How to find motivation? How to stay focused?

When we start a new project, task, or habit we are full of energy and enthusiasm. Sometimes we would like to achieve our goal straight away – run 10 miles, have a flat belly, speak a foreign language, learn a new skill and so on. As we know, to achieve such things we need to constantly repeat exercises for months to achieve our goal.

There are times when we feel anxiety and doubt.  So how to stay motivated when we start lacking this first enthusiasm? Here are a few tips:

1. Think about and visualize your goal every day. Before getting up, on the train to work, in a queue, and so on.
2. Made it very clear to yourself why you want to achieve you goal. Have a clear vision where you want to be in the future. Focus.
3. Boost your confidence. Make notes of your progress. When you feel that you’re not getting where you want to be fast enough (which can be discouraging), you will have always proof that you do move forward. You have already achieved so much!
4. Join a forum or group with the same interests. Then, you can motivate each other.
5. You had one bad day so you took a break from your plan. Don’t make it two days in a row!
6. Prepare yourself for the bad days. Think of moments which can de-motivate you, so when they come you know how to fight with them.
7. Stop finding excuses why you can’t take action to achieve your goals.
8. Think positive – it really works!

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”
Mark Victor Hansen

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain

Photo from Flickr by: Mi Pah

Learn more:

Planning for a seriously happy New Year

Go on, just do it!