Some days we wake up and are already supercharged with motivation, jump out of the bed and can’t wait to get started. Other days we wake up and things feel heavy, it’s hard to get out of bed and get things going or find that inner drive to make the best out of the day.
Motivation can come and go pretty unpredictably, but wouldn’t it be great if we were in control of our elusive motivation and wake up fired up and ready to take action every single day?
Staying motivated is one of the biggest challenges on our way to achieving greatness, whether that’s in our professional or our personal life, but just think about it, can you imagine Elon Musk or Serena Williams hitting repeatedly the snooze button just because they don’t feel like going to the office or hitting the tennis court?
Lacking self-motivation is something that happens to the best of us, the question is do we give in or do we shake it off, re-energize ourselves and press on.
Here are our TOP 10 tips to fuel your motivation when it starts to dwindle.
#1 Have a Mission
Our desire to do anything is incredibly low when we lack a vision for our life. We seek out entertainment and thrill rather than important tasks that challenge us and bring us further in life because we don’t have a goal to work towards. So the first and most important step to supercharge our motivation is to find a strong mission, a quest or calling that is bigger than ourselves. Define your mission as a cause that you are willing to work hard for, put in the love, sweat and tears and fight for with supreme effort. The thing about a strong mission and a deep burning desire is that it will keep you going when you face challenges, obstacles or setbacks.
#2 Immerse Yourself in Inspiration
What goes into our minds has a tremendous affect on our motivation and mood and we are powerfully influenced by our mental ‘diet’. Stand guard over your mind constantly because tragic news, negative people and mind-numbing TV can suck your motivation and drive completely dry. But if you immerse yourself in inspiration from TED talks to podcasts to a supportive network, you can fuel your motivation and spur yourself onwards and upwards. Subscribe to inspirational YouTube channels, podcasts, blogs and newsletters, see motivational speakers that inspire you and participate in conferences and networking events that positively feed your mind. When you reduce negative influences and increase positive influences, your motivation will go through the roof.
#3 Face Your Excuses
Excuses can be our best friend and our worst enemy. To deal with excuses, look them straight into the eye and go from there. Whenever you catch yourself using an excuse, stop right there and correct your behavior. You’ll probably have to do it a few times, but after that, you will stop making excuses and don’t believe the BS you are telling yourself anymore. Face your excuses and tell yourself the truth instead.
#4 Set a Routine, Then Switch it Up
Having a routine can keep you on course and disciplined, but over time it can have the opposite effect and bore you to tears, causing your motivation to dwindle. Use a routine as your foundation and then switch it up every other week or so. Everybody has a different threshold when monotony makes you hit a wall. Create several routines and rotate them on a regular basis to keep things stimulating and interesting while keeping you focused on the target and getting things done.
#5 Play Some Music
Music has a huge influence on our emotions and can either lift us up or pull us down. This means that the right music can boost our motivation, whether it’s the lyrics that lift us up or the pounding beat that pushes us forward or that irresistible bassline that keeps us going, some tracks simply make us feel incredible. Invest some time in compiling playlists that get you fired up and when you feel your motivation leave, press play.
#6 Seek Out Opportunities
This may take some practice, but with time, you’ll be tuned into seeing all the opportunities that come your way and you are able to act on them. Do some self-reflection and find out what type of work you most love to do, in which environment you would like to do it, with what kind of people you would like to work with and how you would like to spend your working hours. Look at every single aspect and figure out what makes your heart sing and motivation will be the bonus side-effect to keep you going. Keep in mind, money isn’t a strong enough motivator to keep us going til the end, but meaningful work that utilizes our talents can be a huge motivator that will get us to achieving our goals.
#7 Take Action
Science proved that our physiology has a huge affect on our emotions and feelings, so when you don’t feel motivated, act motivated and motivation will follow suit. Just start to take action and don’t wait for motivation to show up to the party and if you consistently take action, your motivation will kick in after a while and things will become a lot easier and much more fun. It’s a funny thing, but motivation usually catches up when you start to take action.
#8 Celebrate Your Successes
Motivation is about continuing to look forward, but a great strategy to stay motivated is to look back on where you came from and reflect on your wins, big and small. Remember the challenges and how you were able to overcome them and see how much you have achieved in the past. Reflecting and celebrating your past successes will lead your mind to wonder what you can achieve in the future and keep you motivated to keep going to achieve even bigger and better things.
#9 Take Time for Yourself
While it is important to keep your energy up and keep going and stay motivated, you need to take some time out of your busy day to take care of yourself. While most of us don’t have the resources to buy their own personal island like Richard Branson, there are plenty of activities you can do to decompress and take care of yourself. Block off some time every single day for you to do something that you absolutely love and that will recharge your batteries so you have the energy to keep your motivation going.
#10 Don’t Go it Alone
Going it alone can make it extremely difficult to stay motivated, but if you create a support network that helps you and encourages you and is there for you when you need advice, inspiration or simply a sympathetic ear for you to vent, it is a lot easier to keep your motivation supercharged and focused. Your support network can include a mentor, a partner, a best friend or a co-worker, just make sure that you find people who are just as excited about your mission as you are and want to see you succeed.
Losing our ‘mojo’ is completely normal and happens to the best of us. However, don’t let it stress you out and instead focus on taking action to re-light that fire again and even grow your self-motivation. Pick your favorite strategies, write down the actions you need to take to apply them and implement your strategies as soon as possible.
KICKSTART YOUR MOTIVATION AND KEEP THE FIRE LIT
Joschi & Monika
#BoldNaked