How to Stay Motivated Every Day

How to Stay Motivated Every Day

- in Healthy Lifestyle, How to, Self-Improvement
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@ekuzevska
stay motivated

You want to stay motivated every day! It is a big challenge. Here are a lot of tips which can help you to stay motivated every day and achieve your goals

– Table of Contents –

Science Tells Us to Do These Things to Stay Motivated Every Day
Staying Motivated When Surrounded by Negativity
Do These 5 Things to Make Sure You Stay Motivated
Easy Ways to Stay Motivated
Create Habits to Stay Motivated
Top Tips from The World’s Most Motivated People
How to Stay Motivated without Burning Out
Using Visualization to Stay Motivated and Reach Your Goals
5 Ways to Stay Motivated No Matter What
10 Strategies for Staying Motivated, So You Reach Your Goals

#1 Science Tells Us to Do These Things to Stay Motivated Every Day

Motivation is how we get things done. The sad thing is that it’s a finite resource – you can run out of motivation unless you replenish it daily. How do you stay motivated so that you can be your most productive? Thankfully science has the answers.

For years, scientists and doctors of psychology have looked at the connection between motivation and action. What they’ve discovered is that there are things we can do to keep ourselves motivated – and even rekindle motivation when you’ve hit a wall. Here are some of their findings:

1. People who are feeling like they’re making a difference accomplish more. A study of people raising money for students, done by the University of Michigan, conclusively showed that when the fundraisers talked to those students who benefited, their ability to raise donations increased dramatically – by 171%. That’s pretty impressive. How can you apply that to your project? Remind yourself of the reasons why you’re doing what you do. Who does this project benefit? How can you connect what you’re doing with those people?

2. Use the reward system. Believe it or not, we genuinely do work better when we see an immediate benefit. By breaking tasks into smaller goals, and then celebrating those milestones, we’re more apt to be productive. Why wouldn’t we be when 75% of what we choose to do we pick because of the reward we’ll reap?

3. Pace yourself. If you work until you drop, that might be a viable plan for the occasional push to get something done. But, you can’t do it daily, and it saps energy right out of you. Instead, try using a timer. If you use the Pomodoro technique, for example, it means that you set yourself up for work periods followed by short breaks. Those breaks keep you fresh and interested in what you’re doing.

4. Get in shape. A recent study by Virgin Pulse has shown that those who are healthy stay motivated longer. This fact should come as no surprise, as everyone from the American Heart Association to the American Cancer Society have already shown how stress negatively impacts your health. It also affects productivity. It’s hard to stay motivated when you’re not feeling good. That means that spending time on yourself will not only keep you motivated but will also benefit you in a variety of other ways.

5. How does your future look? A University of Stamford study asked people to envision their future selves and discovered what a unique motivational tool it was. Who do you want to be? What do you have to do to get there? Seeing yourself in the future is a great way to keep yourself motivated and on track when it comes to putting the work into your dreams.

Staying motivated doesn’t have to be difficult. What’s amazing is that there are already so many proven methods for increasing productivity. The application of these tools becomes the difference between success and failure. You’ll be amazed at what you can do if you try.

Read more => 10 Ways To Self-Improvement

#2 Staying Motivated When Surrounded by Negativity

It seems to be a universal rule that no matter how motivated you are, there will always be someone equally motivated whose sole purpose in life is that of being a buzzkill. We see this especially in the world of social media where even the most positive post will garner at least one response in the negative. How then are we supposed to stay motivated when surrounded by so much negativity?

1 Plan for a positive outcome. When you don’t have a clear direction, you can’t expect to have great results. What is your vision for the future? What do you need to do to get there? Envision the process from start to finish. Then write it down so that you have it available as a roadmap to get you where you want to go.

2. Change your expectations. Don’t let the negative messages mess with your mind. In other words, take control. If you expect things to go badly, chances are they will. Silence the negative voices and instead focus on the positive.

