You’ve set the goal, where is the motivation?
If it is the right goal at the right time, you may already feel motivated to complete the tasks necessary to reach it. If you are like me, you are so exhausted from visioning and setting the goals you need a break. Sometimes, dreaming and desire do not translate into motivation, but instead into a nice long nap.
How do I spark my motivation?
One of the surest ways to spark your motivation is to consider the bigger picture. Who besides you benefits from the completion of the task at hand. The tasks that we are accomplishing are larger than ourselves. They benefit a greater good. Family is a great example of this. I use family to motivate me to exercise and eat healthily. I do it for them so I can stick around to annoy them longer.
That didn’t work, now what?
If thinking of the greater good isn’t motivation enough, think about a time that you were motivated to accomplish your goals. What sparks kept you going? Was it a sense of accomplishment or maybe you were motivated by a sense of power? Whatever sparked your motivation in the past could it motivate you in your present?
You can also look back on the times we were not at our best. Examine what was demotivating to you. Was it a lack of proper planning? Was the goal set too high? Maybe the task wasn’t broken down into manageable bits. Looking back on the past can help you to plan for success in your current circumstance.
Create a roadmap to your ideal day.
If your motivation isn’t kicking in, try mapping out your ideal day. If you have a plan to follow you can start to build habits into your routine, and that requires less thinking leaving you room for more motivation. Motivation wears down as the day wears on. Also, if you train yourself to do one habit right after another, you start to form habit chains. I have done this with meditation and exercise. Once I’m done meditating, I hop on the elliptical. It feels wrong now if I don’t complete the chain. It took me about two weeks to build the habit memory.
It’s time to get organized.
It is hard to work or be motivated when you are surrounded by clutter. Even if you are an everything out space style type, you need to know what it is that is in plain view. Taking the time to organize your surroundings according to your time and space style preferences will allow you to take control of your time and space and work in a flow state.
How do you get motivated to accomplish your goals? What did you discover when you examined your past motivators and demotivators. Let us know in the comments below.
I’m finding this series on motivation very… motivating. You’ve given me much to think about!
Doing this series gave me some great ideas on how to get motivated. Thank you so much for your comment, Janet!