Motivation seems to come and go without our having any control over it. But there are ways to stay motivated. Here are seven words to help you remember what to do to stay motivated.
1. Purpose. Do you feel discouraged, disappointed or frustrated? These feelings can stop you in your tracks. They stop your motivation. One way to stay motivated is to remind yourself of your original purpose for doing the tasks in front of you. Reminding yourself of your original reason for venturing down your path in the first place will help rekindle your enthusiasm when things go wrong.
2.Reward. If you find yourself adrift and your motivation begins to wane, you need to start giving yourself rewards for your achievements. It’s actually best to plan these rewards and celebrations in advance. Plan them to track the achievement of each milestone in your plan.
This way, you’ll always be excited to keep doing the tasks that move you forward. Rewards also work to break your projects into smaller manageable tasks automatically. This prevents you from falling into monotony and drudgery. Rewards motivate you to keep moving toward achieving your goals.
3. Map. Make a plan for your goals. Think on paper as much as possible. Planning helps you avoid the frustration many of us experience using a trial and error or “flying in the seat of our pants” approach. When you have a plan, you can simply connect the dots to get from point a to point b without losing enthusiasm for the big goal you’re after. Planning also gives you a timeline to follow so you can always know if you’re on track or not.
4. Acceptance. You are going to make mistakes. This is just a fact of life. So accept yourself when you’re wrong. Don’t judge yourself harshly. Accept the fact that you made a mistake. But see yourself as the same successful person you’ve always been. Too often we get depressed when we fail at a task. This causes an avalanche of negative memories and feelings to fall on us. This drains our motivation.
Accept yourself as a human being and let the mistakes fade as you focus on your successes. This will keep you motivated in difficult times.
5. Motivators. Listen to motivational mp3s, CDs and seminars. Watch DVDs of motivational speakers. Also watch inspiring movies. A good message from a motivational speaker can give you a much-needed boost. Sometimes a message can give you that spark you need to motivate you to succeed.
6.Words. The spoken word is a vital ingredient for success and motivation. Use affirmations and quotes to stay motivated. Help to keep your mind focused on what is possible instead of things that seem impossible. When you talk to yourself about success, you are motivating yourself to higher levels of achievement. Here are some good quotes and affirmations to use when you are feeling down.
“We are all inventors, each sailing on a voyage of discovery, each guided by a private letter, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all doors, all opportunities.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Don’t wait to wound until the iron is hot; make it hot by striking it.” ~William B. Sprague
“Nothing contributes so much to quiet the mind as a firm purpose, a point on which the soul can fix its intellectual eye.” ~Mary Shelley
“I am winning every day in my quest to reach my goals.”
“I’m successful because I do whatever it takes to get better every day.”
“I am achieving my highest aspirations with every action I take today.”
7. Stock. Taking action will give you a tremendous amount of motivation. Nothing happens until you start taking action. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to do everything right now. just start. You’ll learn what you need to know as you go along. One of the biggest causes of procrastination is inaction. A person who waits until he knows everything usually never starts.
Take a step forward and start adjusting as you get closer to achieving your goals. The forward momentum will kick in and start to excite you into taking even more action. It is like a snowball that gains force, mass, and speed as it rolls down a hill. Get started and you’ll notice the motivation you’ve been waiting for suddenly start appearing in your life.