3. Seize the day! If things aren’t going well, rather than listen to the naysayers, carefully evaluate where you are. Is there something you can change that will improve the outcome? Put your focus there.

4. Know when to let go. Along with that same vein, realize that if there are things you can’t change. Worrying about them isn’t going to make the outcome any different. Let go of what you cannot change or help.

5. Surround yourself with positivity. Affirmations, books that motivate, people that are positive – all of these should be in your toolkit to combat negativity. If you fill your mind with positive messages, you can’t help but drown out the negativity. By doing so, you’ll find it’s much easier to stay motivated no matter what’s life throws at you.

6. Who’s on your side? When you live under a constant barrage of negativity, the people you surround yourself with become critical. Find the cheerleaders, the Pollyannas, the positive people who love to cheer for you and keep them close at hand. With the right people on your side, you can’t help but succeed.

7. Don’t forget to celebrate. Don’t wait for the significant milestones to recognize your accomplishments. Small celebrations along the way will remind you in a very visual way of your successes. It becomes easier to expect success when you tell yourself that you’ve done it many times before.

Negativity can’t stand up to strong positive influence. Keeping motivated then merely is a matter of looking at what’s around you – and changing the scenery if it’s not working for you. Remember: Positive influence breeds positive results.

#3 Do These 5 Things to Make Sure You Stay Motivated

You’re midway through the project, and you’re losing interest. Motivation is about to go out the window, and you feel helpless to keep it. What can you do to stay motivated, so that you’re able to stay on track through the remainder of the project? Try these tips:

1. The first thing you need to do is to visualize your success. Before you go another step, you need to see yourself at the end of the project with everything accomplished to your satisfaction. Why? Because what we tell ourselves will happen – will happen exactly how we tell ourselves. So if you’re caught up in thoughts of failure, you’re already likely to crash and burn. Likewise, if you see yourself at the finish line, with the project completed, you’re much more likely actually to succeed. So keep a positive image in your head, and keep going.

2. Next, stop worrying. Yes, that’s easier said than done, but the more you worry, the more you’re going to derail not just your motivation, but any energy and enthusiasm you still had for the project. To do this, you’re going to have to look critically at what you’re doing and ask yourself if there are things you can change. If so – change them. If not, then let them go. Motivated people don’t get caught up in worry, but instead, they make it a habit of looking to the future.

3. If you intend to stay motivated, then you’re going to need to be consistent in action and in setting positive goals. Motivation flags when neglected, so to keep the energy where it’s going to do the project the most good, you’ll want to make sure that you’re constantly moving forward. That means checking your motivation levels daily and then taking action to keep those levels up. Even if you’re taking the weekend off from work, you should take at least a few minutes to indulge in thoughts about your project, where you remind yourself that you’re looking forward to jumping back in on Monday morning. That keeps motivation and interest high even when you’re not working.

4. If you’re still having trouble with motivation, check to see who’s hanging around. It could be that you have too many negative influences around you. Surround yourself with positive people, who are also highly motivated individuals. All that positive energy is bound to rub off on you!

5. Lastly, keep a positive environment where motivation can thrive. Listen to music that motivates. Use positive affirmations, read motivational books or listen to podcasts that make you want to jump right back into your project. A lot of staying motivation comes from feeding yourself with a steady diet of things that motivate.

Staying motivated doesn’t have to be an impossible task. Some attention to the details will keep you on track as you work and help you to get to the finish line. Be mindful of what you’re doing, and with a variety of positive influences, you’ll get to where you want to go.

#4 Easy Ways to Stay Motivated

Lack of motivation is the death knell on many a project. That is why it’s so important to stay motivated long after your initial enthusiasm for the project has disappeared. It sounds daunting, but it’s not as hard as it seems. Sometimes staying motivated is as easy as setting up a strategy to keep yourself on track.

What can you do?

1. Define your goal. Picture it down to the last detail. Having a clear picture of your destination makes it more likely that you will achieve your goals.

