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5 Tips to Maintain Your Motivation

5 Tips to Maintain Your Motivation

by Linda-Ann Stewart

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” Zig Ziglar

There’s a saying that you can only motivate yourself. You have to supply the desire for an improvement to make the effort to accomplish your goal. But sometimes, your determination flags and you need a boost. The good news is that you don’t always have to go it alone.

For instance, when I was facilitating smoking cessation classes for the county health department, I had a reputation for being very motivating. Once someone had convinced themselves to commit to the classes, I found ways to encourage them to follow through.

They wanted to accomplish the difficult goal of quitting smoking and wanted group support to achieve it. The group dynamic kept them focused on their goal and gave them inspiration to keep going. But, first, they had to want to quit smoking. No one else could make them want that goal.

Motivation for a Goal

To achieve any goal, you have to be motivated and willing to make changes, put forth energy, and take action of some sort. Your motivation is the driving force and the reason you want a better outcome. No one else can provide this reason for you.

Necessity can provoke you to move forward. For instance, you have to find a job or else you won’t be able to pay your bills, and will end up indigent. Or you discover that your health is in danger unless you make some lifestyle changes. But even then, the possibility of severe difficulties in life doesn’t always motivate people to change. For many people, the danger has to be immediate. They have to feel the pain.  

So how do you develop and maintain your motivation, whether it’s something you want or need?

Ways to Stay Motivated

Have you ever gone to motivational program and been inspired? The program aroused your intrinsic desire for something better for yourself and caused you to take action. But not long after the event was over, the excitement probably wore off and your enthusiasm flagged.

Every day, you need some stimulation that will keep you motivated and on course. Here are 5 tips to fuel your drive and keep you stimulated.

1.  What’s your “why?” Uncover your big why, which is your reason and purpose for wanting your goal. What is your goal going to get or give you? How will it improve your circumstances? Get detailed. It has to be an aspiration that connects with you. Once you’ve discovered your why, keep referring back to it.

2.  Fill your mind with motivation. Read inspirational books, listen to motivational podcasts, and be around uplifting people. Study people who have accomplished what you want to achieve or who overcame obstacles similar to yours. This will add motivation to your efforts.  

3.  Get creative. When you get bored, discouraged or want to take a break, find a new way to approach the steps to your goal. For instance, change your routine. If you’re always working in your home office, go to a park. Find alternative ways to stay interested in the actions you need to take.  

4.  Acknowledge your progress. Don’t just check a task off your to do list. That feels good, of course, but to make a bigger impact, congratulate yourself on completing that step. Reward yourself. This is a powerful technique to encourage yourself to keep going.

5.  Accept support. Find an accountability or empowerment partner, and ask them to help keep you focused. This is one of the roles of a coach. People who tell a partner what they intend to do, and then report their progress, achieve their goal 76% of the time. 

The smoking cessation classes I facilitated used every one of these steps and had a great success rate. The participants needed different ways of keeping themselves motivated, just as everyone with a bold goal does. These tips will motivate, support and inspire you, too, to stay on course to your vision.

Watch the accompanying video, Guided Meditation to Stay Motivated to Achieve a Goal

Affirmation:

The Universe completely supports my goals and aspirations. It wants the best for me and knows why my goal is important. The Universe supplies me with all the inspiration and motivation I need to take action. I am Divinely guided and directed in Right Action for my goal and aspiration. My next step is made clear to me.

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Many times, you think you have a priority, but you don’t treat it that way. It gets shunted aside for something more immediate or convenient. It’s all too easy to get distracted and sidetracked. This article has 5 timely tips on how to actually make your priority a priority so you make sure you act on it.

