How to be motivated and stay motivated
How to get motivated and remain motivated
Most of us ask this question – “How to get motivated and stay motivated when the going gets tough?” It is easy to be motivated when things are working out the way they should be, but it is when we face obstacles and problems on our way that we find it difficult to stay motivated. It is easy to start a task, but to do it well and bring it to completion, we need to remain motivated. Being motivated is the only way to do a task with zeal and passion. When our interest dies down, we only make half-hearted attempts at whatever we are doing and the results are not going to be laudable.
How to be motivated
The best form of motivation is that which comes from within. However motivating the external factors may be, they lose their grip over us over a period of time. Being self-motivated is to be driven from within and nothing is stronger than your own will-power.
Be aware
To be motivated, you first need to be aware of :
Why are you doing the thing that you are doing?
What meaning it holds for you?
How much value does the end result hold for you?
If you have answers to these questions and these being positive, then it can cause you to be driven from within.
Make the goal attractive and emphasize its importance to yourself by using your imagination. Visualization is a great technique that will help you get motivated and remain motivated. Visualize your achievement everyday before you start so that your focus remains on the end results
Comfort level. Make yourself comfortable in your work environment, because discomfort signals always make you avoid the object that causes it.
Reward yourself from time to time. Every achievement needs to be rewarded and celebrated. Well, if no one else is going to do it, then do it yourself.
Take breaks when you find that you are not progressing further. It means that you have reached a point of stagnation and you really need to get creative to proceed. Creativity works best when you are free from stress and pressure. You need to be inspired to reach your goals.
Learn to relax. When things get stressful, learn to use techniques of relaxation to make yourself feel more comfortable and not overwhelmed by the situation. Learning to relax has a great bearing on your productivity and health.
Enjoy what you are doing. The best way to be motivated and stay motivated is to enjoy what you do. So make sure that have fun doing what you do..
Get support. Finding buddies at work or peers who are supportive is very important for your motivation. If you are working from home or in an environment where you are alone, it is possible for you to get lonely or bored and overwhelmed. Find a network of supportive people and that would keep your motivation up.
Staying motivated
To stay motivated till the end is more difficult than getting motivated at the start. New projects are always interesting and naturally tend to grab our attention, but as time goes by and obstacles come our way, we find it difficult to stay motivated. To stay motivated, you need to do a little more than what we had discussed earlier.
Pump yourself up. You need to emotionally charge yourself up everyday and keep telling yourself that you can do it and visualizing the trophy or your end result. Talking to yourself is an important part of staying motivated, but you need to watch what you are saying to yourself. Avoid negative thinking and negative speaking, because words have power and we need to use them wisely.
Put reminders all around you. Have pictures of that thing that you would achieve or that position you would get to or something to remind you frequently of your goals. Visual reminders are more effective than verbal and mental reminders. So they need to be combined to make them powerful. Make sure that you are with a group of encouraging and positive people. Positivism is contagious and will keep you highly motivated even if you don’t tend to be that way.
Avoid nay-sayers. Negativity is more contagious than positivism and it quickly brings down your energy levels and your motivation. You would do well to stay away from people who are negative and are whiners. They are not being worth with, especially if you are keen on your achieving your goals.
Do not doubt your potential. Self- doubts eat into your motivation and stop your march towards progress. Doubting also brings down your self-confidence and thereby, your productivity.
Learn new skills. When you keep learning new skills and new ways of doing your job, you tend to be more motivated and try out new techniques. New information and knowledge always brings freshness into your projects. When you stop learning, stagnation and lack of motivation are immediate consequences. Developing your potentials and hone your skills is important to keep your interests alive.
Keep expanding your network of resources and support. Never be comfortable with your current resources or support groups. Constantly widening them prepares you for every obstacle that comes your way.
Be prepared for mistakes. Being a perfectionist drains out your motivation so allow for mistakes and be mentally prepared for them. They are bound to happen.
Don’t put off things that you can do today for another day. When work piles up and goes beyond your control, you do tend to get de-motivated. Getting things done right away is an important way of keeping your motivation alive.Being organized and clutter-free is another way of keeping your motivation going.
Being motivated and remaining motivated
To be motivated and to stay motivated is a decision that you have to make everyday. Every morning, as you wake up, you need to rely on yourself to make things happen. Getting external support is great, but being able to get by without it if you have to, is excellent. This is the only way to achieve excellence. So go on, and get motivated and make sure that you reach your goals staying motivated.