2. List all the reasons why you’ve made this goal in the first place. That becomes your primary motivation, so you’re going to want to write this list down, and then revisit it as you proceed.

3. Break the goal into pieces. Then find a reward for each piece. While this seems like common sense, it’s easy to forget the rewards – especially if you think of those small goals as being negligible. But it’s those little celebrations that will keep your motivation up as you go along.

4. Be flexible. Recognize that things change. The plan that you made might require a shift to accomplish your goal. Or your end product might change when you get more information. Realize that it’s OK to change your mind, so long as you again revisit all these steps when you do. It might be you’ll have to outline a different set of steps, for example.

5. Have a support team. It’s nearly impossible to succeed when you’re trying to do something alone. Having a set of people in your life you can rely on as a positive presence to encourage you, brings in motivation from outside of you, which will help when you’re feeling discouraged.

6. Have a plan for when motivation fails. What helps bring motivation back. Affirmations? Talk with a mentor? A change of scenery? Listing this in advance means you have a ‘go to’ you can put into play the moment you feel your energy crash.

7. Re-examine the entire process periodically. Note changes. That is where the ‘being flexible’ thing will prove helpful. Even without changes, remembering why you’re doing this in the first place is a good practice to make into a habit, as it will help you rebuild lost motivation when you need it most.

Losing motivation doesn’t need to be something to be afraid of, especially if you’ve made plans to help keep your motivation at optimal levels as you work. Believe it or not, the best tool in your arsenal lies in being prepared. Work the plan, and the path toward success is yours.

#5 Create Habits to Stay Motivated

It should come as no surprise that the habits we form will determine our success or failure. After all, habits already dictate a lot about our lives. If we, for example, eat large amounts of food regularly and don’t exercise, we can expect to have physical consequences for our actions. That’s why it’s so important to form good habits so that we can reach our fullest potential.

What’s even more interesting is the fact that these same good habits can help us to stay motivated when it comes to realizing our goals.

Let’s look at some examples:

1. Take care of yourself. If you’ve ever been sick then you know it’s impossible to be productive, or even to have a positive attitude when you’re not feeling good. That’s why it’s so important to take charge of your health. Carrying extra weight not only drags you down but affects energy levels which in turn affects productivity. Setting up some healthy habits such as going to the gym more often, or making changes in your meal plan then will help you to stay motivated longer just because you’re feeling better when your body is in sync. Your improved health makes this a win-win all the way around.

2. Revisit the reason you’re doing what you do. When you make goals, you tend to feel that initial surge of enthusiasm for the project. Sadly, this motivation tends to wane over time. Build a habit that forces you to revisit the goal to bring that motivation level back up. For example, if you’re doing something that will benefit a specific group of people somehow, then plan to spend time each month with that group to remind yourself of why you’re doing this.

3. Be proactive. Getting the jump on things is a habit that not only keeps your boss happy but also gives you a rush of dopamine to the brain. Build habits of being early, or do things that help you to think ahead. For example, make lists that keep you not only on task but ahead of the game.

4. Focus on the small stuff. If you’re dealing with a big goal, such as some serious weight loss, it’s easy to lose your motivation when it feels like you’re not making progress. Having small goals gives you milestones to celebrate and builds motivation back. These kinds of goals come from small changes, like planning to eat a little differently (cutting carbs for example), or in taking the stairs instead of using the elevator.

5. Surround yourself with people who motivate you. That is an easy habit for you to build, in that it involves choosing a little more carefully what company you keep. Building a habit of meeting with this group on a regular basis not only keeps you motivated but has the added benefit of cementing relationships with those around you.

Building good habits is an awesome way to stay on track to reach your goals. The best part? As with any habit, if you do it enough, you’ll wind up acting without thinking, making motivation an automatic part of your life. How cool is that?

