When I’m procrastinating and not feeling motivated to do something,
it’s usually because the task itself might be unpleasant or
uncomfortable. For instance, if I need to clean the floor, but I really
don’t like cleaning, then I won’t feel very motivated to do it. However,
if I have a big enough reason to do it — because I’m having some guests
come over, or I love the feeling of having a clean floor, then that
“bigger purpose” can be strong enough to get me to act, even though I
don’t enjoy cleaning. If I stay mindful of why I’m doing it, I can get
motivated to do it. So remind yourself of why you’re doing what you’re
doing.
Break Your Goal Down into Smaller Pieces
It’s easy to psych yourself out and feel overwhelmed or intimidated
by very big goals. But if you start breaking your big goal into smaller
and smaller pieces, you’ll feel more comfortable taking that first
action step. If I want to have a blog with over 1,000 visitors a month,
that feels overwhelming and nearly impossible. But if I break it down to
smaller and smaller goals, so that my goal for today is to write the
first draft of a blog post, that’s certainly something I can motivate
myself to start doing today.
Celebrate Your Successes
It’s easy to get down on yourself because you haven’t reached your
goal yet. You may overlook all of the hard work and mini-goals that
you’ve accomplished. Remember to reward yourself and to celebrate your
successes. Would you be able to properly train a dog without rewarding
him? In the same way, how can you motivate yourself if you’re not going
to reward yourself and celebrate your successes? Think about it.
Imagine Having Already Achieved It
Imagine how good you will feel when you’ve reached your goal. Take a
moment and think about how you will feel and what you will think after
you’ve achieved it. What does it feel like? You might feel proud,
relieved, happy, satisfied, secure, or any other emotion. Focus on that
feeling, and use it to drive you right now to moving towards your goal.
Just think of how good it will be. Keep the carrot dangling in front of
you.
Get Inspired
Read stories, watch movies, listen to other people who have achieved
what you want to achieve. Imagine what they had to go through to get to
where they are. As Randy Pausch said in “The Last Lecture”, “The brick
walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us
a chance to show how badly we want something.” Imagine how big the
heart is of some of your biggest heroes and how badly they wanted what
they achieved. Let them inspire you to access your own great desire
within.
Post Your Goal Somewhere You Will See it Regularly
Print out your goal and post it somewhere that you will see it all of
the time. Let yourself be reminded of what you’re trying to accomplish
and why. You might have to get through some difficult and not-so-fun
moments of reaching it. So help yourself keep it in mind by having it
right there in front of you. Let it motivate you.
Get Help and Support When You’re Feeling Unmotivated
You’re not going to feel motivated 100% of the time. Motivation comes
and goes. And that’s okay. When you’re feeling unmotivated, talk to
someone about it — your friend, a family member, anyone who will support
you. Tell them why you’ve lost motivation and ask them to motivate you.
If you don’t want to look to others, try talking to yourself! What kind
of self-talk would you use to motivate yourself? How about, “You’ve
come this far, you’ve got to see this through”, or “You’re going to feel
great when you hit this goal, just push through it.”
Get a Life Coach
Talk to a life coach. Some life coaches actually specialize in
motivating you. There are all sorts of tools that they can use to
motivate you, including neuro-linguistic programming, hypnosis, and
simply asking you laser-focused questions. A life coach can take you
beyond motivation to discover what’s really holding you back and why
you’re procrastinating.
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