How To Stay Motivated

Motivation is the driving force which help causes us to achieve goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. In short Motivation is what drives you towards a goal, gets you up in the morning, and keeps you working through a task, determined to succeed when things get tough. It drives us to make the things happen but staying motivated isn’t always easy. 

Personal motivation is key to maintaining almost all aspects of life. If we're not motivated, we're more likely to squander our time and neglect our personal and professional goals. Even the most determined people can lose steam sometimes. ​

How to Stay Motivated

Set Goals.
 When you set a goal, you make a decision to act in a way that will help you achieve what you want. Goals give you a direction to focus on an endpoint. This can help you to stay motivated.

Start with simple goals and then progress to longer range goals. Remember to make your goals realistic and achievable. It's easy to get frustrated and give up if your goals are too ambitious.

Choose goals that interest you.
You’re much more likely to stay motivated if you’re working towards something that you genuinely want to do or achieve, rather than what other people want for you.

Remind yourself of your goals. 
Usually before devoting time to any specific endeavour, we tend to make short- and long-term goals. Remember to keep your goals realistic, that way you won’t be disheartened if you don't reach them. That doesn't mean you can't push and challenge yourself though, if you don't challenge yourself, then it's not really a goal. If you start to lose sight of your goals, then you may be less motivated than if you were always checking to see how much closer you are getting throughout the whole process. Keeping track of your goals and checking your progress can help keep you motivated day in and day out.

Make your goal public. 
If you tell someone or write down your goal, you’ve essentially made a promise to keep your word.

Plot your progress.
When you’re working towards something, it can be really motivating if you can see evidence that you’re making progress. Draw or create a visual representation of how you’re coming closer to achieving the goal you’ve set yourself.

Everyone needs to see how they are keeping up with their goals if they want to stay motivated. If you see that you are on track or even excelling every time you check your progress, you will be motivated and happy that you are getting there. If you see that you are lagging on your goals, it may be the kick start you need to help get you back on track.

Break up your goal. 
Start with easier tasks and work your way up to bigger challenges. Breaking up a task in your mind into achievable chunks helps build confidence.

Use rewards. 
Promise yourself some sort of reward each time you complete a step/task. This could be as simple as a bowl of ice cream after a long, hard week of working out or as rewarding as a trip to the spa for all your hard work. Whatever rewards will keep you going are the ones you should be giving yourself.

Give yourself breaks.
Sometimes even the most determined people get overwhelmed. You may be burning yourself out, and a much-needed break might be just what you need. If it is a fitness goal, maybe take a three- or four-day rest instead of your normal one- or two-day rest. If it is at school, don't try to do all your work in one sitting, but stretch it out over the course of the day or week, if possible.
 
Don't be too hard on yourself. 
Everyone falls short sometimes. If you fail to meet your goals for the week, take it as a lesson. Try to complete your next target before time, so that you can use the saved time to complete the pending work. This way you stay right on schedule even if you have taken a hit. It's not always about how hard you hit, but how well you can take a hard hit and keep moving on. Don't dwell on failure; just accept it as a human occurrence, and continue working towards your goals.
 
Watch and read motivational stories or speeches. 
Everyone deserves a great pep talk every once in a while. Stay elevated by watching YouTube videos of inspirational moments so you can suddenly feel a new sense of motivation to keep striving.
 
Don’t do it alone. Join a class, or find a teacher or someone you can share the experience with. Other people’s encouragement to keep going can be a big boost to your motivation, particularly when you’re doing it tough.