#6 Top Tips from The World’s Most Motivated People

It might be reassuring to know that not everyone succeeds on the first try. It’s hard to stay motivated when everything is going wrong. It’s good to know that persistence tends to pay off. Below you’ll find some tips geared toward success from some people who stayed motivated – and eventually reached their goals.

1. Find your drive. Henry Ford knew he was destined for great things – it just took him a while to figure out what. The founder of the Ford Motor Company which changed products manufacturing techniques across all industries tried to make a success of five separate businesses before his work in the automotive industry. Every one of the businesses failed. It took some serious soul searching and a great deal of passion for him to move on past those losses.

2. Work your goals – every day. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because ‘he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.’ It’s a good thing he didn’t take it to heart. The negative message didn’t daunt Walt Disney who had a dream – and the motivation to achieve it. By being persistent, Disney was able to take his ideas and vision and turn them into a company worth $92 BILLION today.

3. Have a support crew. Soichiro Honda applied to work as an engineer at Toyota. When he was turned down, he started making scooters out of his home. Neighbors encouraged him to start his own business. The rest, shall we say, is history. Having strong support helped motivate Honda to where he created one of the biggest automotive empires in the world.

4. Challenge yourself – Albert Einstein was considered to be an idiot and unteachable by his early teachers. If he’d listened to them, the world would have missed one of the greatest minds of the 20thcentury. Learning wasn’t easy for Einstein, but then nothing of value is. Persistence, and pushing yourself to get better, is what leads to success. That takes motivation behind it.

5. Have a deeper purpose. Being born in the Bahamas in 1927 would have been enough to keep Sidney Poitier in a life of mediocrity. But being born black in an era steeped in racism and fear made Poitier’s goals nearly impossible. When he told others of his dream to be a serious actor, they said, “Why don’t you stop wasting people’s time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?” But Sidney Poitier had something to say and was motivated to find a way to say it. He is recognized as one of the world’s great actors today, and there is no doubt that having a deeper purpose is what led to his success.

6. Keep learning. When F. W. Woolworth got his first job, he wasn’t allowed to wait on customers because he lacked any sales ability. Proving that it was possible to learn how to sell things and sell them well, Woolworth went on to found an empire of more than 1,000 Woolworth stores worldwide.

Motivation isn’t something that you’re born with; it’s something you cultivate. By following these tips, you’re guaranteed to keep your own motivation high – which is the first step in accomplishing great things.

Read more => How to Change Your Life and Live Your Dream

#7 How to Stay Motivated without Burning Out

We’ve all felt it, the soul-crushing exhaustion that isn’t so much physical as mental. Where you can’t do one more thing at work, even though you love your job, and even whatever reward system you have in place isn’t enough to get you moving again.

That is burnout, and it hits all of us at some time or another. How can you avoid this dreaded quicksand trying to suck you down and keep you from being productive? It’s all in staying motivated. Thankfully there are several ways to do just that.

1. Take breaks during the day. You can’t keep going endlessly without breaking down. Every now and again, it’s good to lift your head and take a look at the world around you. So get up, grab a drink of water, move around a little. How do you know when to stop? Pause the moment you feel your energy flagging, and before you get so drawn into the doldrums that you lose your motivation to move around.

2. Get rid of your devices. There’s nothing quite so de-motivational as the digital age. The problem with being connected is that people can reach you anywhere, anytime. That means you never quite leave the office, and by extension, you’re never really not working. To solve this, limit checking your work email outside of work, and refuse to discuss business outside of normal business hours. This break is necessary for optimal health of both body and mind.

3. Take weekends off. Again, with the world so connected over the internet, it’s just too easy to keep working, even when you’re supposed to be out spending time with the family. Embrace your downtime and give your work a rest. Having the weekend off will leave you more motivated on Monday and ready to tackle another week of work.

4. Ask yourself why it matters. If you’re feeling a little burned out, it’s time to remind yourself why you do the things you do anyway. Why were you so passionate about this job/project? Recapture this feeling, and your motivation will come flooding back.

