something to look forward to. This is not an easy task, you have to train your mind, and you have to make a conscious decision to see things differently. If you train your mind long enough, seeing past difficulties will eventually come naturally to you.
Find Inspiration: My pastor always says you can never have too much encouragement. I have never heard anyone say, if you inspire me one more time, I will blow your brains out....LOL. You honestly can never be ‘over encouraged’. Always find more inspiration...read inspirational books and blogs, read up on people who have done what you are trying to do to see how they stayed motivated, get inspirational quotes, speak to people who are encouraging, hang out with those who discuss ideas and motivate each other. This will help you to not only stay inspired but to also inspire those around you.
Pray Always: Involve your Heavenly Father in all that you do especially when y
ou feel like giving up. He did give you those dreams you so badly want to achieve. Ask Him how you should go about it. He will lead you, direct your footsteps and challenge you to better yourself. His word is full of inspirational stories of how time and time again He comes through for His children. There are many verses that can keep you on an inspirational high for days on end. Be sure to spend time with Him so that you can share everything you are going through with Him and also listen to Him so you know where He wants you to go. He will see you through it, that’s for certain.
Be Blessed,
with love...tafie
