The power of motivation keeps you going when the going gets tough. Motivation is a muscle that develops with practice.
If you feel lethargic, stuck, and disoriented, you are highly likely to be short of motivation. Motivation is the driving force of life. It is a burning, unappeasable desire to do what’s necessary to achieve your goals. It is what keeps your dream on track when the going gets tough.
When your motivation is at an all-time low, there are things that you can do to transform your state of listlessness into one of energy and enthusiasm. Motivation is like a muscle that strengthens with practice.
You can light your own fire and get started on your self-motivation journey.
Tips to Supercharge Your Motivation Levels
These six simple yet powerful ways to motivate yourself to the path of success:
1. Simplify your life by setting smaller goals. Life is a marathon and not a sprint. While being ambitious is a good thing, there is no merit in killing yourself to reach your objectives. Break down your overarching goals into small tasks. If you start with the aim of reducing 10 kgs in 10 months, the path looks difficult. Instead, if you break the goal and set yourself a task to lose 1 kg a month, the way forward looks believable and achievable. In a particular month where you get additional time to work out, you may even combine the tasks to reduce 2 kg that month.
Doing less and focusing more will carve out the unnecessary from your life which will help to increase your motivation levels.
2. Develop positive affirmations. An affirmation is a statement that reinforces your mindset. Repeating a positive affirmation greatly helps to keep your spirits high. Write two-three statements that resonate with you- that you identify with. Read them for some time every day. If you are more of a listener, record these statements in your voice and play the audio in the background as you go about your work.
Start your morning with these affirmations. The more you repeat/listen to these affirmations, the more you will believe them and the greater your motivation levels will be.
3. See and create your future success. Create a vision board. Fill it with pictures from newspapers or magazines of your desired objectives. The car you want to drive, the house you want to buy, and the holiday destinations you want to explore are some of the obvious images. Some other images could be the dream career you want to take up, the idea of a person of your dreams- the vision board can contain just about anything you want to accomplish.
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
Look at the vision board daily. A physical representation of your goals is an excellent daily motivator.
4. GET ANGRY- and write it all down. If you want to achieve something better in your life, then get angry about where you’re at life now. Ask yourself, “Why do I want to change?” Are you bored beyond belief, or does your job drive you crazy? THEN GET REAL ANGRY ABOUT IT.
Write it all down, all the frustrating and unrewarding actions that make every day a dull one for you. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT THE REST OF YOUR LIFE TO LOOK LIKE? Use anger to channelise your motivation.
5. Commit publicly. It is very easy to slack and take it easy as an individual. We may have lofty goals, but we are masters of finding justifications for not pursuing those goals, especially when our commitment is only to ourselves. Here’s where you can put your social media handles to good use.
Use a public social media platform that you frequent most often and declare your goals to your friends, families and the connections out there. Not only will this help you to be more accountable towards your goals, but it will also create a robust and sustainable support system for you.
6. Fear Your Fear. Fear is the force determined to stop you in your tracks and rob you of your dreams. It comes in all shapes and sizes- fear of heights, fear of failures, fear of public speaking. Fear is the biggest reason for people to give up on their goals and dreams.
What many fail to realise is that fear is the inverse view of confidence. Imagine the thought, “I didn’t do the things I wanted to because I was afraid,” haunting your final days. By then, it will be late for you to conquer your fear. Refuse to let fear spoil your life and start to take action. List down your fears and look them squarely in the eye. Think about the worst possible outcome and plan the mitigating measures. You will feel motivated to go after those dreams and desires.
So, go all out and practice these tips to develop your motivation muscle. With time, you will find the ability to motivate yourself at will.
Smita D Jain is a Personal Empowerment and Executive Life Coach enabling mid-career professionals to get better at what they do and find time to do more of what they love. She supports people to become the best version of what they want to be. You can learn more about Smita D Jain’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Coaching Programs by visiting www.lifecoachsmitadjain.com. She can also be reached at smitadjain@lifecoachsmitadjain.com.