Some of us have no problem setting a goal, making a plan, and starting a new habit or change. It’s staying motivated where we may end up getting stuck.
There are many ways to stay motivated when you lose focus or get derailed. Whether you want to make changes to your health, personal relationships, or productivity at work or home – keeping your eye on the target is important to making long term change.
Answer the following questions and review the tips to gain insight to how you can keep up.
What or who inspires you? Think about who or what is important to you and use it to stay focused. Are you inspired to improve your sleep because you want more energy to play with your kids? Does your neighbor who jogs by every morning keep you motivated to do the same? Maybe Serena Williams’ perseverance lights a fire in you?
What are you wanting? You have set a goal. Why is that goal important to you? Once you meet your goal, what do you want to say you have accomplished? Remind yourself of why you set the goal and the end target – it helps keep you going when you feel stuck.
How do you want to feel? What is your deeply desired feeling? As you progress to achieve or complete your goal, how do you want to feel? Energized? Strong? Light? Loved? Appreciated? Productive? Explore the breadth of feelings that come to mind. Write them down where you can see them often. Stay in touch with the desired feeling. It can make all the difference in your motivation.
How does being busy affect your motivation? Listen here.
Tips to stay motivated
1. Revisit the past…but don’t stay there. Use past experience, failures, and accomplishments to keep you going. See how far you have come and where you changed course. Be dedicated to learning from the past to move you forward.
2. You choose. Remember to make choices that are in line with how you want to feel. Each moment we have a choice. Were you off-track yesterday? Make different choices today and notice how it helps keep you motivated.
3. Get support. You are not alone. Create a team of people you trust to help you when you need it most. It can be a co-worker who holds you accountable or maybe your partner agrees to keep the chips away when you’re avoiding processed foods.
4. Feel it. Revisit how you want to feel. Use the words that came to mind above to keep you motivated to continue making and keeping your new habits.
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