Chasing our dreams can be hard. It requires work, discipline and a whole lot of motivation. Some days motivation comes easily, sometimes we have to dig deep to find it.
The lack of motivation is an area that I often explore with my coaching clients. The great news is that there are many things you can do to boost your motivation.
So, here are my 9 top tips for staying motivated.
1// Find your motive
Many people make the mistake of focussing purely on what their goal is and forget to consider why they want to achieve it in the first place. Motivation is all about looking at the what and the why.
So, the first step in finding motivation is to understand the motive behind what you are wanting to achieve. Start by asking yourself the following questions:
a) What are the reasons you wanted to achieve your goal in the first place? Is there a goal behind your goal?
b) What would be the benefits of you achieving your goal? What would be the benefits of you not achieving it?
c) How will you feel when you have achieved your goal? How would you feel if you didn’t achieve it? How did you feel the last time you achieved something similar?
d) How would achieving your goal impact other areas in your life? Will achieving it help you to accomplish another intention in your life?
e) Who else in your life would benefit from you achieving your goal?
Answering these questions will strengthen your motive. Now that you have a good understanding of why you want to achieve your goal, it’s time to get super clear on exactly what you want to achieve.
2// Set super clear goals.
If you set yourself vague and unclear goals you are more likely going to talk yourself out of achieving them when your motivation dips. Be as specific as you can when setting your goals.
Let’s look at these two different scenarios as an example.
Scenario A – I set myself the following goal: “Go for a run a few times a week.”
Scenario B – I set myself the following goal: “Go for a 5km run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening.”
If my motivational levels were to dip in scenario A, I might find creative ways of talking myself out of my intention.
Because I haven’t specified the length or time of my intended runs, I might try to convince myself that the 2km run I did on Thursday qualifies for one of my ‘few’ runs.
Because I also haven’t specified the days I want to run, I might find that I keep postponing my runs as the week progresses. Before I know it, the week is over and I’ve ran just once or twice or not at all.
With scenario B I have already painted a picture of what success means to me. There is no confusion which means there is little opportunity for me to negotiate with myself.
So, to get specific with your goals answer these following questions:
How regularly will you work on your goal? What days will you work on your goal? What time? What can you do to encourage you to stick to the days and times you have set aside to work on your goal?
Is there a way of measuring your success? Time? Length? Weight? Financial? Day count?
Where will you work on your goal?
Is there a deadline attached to your goal?
Are there any resources that you need to help you achieve your goal?
Get specific with your goals. The clearer you are the less likely you will try to talk yourself out of working on your intentions.
3// Take it step by step
"You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
Martin Luther King.
Sometimes our motivation can dip when we feel overwhelmed about the goal that lies ahead of us. If this is the case, break your goal down into smaller steps. What is the first thing you need to do to move you forward? Motivation builds momentum once you start to make progress.
Take time to think about your goal and break it down into smaller subgoals. There are loads of goal planners out there and various websites and apps that can help you to break your goals down and to keep track of your progress.
Once you have smaller goals to work with you, direct your focus to the first step, not the overall goal.
4// Get an accountability partner
Sharing your intentions with someone is a really powerful way of boosting your motivation. Knowing that somebody else is holding you accountable to your goals and that they will ask you how you are getting on can put you under some useful pressure.
Your accountability partner can be anyone you trust. It could be your partner, a friend, a family member, a colleague or, if you want a more formal accountability partner, a life coach. You can also have more than one accountability partner. In fact, the more people you talk to about your goals the better. This means that you will have more people checking in with you asking about your progress.
It’s important to remember that accountability partners are not there to accost you if you don’t achieve your goal or you don’t make as much progress as you intended. They are simply there to help keep you on track. More so, an accountability partner should be there to support you and encourage you to do your best.
I offer a free accountability challenge each month to all of my social media followers. To get involved, just simply message me 3-5 goals you want to work on in a given month before the month starts. I’ll drop you a message at random points throughout the month to see how you are getting on and encourage you to stay on track.
5// Get fired up with music
Music has the power to move us both emotionally and physically. It might be the lyrics of a particular song or the beat of a track that makes you want to get up and smash your goals. Whether it’s the words, the sound or both, you can use music to boost your motivation.
