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On your way to success you will suffer setbacks, struggles, doubts, mistakes, and fear. Everyone does. Be careful not to romanticize the success of others. Believing nobody else struggles and success comes easy to everyone but you is irrational. These thoughts will keep you stuck and unmotivated. Expect some challenges. Expect an occasional setback. This doesn’t prove your inability to succeed. It’s part of the process!
Everyone needs to be motivated at one time or another. Lack of motivation is caused by negative thoughts, anxiety, fear of the future, depression, and loss. If you have a strong desire to move forward and be successful inspite of being unmovitvated the following tips can help.
1. Start Your Day Motivated The first thing I do in the morning is have either a cup of tea or coffee. After my husband leaves for work I go out for my morning run. I spend a half hour of quiet time in the back yard. Each one of these activities motivates me. They are all part of a fresh start of a new day.
Learn to begin each day with a positive attitude and a prioritized list you completed the night before of the tasks you need to finish. Stick with your list and crossing off each as you go.
2. Monitor Your Thoughts. What are you telling yourself? What are you thinking? Thoughts that keep you stuck for example are, “This is too hard. I’ll never understand this material. Nothing ever works out. Success comes easy for everybody else. I’m too old. I’m too tired.” Pay attention. Then change the conversation you have with yourself. “I only need to take one step at a time. I’m just as smart as anyone else. I have unique talents. I’m moving forward today. I plan on success.” You can also use index cards to write our personal affirmations. Write down more positive thoughts.
I release all self-criticism. It’s an old habit.
I have access to solutions.
I am willing to chill, relax and breathe.
I perceive myself as successful.
I am proud of myself and my acheivements.
I believe in me and my talents.
Others want to help me.
I personally have 125 index cards when I doubt myself I spend time reading them. Acutally flooding myself with them. I drown out the negativity and mind chatter.
3. Have Faith In Yourself. It will increase your confidence. When you’re down and out or discouraged the tendency is to focus on failures, impossibilities, bad luck, bad breaks or personal weaknesses. Jealous feelings creep up due to sitting on the pity pot and focusing on the success of others. If expect the worst you will get it.
If you expect the best you will get that as well. Spend your time thinking about what you want, make a plan on how to get it and reflect on what you already have. Focus on the positive several times a day. What is going right in your life? Count your past successes beginning with when you 5 years old. You had the same fear and doubt when you learned how to ride your first bike and attended your first day of school! Recycled fears is what you have today. Become grateful. Feel grateful. This will help your confidence and self-esteem.
4. Something To Be Excited About We are happiest when we are growing, leaning and in the flow, absorbed in a certain activity. In his book, “Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi awaened us to optimal experience. You create your life daily. Create excitement for your future.
Make the changes you need to make in order to do what you want to be doing. Grow. Learn something new. Do what it takes to create change, energy and excitement in all aspects of your lfie.
5. Set Big Fat Juicy Goals Decide what you want. Make a deadline. Review your plan and proceed daily. I decided a couple of months ago I wanted to run a half marathon in January. That’s my goal. In order to reach it I have to increase my milage by one mile weekly. Yesterday I ran 6 miles. This week I’m traveling for 7 days. I have made up my mind I will keep on schedule. If I don’t I won’t be able to complete the race. Period. Running races is a good model for any goal. You can’t skip training. If you do you won’t build up stamina or muscles. If you do cheat you lose.
6. Do something. Do anything that gets you started. Take the first step. Turn on your computer. Attend an AA meeting. Eat a healthy snack. Go for a walk. Take the first small step. Break your tasks into small chunks. Set your timer for 30 minutes. By that time you won’t want to quit. With my running the longest distance is between the place I put on my running shoes and the door! Once I’m out the door half of the battle is over.
7. Dwell on your past successes! It will energize you. If you think you’re successful your mind will prove your successful. If you think you’re a failure your mind will prove you’re a failure. Monitor your thoughts!
Sit in one of your favorite places, out in nature a big comfy chair, a coffee shop or bookstore. Close your eyes and bring your mind to the times you overcame adversity, acheived a big goal, won a trophy or other award, got married, graduated from school landed a great job.
Relive the time, memory and moment. Did you feel happy, elated or joyfuwhat were you wearing, who was with you. See it as a clear as if it were a You Tube video. These are the things to run through your mind, when you are in bed for the night, when you first awaken and throughout the day replace your fears with your personal movies of success.
8. Stay Focused. Are you focused on failing or are you focused on your goal? If you have a fear of being alone in live, create a plan to find a significant other. If you fear losing your job, have a plan B for another. If you fear running out of money set a goal of sticking to a budget. The point is move from your desires to a plan of action.
Once you have your plan of action in place focus on the task at hand. Don’t get lost in busy work. It can wait. You will get the results you need by doing the most important things first.
Leave the dishes in the sink, let your emials go unchecked, stay off of twitter. When you finish the tasks that will bring results you can do the more mundane ones. Don’t let your scattered thoughts win over your priorites.
9. Make It Interesting and Stimulating. Create a positive enviornment, a clutter free office, favorite background music, photos of people you love on the wall. Do your least favorite tasks in the morning when you are feel fresh and alive. Take small breaks. Stretch. You can make even the mundane tasks enjoyable with the right attitude and focusing on the reason you are doing them.
10. Consequences. What will the consequences be if you don’t do what you need to do? The answers are different for everyone. It could be you won’t increase your income. You won’t be able to go on vacation. You will never have a nice car, a home or time for fun and adventure. As you progress and succeed reward yourself. An expensive cup of coffee, a dinner out, the movies, a new game. If you don’t do what you need to do you will never get what you want.
11. Concentrate On The Outcome.10. There will be times when you want to quit and give up. When I was a counselor for drug addicts we use to tell them to “play the movie to the end.” If they had a desire to use they needed to play the scenario out in their minds. Getting high, being broke, hurting others, being busted. Normally they only play out the high feeling. For you it’s just the opposite. These are the times you need to have a clear picture or You Tube video in your mind about what life will look like at the finish line. What will succeeding bring you? Increased income, happy family, time off or better healthy? Play the movie to the end. See yourself on the big screen with the end result in living color.
