Even the most motivated individuals can feel down in the dumps every now and then. Very often, the road to success is long and hard. The drudgery can get to you after a while.
If you quit, that will be the end of your journey and you’ll never realize your goals. To avoid that, you’ll need to motivate yourself. Doing so is easier than you realize. You just need to shift your mental state.
- Action
There’s a quote by Steve Maraboli, “Take action! An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention.”
If you’ve been planning to spend more time with your family, don’t feel down because you’re busy at work. Instead, take half a day off and bring your family out.
Not only will this action relieve your mental stress over this issue, but you’ll be doing something positive in the relationship sphere of your life. In order to achieve work-life balance and success, sometimes you have to sacrifice one thing to help another.
In this case, it’ll mean sacrificing a few hours of work to be with your family.
The same principle applies in all that you do. If you’re feeling down because you’re neglecting certain parts of your life, sacrifice a little from one area to focus on another.
You’ll feel much better and know that you’re doing something positive and productive. You’ll be motivated to do more.
- Small wins matter
Very often, people lose motivation when they don’t see results or the goal seems so overwhelming that they don’t believe they can achieve it. At times like these, go for the small wins.
Every win counts.
If you’re 80 pounds overweight, aim to lose just 1 pound a week. You can achieve this by reducing your calories and walking daily. 1 pound may not seem like much, but it’s a start – and when you see the numbers on the scale dropping you’ll be motivated to do more.
Slow progress is still progress.
The same principle applies to your other goals. Want to start a blog that makes money?
Just write and make the first post. That’s your small win. Now keep going.
- The 5-minute rule
On some days, you may feel like you’re totally not in the mood to do anything. Maybe you want to skip your workout… or you don’t feel like bringing your family out… or you don’t wish to work on the task for your business.
This is perfectly understandable and it might even be due to your body’s biochemistry on that day.
At times like these, you’ll want to know if your resistance is real, or you’re just feeling lazy. The best way to find out will be to use the 5-minute rule.
For example, if you need to exercise but you’re not in the mood, tell yourself you’ll do it for just 5 minutes. In your mind, this will be less intimidating.
Go ahead and exercise for those 5 minutes. In most cases, you’ll find that once you get started, you’ll find the motivation to keep going. All resistance has melted away.
This is one of the best ways to find instant motivation. If after 5 minutes, you’re still tired and not in the mood to carry on, then go ahead and take a break. Give yourself the day to rest and recharge.
- Be aware
Motivation is something that’s both internal and external. You can get motivated by watching a Tony Robbins video. That’s external motivation.
Or you could remind yourself why you started and you’ll realize what’s at stake. When you look at the goals you’re working towards, you’ll be motivated too. This is internal motivation.
Being aware of your own mortality will help immensely here. We all have a finite amount of time on this planet and it’s slipping by us constantly. Do you want to get old and look back on your life and wish you had done more?
Of course not. This alone can fire you up and motivate you to keep going. You ascend a mountain one step at a time. All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other repeatedly… until you reach the peak.
Use the pointers in this article to fire yourself up and apply the tips to all areas of your life so that you’re a success at work and in your personal life too.
Until Next Time
Dominus Owen Markham
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