Sometimes, we are greeted with challenges that are beyond our usual comfort zone, then it is probably tough to stay motivated and accomplish whatever tasks necessary within a set amount of time.
Staying motivated is especially tough to do when you are expected to perform beyond your usual comfort zone on a daily basis. Things sometimes come up that are beyond our power to control which causes us to lose confidence and eventually the drive or motivation needed to fulfill those tasks.
The absence of motivation becomes a very dangerous factor that greatly hinders our productivity. Even I have those moments too.
There are no blue or red pill to swallow or secret formula to staying motivated, but don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world yet. Luckily there are several ways to help you stay motivated. With that in mind, I created this list to help you stay motivated whether you are trying to complete the world’s largest rubix cube, learn how to play the guitar in a year, or maybe some other extreme goal that I may not have mentioned.
1. Remind Yourself What Your Goals Are
Remind yourself the important goals that you’ve always wanted to achieve or live the lifestyle of. You can’t do it unless you know what your goals are.
Why did you want to work towards that goal? Who are you doing it for? What are you trying to accomplish?
Whatever it is, know what your goals are, and start taking action towards it. Waiting for another vacation won’t get you anywhere. If you don’t remember what your goals are, then you won’t be motivated to work hard on whatever it is you are working on that is getting you closer towards your goals. This is probably, in my opinion, the most important thing above all else before you can start being motivated. You must know what your goals are. Without this, you’re just going to feel like you’re running around blindly hoping whatever it is you want will eventually bump into you.
2. Don’t Always Be A Perfectionist
Perfectionism is good only to a certain extend. Like the saying goes, “to much of a good thing can be bad for you.”
to much of a good thing can be bad for you
The same idea can be applied to perfectionism in the idea of being productive. If you are to focus on being perfect on every single detail, you’ll eventually fail to accomplish the other important tasks that should require more of your time. Sure there are certain things that require perfection or close to perfectionist results, but in general, it is not always the case.
How is this related to staying motivated? Sometimes, frustrating over little details to stay perfect can demotivate a person from achieving results which will also in turn be a red sign to productivity. I used to be somewhat like a perfectionist, but ever since I stopped worrying about being perfect, I started to produce a lot more results and achieve more goals. Not only that, it made things a lot easier to stay motivated.
3. Set Challenging Goals
Don’t just set goals to aim for, set challenging goals. Don’t aim for average goals, because average goals produce average results. Not only that, by setting challenging goals, you are forced to work harder and go beyond your limits. Average goals aren’t motivating, they are boring. Challenging goals that are worth dreaming about and working hard towards are motivating. Challenging goals are what changes the world. Not only that, by setting challenging goals, if one were to fail to achieve it, at least they would end up some place better than the average version of the goal. However, I hope you don’t fail and only succeed :).
4. Break Down Your Goals Into Smaller Pieces – Divide And Conquer!
Simply put, divide and conquer. Setting challenging goals is easy, but staying motivated throughout the entire process is very difficult. The simple solution is to break it down into very small bite sized pieces so that they are achievable on a daily basis. This is important because by doing so, you will feel accomplished and hence stay motivated. Eventually, you’ll achieve your goal in no time. Now, does that challenging goal seem “impossible” now? I hope not.
5. Tap Into The Energy Of Others
This might seem weird, but tap into the energy of others.
Remember the advice that some parents would always give when you were little? Do not play with the bad kids. Why? They can influence how a person behaves or becomes.
What does this have to do with staying motivated? Simple.
We’re going to apply the same idea but reverse it. Hang out with successful, positive, like-minded individuals who share the same or similar vision as you do. By doing so, you will not only gain more connections and friends, but you will in turn learn new things and stay motivated or energized.
Why do people watch videos of inspiring people? It’s the same idea being applied here. They help motivate them.
6. Keep Track Of Your Progress
People like to see results. When we don’t see results, we tend to feel depressed and demotivated, thinking all our hard work up to this point is all for nothing. A great way to see the results from all that hard work is to keep track of your progress.
Some people write a 10 minute journal entry every night before they go to bed about what they accomplished on that day on a daily basis. Some people keep a list of things they accomplished in a journal or notepad. Simple things like that will allow you to see the results.
You can go as far as getting numbers and quantifying things if you want, but just simply keeping track of your progress by writing it down every night helps. You don’t have to do it daily, you can do it weekly. Anything beyond that is not recommended.
7. Reward Yourself!
Reward yourself! You deserve it for working so hard. Celebrate it. Not only that, it will help you relax a bit before kicking it back to high gear. Doing this will also make you feel happy.
8. Don’t Be Hard On Yourself
Failing to achieve something can be a motivation killer. Don’t be hard on yourself. Things like this happen. Learn from your failures. What can you do differently next time to prevent something like this from happening again? Just keep on moving, and let bygones be bygones. Your time is more valuable over stressing over things that happened already. Learn from your mistakes, and move on. As Thomas Edison would say:
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. – Thomas Edison
9. Watch Or Read Motivational Content
Social media can be a distracting tool depending on how you use it. For me, I use it to motivate me. How? I use instagram to not only post my statuses, but mainly to follow people who post motivational quotes so that way, I can look at them from time to time. Doing this helps server as a reminder as to why we’re working so hard, and a source of motivation. There are Youtubers who post similar content, all you have to do is look for them.
10. Enjoy The Journey Towards Your Success
Don’t think of it as a job or chore, but rather as a journey towards your success. Every task you accomplish is a step closer towards your goal(s). Enjoy the process.
11. Make It Fun
Games are fun. One way to make it fun is to see it like a game. Every smaller broken down chunk that you have to accomplish is like a quest. As you complete more and more “quests”, you get more and more closer towards completing the “game”. Every time you make a decent progress or milestone, give yourself a reward!
12. Think Positive
Stop worrying about the negative side of things. Think positive. Think about the benefits, the amazing people you’ll meet, the great things that will happen, and all those great stuff once you get closer and closer towards your goals.
The negative things aren’t worth your time.
Your time is more important and should focus on things that matter. A positive mind is a healthy mind.
Conclusion
With this in mind, our favorite tips of motivation has to do with reminding ourselves what our goals are, divide and conquering the challenging goals, not being hard on ourselves, and finally thinking positively. Time is limited. So go out there, and start producing results. Hopefully this article will help you stay motivated.
So what keeps you motivated? We’d love to hear from you. Let us know by leaving a comment below.