Own Your Motivation
What is motivation?
Motivation comes from the word 'motive' and therefore translates into the reason for peoples goals and actions to achieve those goals. Motivation can either be intrinsic or extrinsic but the ultimate reasoning is you have some sort of tangible goal you would like to achieve.
Why is it we so often struggle with motivation? At the beginning of any motive there is an excitement and euphoria that can surround the idea. The prospect of paying for a vacation, dropping weight to fit into some clothes, or reading up on something you've always wanted, making these decisions can be empowering! This excitement is often found within the first 2 - 3 weeks of a new motive and is often enough to carry you through.
What happens next though with your best intentions? Your life begins to get in the way and you slowly allow obstacles to your success erode your original excitement. So how do we get over that hump, and keep your motives front , center, and always something your looking forward to?
Here are my three keys to go about owning your motivation!
#1 Find others with similar goals and habits or those who will support them.
Do an inventory of your life right now. Are the people you associate with adding, or taking away from your life with regards to your goals? Are those people encouraging your decisions and respecting them or do they make disparaging or passive aggressive remarks?
First , we want to surround ourselves with people who embrace similar values as us as who we associate with can influence our decisions on a daily basis. If you have a basic goal of improving nutrition and exercising more, an excellent strategy for adhering to that is finding a gym buddy with similar goals and as yourself. Find a friend that would rather go snowshoeing instead of watching the latest reality show or cook a healthy meal instead of dining out. Now, you do not need to have friends that embrace similar goals (although it really helps), but what you do need is friends who in spite of not following the same path respect the one you are on!
#2 Listen to successful people daily
The internet can be a wonderful thing. When used correctly, it gives you the power to learn anything you want, to seek data or opinion on whatever your interests are. You have access to experts in any field on earth. There are many extremely successful people out there that you can draw inspiration, knowledge, or discipline from. Listen or read something from those people daily!
What you will find when you listen to successful people is a continuous reminder to yourself everyday that you can achieve what you want to. You will challenge yourself, realizing you have more to give, that you can do better, that you can be more efficient. Why? The only difference between you and the people you are watching is the discipline, the ability to continue moving forward regardless of difficulty. Allow people who are where you want to be inspire and drive you everyday.
#3 Set new goals to keep moving forward
First off, make sure you hit that first one. Move through the excitement stage, and into the work and discipline it takes that first goal. Where you have to be more proactive is thinking of your goal as a multi-step approach. Once we get to point A, we also want a plan to get to B, C, D etc. Each goal you stroke off your list is going to give you confidence and build momentum into your next one. Having a full and extremely detailed plan gives you a clear road map to where you want to go and how you will get there. This will always help to make sure you stay focused, and disciplined.