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It can sometimes be difficult to maintain a positive attitude when there are other people around you who are negative. Or when you’re having a series of setbacks or obstacles. If you take just one of these tips and practice it, it will make it easier for you to be positive. They help reframe situations and thought processes to make a real change in your life.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

How to Raise Your Self-Esteem by Acknowledging Yourself

How to Raise Your Self-Esteem by Acknowledging Yourself

A lot of people have a strong inner critic that tears them down, no matter what they do. Instead of helping you, this can undermine your confidence and motivation. To combat this critical inner voice, build yourself up by appreciating yourself and what you do. Linda-Ann will share some specific tips that will cause you to feel better about yourself and accomplish more.



Transcript:

Thank you for joining me. I’m LAS. A lot of people have a strong inner critic. Do you? It’s a part of you who is always criticizing you and everything you do… or don’t do. It tells you that you’re not good enough, not doing enough, not accomplishing enough… just not enough.

Many of my clients have said that they just didn’t feel like they were enough. That was the way they put it, “I don’t feel like I’m enough.” Have you ever felt that way? You may think that always criticizing yourself can push you to do more, but the opposite is, in fact, true. It can actually sabotage you because it undermines your confidence and motivation. I mean, why try when it’s never enough, right?

Today, I want to give you some specific ways you can respond to the constant criticism you hear from yourself. These tips help to shift your attention to something more positive and build you up rather than tear you down. It’s something I do with my clients, both in my coaching and hypnotherapy practice.

Linda-Ann Stewart of Heartvision Consulting, vision strategist. Using my 30 years of experience as a hypnotherapist, I help women business owners and entrepreneurs align their heart with their vision, chart their course and focus on the strategies that will bring them greater success and prosperity on their terms.

When we talk, I urge them to pay attention to what has changed or improved since our last session. To what they have accomplished. Many of them first tell me nothing is different. But as they talk, they realize just how much has changed and what they have accomplished.

We focus on their progress, and by doing so, are able to build on it. It’s a simple technique of acknowledging what they’ve done, instead of focusing on what they haven’t done. When you focus on what you HAVE done, then you’re motivated to do more. You build up momentum, because you’re feeling successful. And success breeds success.

For instance, I once had a friend, Laura, who used this technique of acknowledging what she’d done. She had a strong inner critic that paralyzed her. Do you ever feel that way? She discovered a way to combat that inner critic. She’d acknowledge her small wins each day. In her journal, she’d list that she’d eaten breakfast, fed the dog, washed her dishes, etc.

These are all daily tasks that had to be done each day, right? And you might wonder why she’d write down these daily tasks shortly after she got up. But it made her feel like she’d accomplished something. It triggered the reward circuit in her brain and released pleasure chemicals into her body. It energized her to keep going and do more. It got her out of the paralysis. Sounds good, right?

I’m sure you’ve heard of a gratitude journal, where you write down things that you’re grateful for each day. Some research is now showing that doing the same thing with your accomplishments, no matter how small, can turn your mood around and make you feel more motivated. It can make you feel like you’re good enough, just like when my clients would start to acknowledge their changes. Acknowledging 3 small wins each day for 7 days can lift your self-esteem for 3 months. Wouldn’t that be great? And it’s simple to do.

Just make a commitment to recognize what you’ve done during the day. It can be in a journal form, or on your phone or calendar. You can acknowledge small achievements, like my friend Laura did, or bigger ones. But don’t just limit this to your accomplishments. Also recognize when you’ve made a small step forward. Not just that you’ve finished a project, but that you’ve worked on a small part of it. Give yourself credit for your effort, not just the results. What can you acknowledge yourself for today?

For instance, acknowledge when you declined that donut, or only had one bite of it, or had a salad for lunch. When you balanced your checkbook or paid down your credit card. Or when you made that one follow up call you’d been dreading. All of these are valid actions to celebrate.

Other items you can appreciate about yourself are your strengths, your values, and your talents. For instance, you are consistent in sending out an ezine every month. That’s something to acknowledge. Or when you fulfill a promise, to yourself or someone else, like being on time for a lunch date. Or if you’ve been wanting to draw, and finally put a pencil to paper, that’s something to be proud of.

