This article was last updated on December 29, 2015
You know that you have to put continuous effort in order to reach your goal. That overnight success… well that doesn’t really exist. It is the hard work which will get you results. But you need motivation to follow through. To get you over the challenges.
You know this and still …nothing seems to work. There is an invisible force stronger than you which pulls you back, again and again. It feels debilitating.
You look at others and think “It must be nice to achieve that level of success” I want you to know that you are not alone. I have been there myself. In fact several days every week. Yepp, that’s the truth.
Until I came across the following quote:
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” Zig Ziglar
And it changed everything. I came up with my daily motivation routine.Are you curious? Here is how you can develop and practice your own:
How To Get Rid of Feeling Unmotivated Once and For All
1) Get clear what it is that you would like to achieve
It is so important to know exactly where you are headed. To know your single most important goal. It will guide you on your way like a compass. So what is it that you would like to achieve? Maybe you would like to start to earn on the side so that you have the option later to quit your job. Or you want to learn a foreign language. Or you want to get a degree. Maybe you want to lose weight and get more fit.
So what is it your single biggest goal?Do you need a little help to figure it out?
Here is how can you do this:
Picture yourself a year from now and answer the following questions.
Where do you want to be? What do you want to do? With whom would you like to be surrounded? How do you want to relate to them? How do you want that they perceive you? And what is the one big thing which will allow you to achieve that?
Or what is it that you don’t want? And what is the one thing what you reach will prevent it from happening?
2) List the underlying benefits of reaching your goal
Now that you identified your number one big goal, the next step is to discover what achieving that goal will really give you. So we have to dig deeper. The single most important question here is: WHY? Why do you want to reach that goal?
WHY do you want to start to earn money on the side? Maybe so that you have more options and freedom of choice. WHY do you want to lose weight? Perhaps so that you could feel more attractive? WHY do you want to get a degree? So that you can have a more secure future?
I am just guessing here. It is only you who can know what reaching that goal will give you.
Need little more help?
Here is how you can do this:
Fill in the blanks: I want to [put your goal here] so that I _________________. You can dig even deeper by asking yourself the question WHY?
So why does it matter to reach your goal? What physical, emotional, financial, spiritual benefits will you get? List them all. Be thorough. Some of them will not be obvious at first, but stick to it. You will find those answers.
3) Get a morning motivation routine
Your morning sets the tone for your whole day. Therefore it is very important how you spend that time. Do you hit that snooze button several times before you drag yourself out of bed? Just to begin a race against the time, so that you get ready for work? You hate those mornings and as a consequence feel frustrated. If so, it is time to change that. A research from Christopher Randler, a biology professor at the University of Education in Heidelberg shows that those who get up early are more successful.
Here is how you can do this:
Put your alarm clock 10 minutes earlier than usual. That extra 10 minutes in the morning will give you plenty of time to do your morning motivation routine.
So now that you created the time for your morning motivation routine, what is it that you actually do? Remind yourself of your big goal that you identified. Picture yourself vividly how it will be when you reach that goal. See, feel, hear those physical, emotional, financial and spiritual benefits you will get by reaching your goal. By doing so you send powerful messages to your subconscious mind about what you want to achieve and why it is important.
Read a motivational quote each day. Or watch a motivational video.
Listen to motivational music. You can even select a song for yourself, so each time you listen to it, it will propel you further.
4) Evening motivation routine
At the end of the day we want to look back and see what we accomplished. It is also the time we can prepare our morning. If you get up earlier than usual, you should also get earlier in bed, so that you get enough sleep.
Here is how you can do this:
Before going to sleep, once again remind yourself of your big goal and also the deeper benefits you will gain, just as you did in the morning. It will work inside you while sleeping and you will find it even easier to get up in the morning, so that you can make steps towards your dream.
Take a look at your day. Did it take you closer to your dream? If so, give credit to yourself. If not, make no judgements. Ask yourself what do you need to do differently tomorrow? Remember every day gives you a possibility to start over.
5) Do your most important task first in the morning
We have the most willpower in the morning. It is also the time when most of us are focused and fresh. To use that in our favour, we should work on our dream in the morning.
Doing so will help you feel accomplished. It will feel like a drug you want more of. It will fuel you through the day. And no matter how the rest of the day goes, you have already made steps towards the thing that matters most to you.
Here is how you can do this:
First of all create time for yourself in the morning. Before you work for somebody else, before you take care of your family, work for yourself first. Continue to schedule your waking time 10 minutes earlier than the day before. You will soon reach your desired waking hour.
Decide the evening before what it is you would like to work on in the morning. It is important to be realistic so that you do not set up yourself for failure. Focus and put in the hard work.
It is not 1st January, but who cares?
And who told you anyway that you can only make resolutions on New Year’s day?
The fact is, you can start over at any time. So why not today? Why would you put it off for another 3 months? So allow yourself some quiet time. Get a paper and pen and start your reflections. Identify your big goal and the intrinsic benefits it will give you when you reach that goal.
And start your daily motivation routine the next morning.
You say you do not have time for it?! Well do you have time to put on your clothes each day? Maybe not. But you still do it, don’t you? Or you leave the house in your pajamas or naked?
Well doing your daily motivation routine doesn’t take any longer. And it really pays off, just like getting dressed. And if for whatever reason you miss a day of your motivation routine, do not judge yourself. Start over.
Everyday is a new beginning.
In fact you can start over in every moment. Whenever you catch yourself unmotivated, just remind yourself the benefits you will get from reaching your goal.
So go and mark today in your calendar. Because this is the day when you start over and begin with your daily motivation routine.
Photo source: Steven Guzzardi