5. Just what kinds of breaks do you have? If all you do on your downtime is watch Netflix, chances are you aren’t stimulating your mind. That leads to a further boredom/malaise that’s even harder to shake. When you have the weekend off, give yourself something to do that engages you physically and mentally. Exercise, play a sport, go outside, visit a museum. Stimulate the senses. You’ll be surprised at the motivation that comes from trying something new.

6. Check your health. If the feelings of fatigue persist, a check-up might be in order. It could be that it isn’t burnout at all – but instead, you might be fighting a bug or be a little low on some essential vitamin.

7. Find a different job. If you’re constantly burned out, then it’s possibly time to find something new to do. Take some time to reassess why you do what you do, and whether you’re as passionate about it as you used to be.

Avoiding burnout is possible, but it means listening to your body and mind. Breaks are not only a good idea; they’re integral to good health. Remember, staying motivated means taking care of yourself on every level.

 

#8 Using Visualization to Stay Motivated and Reach Your Goals

It seems like magic. How is it that simply imagining a thing can make it real? No, we’re not talking about a new spell from Harry Potter, we’re talking about Creative Visualization, which is more science than magic.

Visualization means that you’re guiding your thoughts onto a certain path in a certain way to ensure success. While it might seem a little mystical at first glance, there’s some pretty solid science behind it. Studies have shown that it’s our attitudes that frequently determine our success. In other words, if we think we’re going to fail, we’re indeed very likely to fail.

But does the opposite hold true? Not always, because there might be other factors that have to do with your success that is outside of your control – like a lack of knowledge when you begin or a lack of resources to see your project through to completion. But what IS proven is the importance of a positive mindset. Visualization takes that positivity to the next level and allows you to SEE your success.

How do you do it?

1. Start with the goal. If you’re not sure where you’re going, how can you expect to get there? In this step, you’re going to want to picture what you want or hope to accomplish exactly. That is the big picture goal, so don’t worry about the details just yet. Right now you’re gaining a direction.

2. Add layers. Here’s where you get into the nitty-gritty of what you want to do. Once you have your big picture goal, now you can work out the smaller components that make it up. Imagine this goal in the most minute details until you have a clear understanding of what you need to do to get where you want to go.

3. Expect the unexpected. Now imagine the obstacles you’re likely to come up against and stop you in your tracks. How do you intend to handle them? Plan for every contingency.

4. Add in practical application. In short – practice. Not just in your head, but in the physical world as well. That means rehearsing that speech in front of a mirror before giving it in front of a crowd. Take your visualization and put it to the test. And then go back and revisit your visualization and make adjustments as necessary. Repeat as many times as necessary.

5. See the Success. When visualizing perhaps the most important thing to see in your mind’s eye is your success. Take your goal to completion with all of its steps, including that happy ending where everything has gone exactly right.

By using visualization, you give yourself an important edge. That edge translates to motivation. When you’re sure of your success you can’t help but be excited about what you’re doing. What’s amazing is that using that motivation then creates a stronger visualization, creating a cycle of success that is unbeatable. Imagine that!

#9 5 Ways to Stay Motivated No Matter What

Losing motivation? It happens to the best of us. But there are tricks to staying motivated, many of which involve taking a hard look at your goals. With a little preparation and solid planning, there’s no reason why you can’t stay motivated all the way through whatever project you’ve set out for yourself.

How?

1. Start with the big picture. What is it you’re trying to accomplish? Having an idea of the eventual goal will help you to stay on track. The clearer the vision, the more likely you are to keep going, even when times get tough. Ask yourself what it is you’re trying to achieve – and then picture yourself achieving it. The visualization step is the most important one here. We tend to perform in the way we expect to. So if we expect to fail, we do. By seeing success, you’re more likely to attain success.

