Amanda’s Top 7 Ways to Get and Stay Motivated to Achieve your Goals
by Amanda Russell
If you have a plan you just need to follow it and voila: SUCCESS!... easy right? Not so much, you see EVERYTHING sounds great and achievable in theory, the problem is that it's A LOT harder to actually be disciplined and motivated to stay on track in your everyday life.
So how do you find and keep that motivation?? This is a question I'm frequently asked, and so I sat down and thought long and hard about what I actually do and think about to keep me motivated, and I boiled it down to 7 do-able steps that hopefully work for you as well as they do me :)
1. Think about your Legacy. Sounds awful, right? But think of what you want to achieve before you go down for your rest. On your last day, you want to know you have gone after your passion, your goals, lived to the fullest and put it all out there. Think about how you want to be remembered and the things you want to accomplish and keep on it. So turn off the TV, and get started!
2. Surround yourself with Inspiration. Seek out quotes that move you, that inspire and energize you and write them down or print them out and surround yourself with them. Put the quotes in places you will see them frequently, like your bathroom mirror, gym bag, car, office desk – wherever you will see them and be reminded to focus on your goal with motivation.
3. Balance Your Life. Even if you are motivated to stay focused on a specific goal, you cannot let it consume your life – not only is that not healthy, but it makes you become tunnel-visioned and will likely lead to burn out. Learn to take a break and diversify your life with other projects or hobbies. While it is rewarding to check off tasks or goals, you must embrace the journey and taking a break will more than likely enable you to come back with renewed focus, energy and perspective.
4. Do what you love. I often talk about practicing your passion – this to me is paramount! Why? Because when you do what you love, it becomes less like work and more like a fulfilling life journey. If you aren’t doing what you love, life becomes mundane, even miserable and any obstacles in your way will eventually feel too big and cause you to give up or be less than your best.
5. What are you Waiting For? Time is ticking! Look at the clock, stop making excuses for why you aren’t making it happen NOW. Every minute that passes you are older, and time is escaping you, don’t let it. Go after what you want, and at the end of every day lay down at night knowing that you are that much closer to achieving your dreams.
6. It’s OK to Fall. Whether its an exercise regimen or a new career goal you are working towards, we are only human and it’s OK to fall off track every once in a while! So if you ate a whole pizza last night while on your ‘cleanse’ – don’t beat yourself up infinitely and let it ruin your potential success. Simply acknowledge your slip up, and let it re-motivate you to get back to your plan with renewed focus!
7. Remember why you want to stay motivated. Whenever you have a new goal write it down immediately and make a list about all the reasons you want to achieve it. The beginning is always when you are most motivated (think about your motivation on Jan 2ndto keep that resolution). When your momentum starts to fade or you fall off track, simply go back to that list and remember all the reasons you want to conquer this.
For more daily motivation, follow me on facebook http://www.facebook.com/arussellfit - I want to hear what motivates YOU!
Love,
Amanda