How do I get motivated? That’s a tricky question that a lot of people ask themselves. Everyone wants to be motivated to reach their goals, exercise, work harder, be better, wealthier, stronger, but many give up when things get difficult.
Why so? A lot of people set themselves up to fail from the beginning with unrealistic goals and expectations. They also fail to realise that motivation comes and goes but developing a disciplined and driven mindset can be a permanent quality.
It’s also common that people self-sabotage themselves by being too self-critical and uncompassionate. In this article I detail mindfulness actions for motivation to help you on your journey, no matter you’re working towards. This is what I find works well for me so I hope you’ll find it insightful and valuable.
What is Motivation?
When was the last time you felt motivated? What was it for and how long did it last for?
Motivation comes when we have needs for sustaining life, helping others, improving our own well-being, personal growth, and life situation. It’s an internal feeling that arises when we desire a change.
When we feel hungry, we seek food. When we need or want to be healthier, we eat better and exercise. When a friend or loved one is suffering, we want to help them. Motivation also arises when we think there will be a reward at the end our work, such as money, sex, food, a house, car, holiday, qualification, promotion, and so on.
The opposite is also true. We can be motivated to avoid something, such as a conflict, a penalty, a problem at work, or anything that will have detrimental consequences. When we do feel motivated, we feel energised, ready to tackle obstacles, problem solve, and achieve our goals. We take action.
But the problem with motivation is that it seems to fade away so quickly, especially when what we’re working on is boring, tedious and challenging, with no instant gratification. So, let’s explore some to tackle this.
Intention Reaffirms the Purpose
Having an intention for why you’re doing something is imperative. Why do you want to go to the gym? Why do you want to start a business? Why do you want to improve your mental health?
If you have an intention from the start, it reaffirms the purpose and benefit of each step you are taking. This is really important for those challenging days when you don’t feel like making the effort. Don’t overthink your intention, go with what comes up naturally.
It should only be a small sentence or even just a few words. I’m going to the gym to ‘be stronger’. I’m starting a business because ‘I want to be independent’. I’m improving my mental health because I want to ‘be freer and happier’.
Say your intention like a mantra, when you wake up, when you’re taking each step, and before you go to bed. Feed it into your subconscious and results will come.
Set Clear, Realistic and Achievable Goals
Now you have your intention, it’s time to set some clear, realistic and achievable goals. Research suggests that around 80% of people joining the gym in January quit within 5 months. This is a popular new year’s resolution and people often set vague and idealistic goals, such as ‘I’m going to go to gym 5 days per week and will develop a six pack’.
They’ve already set themselves up for failure. If the person has never really worked out much in their life, are these realistic goals? And what happens when they don’t see results quick enough, get fatigued, or have a bad week and miss gym sessions? They give up.
They decide it’s too difficult, not worth the effort and go back to their bad habits. What’s the alternative though? Firstly, think of an intention like ‘be healthier’. Next, brainstorm some practical goals. They can even adjust month by month.
Ease into it. Start by saying this month I will ‘workout 8 times, I’ll do 4 cardio sessions, and 4 strength training sessions. That’s specific and manageable. You may even get to 8 sessions and want to do more. Next month, increase it slightly. Get my point?
No matter what it is you want to do. Don’t go in guns blazing. Again, set clear, realistic and achievable goals. That way, when you do accomplish them, you’ll feel like you achieved something and motivated to keep going. Little by little, step by step.
Push Yourself (Motivation VS Discipline)
What’s the difference between the two? As I said earlier motivation is not consistent; it comes and goes. But being driven and disciplined can be a permanent quality you can cultivate.
Do you think that all professional athletes feel motivated to train every day? Do all successful entrepreneurs want to work as much as they always do? They’re all human beings just like you.
They also get tired, fatigued, feel lazy, uninspired, unmotivated, and at times just want to sit on a sofa with some snacks watching TV. What’s their secret? There is none. There’s no quick fix. They are disciplined and driven. It’s not what people want to hear but it’s the truth.
When they’re feeling lazy, athletes still go out to train. When entrepreneurs are tired, they still get up early and work. When people who go to the gym regularly don’t feel like going, they still go. It’s a mindset. One you can develop too.
Routine is Helpful
Although it may be hard to find the time, it’s important that you do. If you can start your day by working towards your goals in the morning, then you’ve already won the battle.
How often have you put off something until the end of the day, only to find that you feel too tired and lazy to work on your stuff? You just want to curl up on the sofa. If you really feel that you can’t get up a little earlier to work towards your goals, then schedule it in somewhere else.
Once you start doing something at the same time every day, you’ll get into a routine and it will start to become automatic. You may even begin to feel odd if you’re not doing that activity or task when scheduled, motivating your further to incorporate it into your day.
Be Compassionate Towards Yourself
I can’t stress this enough but remember to be compassionate towards yourself. Planning, striving, working hard and multitasking is exhausting at times. There inevitably will be days when you feel too exhausted and deflated to work.
When you get days like this, it’s ok to rest, relax and enjoy yourself. Don’t feel guilty about that. If you’ve really been putting in the effort, then stopping to catch your breath is a wise idea. Don’t become complacent though. Step back on the gas as soon as you can.
Another issue that a lot of people have -including myself- is being far to hard on themselves. But being self-critical is counterproductive to motivation. You beat yourself up… Telling yourself you’re not good enough and never will be.
You start to think you can’t do it, or at least not as good as others. This is common is modern day society. You think being hard on yourself will motivate you to be better, but it doesn’t work.
If a child did poorly on a test, would it be productive to tell them they are useless, worthless, that they will never succeed at anything? Would it motivate them to do better next time, or just crush their spirit?
See my point? Be kind to yourself. That doesn’t mean you can’t be firm but do so in a gentle manner. Treat yourself as you would your best friend.
Be Flexible
Life is in a constant state of flux, it’s always changing. That includes your desires, ambitions and goals. If something didn’t work out despite your best efforts, that’s ok. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be.
The most important thing is not to see it as failure. It was a learning experience. We learn by doing and trying. At least you made the effort to begin with. Not everyone is willing to take risks. So, whether it was just your goals and targets that didn’t work out, or your whole plan, what’s next?
Be flexible. Revaluate your goals, were they realistic? What did you learn? What can you do differently or better next time? Has your whole life ambition changed? Fine. Take some time off to recalibrate and figure out what the new plan is.
You can’t have success without failures along the way. Embrace them and move forward.
Nobody Feels Motivated All the Time
I hope you enjoyed my article providing some mindfulness actions for motivation. Nobody feels motivated all the time, but I hope that some of the suggestions above will be help you along the way.
To recap. Start with setting your intention and goals. Push yourself and develop a disciplined mindset. Routines are helpful and it’s important to enjoy the journey, being present during each step.
When difficult days arise, be compassionate towards yourself and remember being self-critical is counterproductive. Finally, be flexible. If something didn’t work out, change your goals, or revaluate your next move and make a new plan.
Did you find this article useful? Or do you have any other tips for improving motivation? I’d love to hear your comments and thoughts below.
Take care of yourselves,
Chris from Mindfulness Actions
