"Don't count the days. Make the days count."- Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers of all time
How do you stay motivated? What keeps you going when you feel like you just don't want to anymore? We all struggle with motivation. Sometimes we're able to find it, and other times we're not.
So what's the secret? How do we overcome the lack of motivation to do the things we want to do, and to accomplish our goals? How do we keep going when we don't feel like it?
I think the answers to those questions might surprise you. Because, as we often do, we look at motivation as something we need to get from somewhere. But what if motivation isn't about getting anything, but rather about doing something and being someone.
I want to challenge the idea of motivation as something we seek out in order to get things done. I believe there are more effective things we can do to reach our goals, and, though they may sound different from what you think of as motivation, I hope they can help you as you strive to build something worthwhile, whether that thing is days, months, or years in the making.
I have a zillion inspirational quotes saved on my phone, written on Post-its stuck all over my house, or nicely printed on lovely images and hung on my walls as art.
A lot of these quotes are meant to serve as motivation for me to "Keep Going!", "Don't Give Up!" or "Hang In There!". As nice as the thought is that these little sayings will keep me motivated, the truth is. . .they don't. And that's okay. Yes, a quote might give me a little pep in my step, or charge of positivity or jolt of creativity, but it's not going to motivate me over a sustained period of time.
We think we need motivation to get hard things done. Most of us often wait until the mood strikes before we tackle a task or start on a goal. But what if I told you that's not how motivation works?
I don't believe we should wait for motivation, because it's often likely not coming. Motivation doesn't exist somewhere outside ourselves, floating around and waiting to attach itself to our dreams and desires.
When we wait for it, we may never get started in pursuit of our goals. And if we do start, our progress is often haphazard, accidental or inconsistent. We might even backslide.
I feel like we've idealized the idea of motivation, looking at people who've accomplished great things and thinking they were in a constant state of motivation and creativity. That's likely not true, as we all struggle with not feeling motivated.
So, what can we do to stay motivated? Here are some tips I've discovered from my own journey that I hope can help you keep going when you just don't want to.
1. Don't wait for lightning to strike. As I said earlier, we often think of motivation as something we need to get or have. Instead of being something we wait for, try thinking of motivation as something we give to ourselves. What do I mean by that?
If motivation is something you give yourself, what would you do instead of "waiting for the mood to strike?" You could simply start. Maybe you don't feel like it, but you know that nothing is really going to make you feel like it, so you just start doing what's important to you.
For example, if I want to write every day, but wait until I feel creative or motivated that day, chances are I won't get to it. So instead of thinking I'm going to somehow miraculously "feel like it," I choose to accept that I may never feel that way, and I just sit down and start writing.
2. Honor your own promises. If you had a best friend or close family member ask you for a favor, and you told them you would help them out, what would stop you from keeping that promise? Likely nothing. So when you make a commitment to yourself, think of it the same way. You are someone who honors a promise, including to yourself. Keep it.
When I start something new, I can come up with countless excuses for why I can't get it done. I'm too tired. I'm hungry. I don't know what to do. I don't feel good. All of these things may be true, but I made a promise to myself. If I don't keep it, how am I valuing myself? Not very highly.
3. Build your discipline muscle. No, it's not as fun as sitting around daydreaming about what we want, but discipline is the secret sauce, y'all. Discipline is what gets our ass out of bed when we want to go on a run, or what plops us in front of our laptop when we want to write. Discipline is what propels us to do the hard stuff, no matter how long it takes or how much work it is. Discipline is how we do what we don't feel like doing.
Look at someone whose work you admire. Whether it's a book, an art piece, an event or a project, they didn't accomplish it without the discipline to keep at it, over and over, time and time again, until it was done.
You decide to do it, and you stick to your decision. It's as easy (and as hard) as that.
4. Start small, go slow. Often when we take on a project or goal, we visualize all of the steps that need to happen to get from here to there. We imagine an amazing, dazzling future, and then we feel hopeless because it feels overwhelming to get there. Don't zoom from zero to 60 mph in your mind.
Sure, you can use your dreams to propel you, but you have to start somewhere. And that somewhere is often small, slow steps you build up over time. Focus on what small step you can take right this minute, to reach your dream, and take it. Building something you really want is a series of those small steps. Keep doing them, and in time you'll look back in amazement at all you've accomplished!
5. Aim for consistency. We get into trouble when we aren't consistent. Constant starting and stopping, giving up and going back, leads to disappointment and discouragement. Never was there a truer cliché than "Rome wasn't built in a day." It's simple, consistent action that makes for great things.
By being consistent, you demonstrate to yourself that you can keep going. And that builds your self-confidence and self-trust. When you have that confidence, you start believing that you are capable of continuing on. It's a self-fulfilling cycle.
If you're looking to accomplish something or reach a goal in life, I encourage you to try the steps above versus waiting for motivation. Don't wait for something that may never come; choose yourself, your dreams and your goals to move forward.
Need more? Take a look at these.
Motivation - Read
9 secrets of motivated people - Real Simple
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