The Greatness Within - Edition 15

10 Steps to Maintaining Motivation

Written By: Mike Gliem a.k.a. @Recovery Mike

Motivation is a crucial factor in achieving success and happiness in life. However, it can be challenging to maintain motivation levels, especially when faced with setbacks or obstacles. Here are ten things you can do to stay motivated, even in the midst of adversity.

1. Set clear goals: Defining what you want to achieve and breaking it down into smaller, achievable goals can help you stay motivated. When thinking of setting your goals, or what you're hoping to achieve, try to be crystal clear on the vision. Be as detailed as possible. Write down your goals and track your progress regularly. I'm sure you've heard the saying "Progress, not perfection". This is a very true statement in my opinion. However, it's more than a saying or phrase to me. It's an action. If we're not tracking our progress in any way, how do we even know if we are truly making any progress or even regressing? If we don't sit, write it down, and take a few moments to really analyze our goals and analytics based on our own performance, they're simply fleeing thoughts. They hold no weight or accountability. There's just something different about putting our goals and actions on paper and actually visually seeing them that then our brain becomes more analytical and "expects" a result of some sort. There will be an emotion to follow as well. One, of a sense of accomplishment, and/or one of recognition of lack of action or misguided direction. I recommend taking a daily inventory of actions and where your time was spent to become aware of behaviors and/or habits that may need to be adjusted to put more time and energy into areas we may be falling short, spending time on things that don't ultimately serve our purpose or goals.

2. Find your why: Understanding why you want to achieve your goals can provide you with the drive to keep going when times get tough. Ask yourself why you want to achieve your goals and remind yourself of your reasons when you feel demotivated. Where there's a will there's a way. So how willing are you? How strong is your "why"? You see, the stronger your why, the easier the how becomes. Meaning if you're clear on "why" you feel you need to achieve or accomplish something and it holds a great internal value to you, you must keep reminding yourself of that reason. Keeping your "why" refreshed in your mind will make it easier for you to find the ways to get there, even when faced with difficulties or roadblocks, which you can expect to happen. So be prepared for them. "A person who fails to prepare is preparing to fail"

3. Surround yourself with positivity: Surrounding yourself with positive people and things can help you stay motivated. Seek out inspiring stories, motivational quotes, and supportive friends. The saying your Mother used to tell you IS true. "You are whom you surround yourself with". With that being said, remember you are unique and your goals are too. They're your's, no one else's. It's important to walk your own path instead of finding yourself following the masses because sometimes the "m" in masses is silent. If you surround yourself with a circle of people who are not encouraging you, helping you strive for more, or holding you accountable...you're no longer in a circle. You're in a cage. You need to break free. Any successful person I or you know will undoubtedly express the importance of staying around like-minded, growth, and goal-oriented mindset people.

4. Celebrate your successes: Celebrating your successes, no matter how small, can help you stay motivated. Take time to acknowledge your accomplishments and use them as fuel to keep going. Reward yourself in small ways to give yourself the incentive to keep going when things aren't going well. Remind yourself, you're not doing this for nothing, and revert back to step 2, remembering your why.

5. Stay organized: Staying organized can help you stay motivated by reducing stress and increasing efficiency. Create a schedule or to-do list to help you stay on track. I suggest using a timesheet, tracking your actions broken down in 1/2 to 1-hour increments. Try your best to set this schedule the night prior to your tomorrow. If we don't plan ahead at all, we're given a thousand options and also excuses first thing in the morning, and without direction, it's easy for our brain to exercise our excuses and blindly take on our day. Set the stage. Set the tempo, early.

6. Take breaks: Taking breaks can help you stay motivated by preventing burnout. Reward yourself with breaks throughout the day to recharge and refocus. There's nothing wrong with taking a few moments to rest. It's important that we listen to our bodies to avoid burnout. With that being said, there are a lot of times your brain will tell you you're tired and need a break, or tell yourself "I can do this later", "I can just do this tomorrow". This listless.is a dangerous conversation with self. The more you listen to that voice and submit to it, the more you confirm it's ok to stop every time you get the slightest bit of resistance. In doing that you begin to program yourself into procrastination. So take breaks, but be sure they are to re-align, not listless.

7. Focus on progress, not perfection: Trying to be perfect can be demotivating. Instead, focus on making progress and learning from your mistakes. I promise if you chase perfection, you will fail every time! Anything "perfect" serves no growth, or opportunities to learn. There is nothing, and no one that is perfect in this world. Quite frankly, if life were perfect, life would be boring. Lessons are learned through failure and mistakes so don't be afraid to make them. Mistakes = opportunities. It's all perspective.

8. Visualize success: Visualizing your success can help you stay motivated. Imagine yourself achieving your goals and how it will feel when you do. Even more so imagine how it actually feels prior to success happening. Start winning in your mind before even actually winning on the game-field of life. This also helps keep a positive mindset instead of letting the mind linger into the unknown, or worst-case scenarios, or the what if's. Those thoughts only create self-inflicted anxiety, depression, and fear.

9. Learn from setbacks: Setbacks can be demotivating, but they can also be opportunities for growth. Use setbacks as learning experiences and adjust your approach accordingly. Setbacks give us the chance to call an audible or strengthen our problem-solving skills. Problem-solving skills can't be built without problems. Again...perspective! Setbacks = Comebacks

10. Practice self-care: Taking care of yourself can help you stay motivated by improving your overall well-being. Prioritize self-care activities such as exercise, healthy eating, and getting enough sleep. These simple self-care steps are building blocks for improved mood, mental health, physical health, and structure. The better you feel, the more motivated you'll be, and becomes easier to sustain.

In conclusion, staying motivated requires effort, dedication, and discipline. By setting clear goals, finding your why, surrounding yourself with positivity, celebrating your successes, staying organized, taking breaks, focusing on progress, visualizing success, learning from setbacks, and practicing self-care, you can maintain high levels of motivation and achieve your goals.

Thank you for reading my list of suggestions to help you become, or continue to stay motivated, and strive for success. I must remind you they are simply words of encouragement and suggestion, but they are not words to simply read. To be effective they must be applied and walked out in your daily life. I encourage you to study this list and make it a goal to really take aim and target a few suggestions that you may not be doing right now but know could impact your motivation levels and EXECUTE!

Don't worry about trying to conquer this list overnight. The goal is to identify what areas need a change in your life and start chipping away at them. One by one. Even constant micro-steps = Success. "Just keep moving!"

The fact is motivation is not always maintainable even following these steps word for word flawlessly, but in working these steps you will begin to simultaneously build discipline and purpose which is stronger than the emotion of motivation.

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