Motivation

Motivation.  We all need it during different points of our lives.  It is hardly a secret that motivation is the key to successfully accomplishing your goals.  Yet, motivation can seem hard to find at times.  Lost motivation can cause us to feel we have no energy or that we need something or someone to give us a push.  Staying motivated to make changes in our lives like exercising, eating healthy, or finishing a report that is hanging over our heads can be challenging.  The key to motivation is to recognize how each particular task serves a greater goal.

Here are just a few ideas you can try:

1) Find the Good Reasons

If you’re stuck with a task you hate and there seems to be no motivation to complete it whatsoever, here’s what you need to do: find your good reasons.

Anything you do, no matter how simple, has a number of good reasons behind it. Take a few moments to analyze them, find something good about each task and how it contributes to your bigger picture.
Some ideas for what a good reason can be:

• a material reward – quite often, you will get paid for doing something you normally don’t like doing at all
• personal gain – What will you learn or how will you improve yourself by completing this task?
• a feeling of accomplishment – Think about how great you’ll feel when you complete it.  You’ll feel great about finding the motivation and courage to complete the task
• a step closer to your bigger goal –Every task you complete brings you closer to your ultimate goal!  Acknowledging this always feels good.  Break down the bigger tasks into smaller more manageable ones.

2) Make it fun

When it comes to motivation, attitude is everything. Find ways to make any task interesting and fun to do!

A simple approach is to start by asking yourself a few questions:

• How can I enjoy this task?
• What can I do to make this task fun for myself and possibly for others?
• How can I make this work the best part of my day?
• In what ways does completing this task bring me closer to my desired goals?

Motivation can also be spurred on by a buddy.  Enlist the help of a friend, a mentor or a coach .  They can be your accountability partner  which can make all the difference in the world!

3) Take different approach

If you really want to accomplish your goal, there is always a way. And most likely, there’s more than one way. If a certain approach doesn’t work for you, find another one, and keep trying until you find the one which will both keep you motivated and get you the desired results. 

Get creative!  Some ideas:  Ask a friend to help you, find out how other people go about accomplishing these tasks, put music on and dance your way through it.

 4) Recognize your progress; acknowledge your accomplishments!

To stay motivated, you need to recognize and acknowledge your progress.

Set yourself “milestones’ to reach.  A milestone is a benchmark, a point that you’d like to reach within a certain time frame.  When you complete each milestone, stop, acknowledge the work you put in, how far you have come and how good it feels to achieve it!  Keeping track of your progress should be something measurable and visable. Write down your milestones and cross them off as you complete them!

One strategy I use with my clients is to put a quarter or a dollar in a glass jar each time they complete a milestone.  For example, a milestone might be to go to the gym three times a week.  Each time they return from the gym, they put a quarter or a dollar a glass jar.  This is a visual way to recognize and acknowledge progress.  At the end of three months, my clients can use that money to celebrate and reward themselves for  their accomplishments! 

5) Reward Yourself

Rewarding yourself is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to stay motivated!

Before you begin the task agree on some deliverables.
Providing yourself with some sort of healthy treat whether it’s a walk, a lunch with a friend, a manicure or just taking a break and relaxing for a few minutes will reward you for time well spent!