I have used music to get me fired up when working on my goals for many years. I have compiled a playlist of my favourite motivational boosting tracks so that they are always on hand for me to listen to when my drive starts to dip.
Here are my top 21 motivational boosting songs which might help to get you fired up too.
The Champion by The Score
Don’t Stop Movin’ by Livin’ Joy
Broken Heels by Alexandra Burke
Free by Ultra Nate
Get On Your Feet by Gloria Estefan
I’m Still Standing by Elton John
Falling by HAIM
Never Gonna Quit by Royal Teeth
Let’s Get Loud by Jennifer Lopez
Don’t Give Up by Chicane & Bryan Adams
Champion by Moosh & Twist
What You Waiting For? By Gwen Stefani
Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor
Firework by Katy Perry
Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine
Right Now by Van Halen
Roar by Katy Perry
More by Usher
Gladiator by Zayde Wolf
Let’s Go by Calvin Harris feat. Ne-Yo
‘Till I Collapse by Eminem
As you can see, I have an eclectic taste in music! Get in touch and let me know your recommendations. I’m always looking to add to my playlist.
6// Follow motivational people
Social media often gets a bad rap but there are people out there that use it to share positive, inspirational and motivational content. I encourage you to stop following the people that drain you and suck energy out of your life and, instead, focus on the people that lift you up and inspire you with their motivational energy.
So, here’s a challenge for you. Go through the people you follow on your social media profiles and unfollow the people that add very little value to your life and follow at least 10 new people that fill your news feed with energising and uplifting content.
Motivation can be infectious and so when you see other people chasing their dreams and goals it can spur you on to do the same with yours.
7// Meditate
Life is busy and hectic and our motivational levels can suffer as a result. Our motivation can dip when we become distracted by other things going on in our lives. We are more likely to be successful with our goals when we are able to completely focus on them. But that’s easier said than done sometimes. That is where meditation comes in.
When we practise meditation and mindfulness, we are training ourselves to become more present. As we develop this skill, we strengthen the ability to be more focused on the things that we engage with in our everyday lives including our goals. So, by meditating on a regular basis we are more likely able to dedicate our full attention to the things we are wanting to achieve.
If you are new to meditation, you can start small by meditating for just a few minutes each day, increasing the duration as you progress. Experiment with the time and location of your meditation. Some people meditate in the morning, during the day or in the evening. Some people like to meditate in silence whereas some prefer to be guided by an audio track. There are lots of different ways of meditating. Be sure to find the right way for you.
8// Be consistent
Whatever you do to raise your motivational levels, be consistent. The things that you decide to do to boost your motivation should become habits. Once they are habits, they act as triggers so that when you start to perform these actions your brain and the rest of your body know that you mean business and it’s time to get going.
By all means, experiment with different ways of motivating yourself. I have provided a few ideas in this article but you may have your own thoughts on how to stick to your goals or you may have learned about other strategies from other people. The point is that once you have found something that works, stick to it. You might find that a number of things work for you and that is great. You can never have too many motivation boosting techniques!
9// Reward yourself and celebrate success
This is really important but is something that many people forget. When you’ve done a good job with something and you have stayed focused and motivated with a particular goal, celebrate! Acknowledging your efforts and achievements should make you feel good about yourself. And when you feel good about yourself your motivation to continue strengthens too.
Achieving your goals and moving towards your dreams should be fun so make the whole process exciting by celebrating the key milestones of your journey. And make sure you get your accountability partners involved in this part of the process too – they will want to congratulate you on your achievements and celebrate with you.
Focus on how good it feels to have stayed motivated. Look at what you have achieved because of your motivation and discipline. Record these feelings – why not write them down or take a photo to remind you of this moment? If your motivation dips in the future, you can look back at this time and remember how it feels when you do stay motivated. You’ve done it and you should be super proud of yourself.
So, there you have it. My 9 top tips for staying motivated. I’d love to learn more about how you stay motivated in your life. Get in touch and share your experiences.
My name is Andy Downs and I am Life Coach and Manifestation Mentor. Part of my work involves me motivating my clients and encouraging them to stay on track with their goals. In my coaching sessions I help my clients highlight their successes and support them with ideas on how to move forward. It is my passion to help people achieve their goals and chase their dream life. Please get in touch if you are interested in learning more about my work.
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