Some days you wake up in the morning full of energy and ready to start the day. Other days, just getting out of bed seems like a chore. Motivation is a tricky thing. Once we have it, it's hard to keep.
First of all, let's define what motivation is. Motivation can be described as the "driving force" behind the actions and your willingness to do something about them. For example, if you're thirsty, you are motivated to reach for a bottle of water. However, you need more than just the willingness to do something. Motivation usually kicks in when you decide to take action and stick with it. Here are 4 ways to stay motivated.
#1 Schedule Your Motivation
Give your goals a time and place by creating a schedule. You are more likely to follow through if you create a schedule. For example: if you want to eat more vegetables, but aren't motivated to go out and buy them or cook them, create a simple schedule to help.
Choose a day to look up new recipes with vegetables.
Choose another day to go grocery shopping for those vegetables.
Choose a day to include vegetables in your meals.
Place the schedule where it can be easily seen. i.e. fridge
You just created the motivation to eat more vegetables!
#2 Start Your Motivation with a Ritual
Make a start-ritual. It has to be super easy so you can do it anytime without objections. An example of a start-ritual can be: if your goal is to start going to the gym to workout after work, pack a bag with workout clothes and shoes and put it in your car. Or, if you are going to go for a walk, your start-ritual can be to fill your water bottle. These are easy things to do. Motivation comes after starting. So by creating a start-ritual, it makes things more easy to begin and follow through. Once you have your start-rituals, you will begin to feel more motivated to go to the gym after work.
#3 Call Your Goal Buddy
Find someone that believes in you and supports you. Goals are easier to obtain when you have someone by your side. Find someone that has the same goal as you. It can be a friend, spouse, co-worker, etc. Together set up days where you can work on your goals. Having a goal buddy keeps you accountable because they can encourage you through the process. Also, when you have someone that counts on you to meet them for a yoga session at 8am, you are more likely to pack your bag and go. It's much harder to let someone else down, than it is to let yourself down.
#4 Set a Reward
You can trigger your motivation by offering yourself a reward if you accomplish your goal. Your reward can be anything as long as it makes you happy and is something you enjoy. For example, "If I eat vegetables 5 nights in a row, I will reward myself by watching that movie I've been meaning to watch for so long." Thinking of the reward causes your body to act, which starts your motivation.
Author, Steven Pressfield once wrote, "At some point, the pain of not doing it, becomes greater than the pain doing it." It's easier to take action and go to the gym, than it is to sit at home in front of the TV snacking on chips and feeling bad about yourself. So don't think "I'll do it tomorrow." Think, "I'll do it today and feel better about myself tomorrow."