When you begin to focus on what’s good about you and what you do, instead of what’s negative, you’ll feel better about yourself. You’re praising yourself for being who you are in your life. You’ll feel like you’re making progress, which is important. Because progress means you’re moving forward. It’s encouraging and inspiring. And isn’t that a better way to motivate yourself?

If you’d like some help in achieving your goals, apply for a complimentary Clarify Your Vision coaching consultation.

Thank you for watching. I hope to hear from you that acknowledging yourself has made you feel more motivated and enough. Take care.

Read the accompanying article, 3 Reasons to Acknowledge and Appreciate Yourself.

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3 Reasons to Acknowledge and Appreciate Yourself

3 Reasons to Acknowledge and Appreciate Yourself

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“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” William James, pioneer in psychology

Most of us tend to be hard on ourselves. We’re highly self-critical, paying more attention to what we haven’t done than what we have. Although we think this helps push us to be better, to achieve our goals, it actually does the opposite. Criticizing yourself is demoralizing and discouraging, and it undermines your motivation and productivity. It makes you feel unworthy and like you’re never good enough. Being self-critical can paralyze you rather than boost you to get more done. It also disconnects you from your inner self and the Universe, making it harder to access your intuition or activate the Law of Attraction.

We’re also taught not to blow our own horn or shamelessly shout our own praise to the world. That’s considered to be prideful and self-centered. So we tend to hide our accomplishments and brush aside compliments. At the same time, we secretly crave acknowledgement and appreciation. These are normal and appropriate desires. It’s only when we abandon ourselves to seek approval from others that these natural impulses can become toxic.

What It Means to Acknowledge Yourself

But how can you find the appreciation you crave, when seeking it from others is disempowering? And how can you drive yourself without making yourself feel insignificant for not doing enough? The way you find this satisfaction is by acknowledging yourself and your accomplishments. When you do, you’re not being conceited or vain, but being honest about your efforts. Acknowledging yourself has nothing to do with building up your ego to feel better than someone else. It has nothing to do with anyone but you and what’s right about you. This is the way the Universe has always seen you.

By acknowledging yourself, you are simply recognizing your authenticity and accomplishments. You give yourself credit for what you do and who you are. This connects you with your center and the Universe, which has always believed in you. You also have more clarity to direct the Law of Attraction. As you support yourself with this kindness and honesty, you validate yourself and accept that you have value.

The Reasons to Acknowledge Yourself

One of the things I do with clients is to have them acknowledge themselves and celebrate their accomplishments. Most of the time, they don’t realize how much they’ve done or how things have changed until we do this exercise. The following are tangible benefits of acknowledging yourself.

1. Raises your self-esteem. Your self-esteem derives from your sense of how much you respect yourself. When you begin to notice what’s good about you and what you have attained, your self-worth rises and you self-image improves. You believe more in yourself and your abilities, which mean you are willing to expand out of your comfort zone.

2. Increases your motivation. Don’t you want to do more when you feel like you’re making progress? For instance, you start to go through a pile of papers, filing things, and once you see how much you’ve whittled it down, you want to do more. The same is true when you pay attention to even the small wins in a day. It energizes and inspires you. You feel encouraged and to reach for more.

3. Improves your mood. Don’t you feel good when you check off tasks that you’ve completed? It activates the reward circuit in the brain and triggers the release of pleasure chemicals. The same is true when you celebrate your efforts. You feel better about yourself and life, and have more resources to deal with challenges.

Give yourself permission to celebrate who you are and your accomplishments. Consider your good qualities, your efforts, and your progress. By making this a daily practice, your life will be richer and happier. You’ll be meeting one of your deepest needs and empower yourself to fulfill more of your potential. The Universe would approve. What can you do today to acknowledge yourself?

Affirmation:
The Universe appreciates me just as I am. It believes in me and knows that I can achieve whatever I desire. I now give myself permission to acknowledge what’s good about me and the good that I do. I know that the Universe approves of and supports me in this activity.

Watch the accompanying video, How to Raise Your Self-Esteem by Acknowledging Yourself.

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