2. Now that you’ve gotten the big picture make sure this is YOUR goal. At first glance that statement seems ridiculous – why would you make a goal that isn’t your own? This answer can be found most easily in asking WHY you want to accomplish what you are. If the word “should” comes up, then chances are you might want to re-evaluate what you’re doing. We often set goals because we feel like they’re something we’re supposed to do, and not because they’re something we want to do. You’re less likely to stay motivated when you’re on the path of ‘should.’

3. Next, you’ll want to break those tasks down into something manageable. Now that you have a goal and are sure it’s something you want to do, you might feel a little overwhelmed about how you’re going to accomplish that goal. By breaking it up into smaller pieces, you regain the feeling that you’re doing something possible. Like a pro tip? Celebrate the small successes then as you go. That will help keep the motivation levels high.

4. If you’re still a little overwhelmed, get organized. It might be that you don’t feel prepared to work on this project because you lack the research or supplies. Figure out what you need, and then go about making sure you have the proper tools to get the job done. It’s easier to stay motivated when you have what you need to succeed.

5. If all else fails, remember why you set the goal in the first place. It could be you only need a little reminder of your previous motivation to find the fresh motivation to keep going.

Motivation isn’t something you have to lose as you work on a project. You can keep your motivation levels high with a little forethought and planning. By keeping on track with your goals, you’ll find that motivation will likewise keep on track, guiding you all the way through the job at hand until completion.

Read more => Awaken Your Awareness and You Awaken Your Life

#10 10 Strategies for Staying Motivated, So You Reach Your Goals

Without motivation, you’re dead in the water. Nothing gets done, and worse, you can’t find the energy to change that situation. The last thing you want to do is to fall into the vortex of broken dreams and lost promise. How do you change that? Simply by not getting there in the first place. The trick is to STAY motivated, even when you’re not feeling it. How?

1. Stop procrastinating. Chances are if you’re procrastinating you’ve stopped working, and motivation is already slipping to dangerous levels. When this happens, you need to give yourself a sharp kick in the backside and keep going — no excuses.

2. Cut out distractions. What’s going on around you? Is something taking your attention away from your work? Maybe it’s time to work wearing headphones, or to isolate until you get your momentum back.

3. Change of scenery. If you’re still having trouble, it might be because you’re growing stagnant. You’ve been working too long, and you need to clear your head. Take a walk. Go for a drive. Or if you’re stuck at work, then take your laptop to an empty conference room — anything to create a change.

4. Exercise. Nothing stimulates the brain and gets it going again like exercise. You don’t have to commit to an hour-long run to get your motivation back. Even a short jog around the block will get your heart pumping and your brain producing endorphins to jump you back into high gear again.

5. Meditate. Or in contrast to the last item on the list, slow down. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Find your center and your calm. Relax and let go of what’s going on around you.

6. Stop worrying. While this one is easier said than done, the main idea here is to let go of the things you cannot change so that you can keep looking forward without anything inhibiting you.

7. Listen to music: Put on music that puts ideas into your head, and a bounce to your step. The genre doesn’t matter. It’s how the music makes you feel that counts. Use whatever gives you get up and go to get back in motion.

8. Make a Daily To-Do list. It might be you’re losing motivation because you’re too overwhelmed by big goals. Break those goals down, and then drop those bite-sized pieces on a daily To-Do list. Be careful not to overload the list with too much. You want to set yourself up for success – not failure.

9. Find someone who motivates you. Maybe you need a mentor. Or it could be a biography of someone who you find motivating is just the thing to inspire you back to action when you’re flagging. Give yourself time to meet with your mentor, or to read on a regular basis.

10. Visualize success. Most important, see yourself completing the project in as much detail as you can imagine. A positive visualization of success tells your subconscious that you can succeed. Sometimes that’s all you need to get your energy back.

There are many more things you can try that aren’t on this list. The important thing to remember is that we’re all different. If something motivates you, then use that to keep your project on track. Only you know what you need to succeed, so get out there and do it!

 

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