“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going” – Jim Rohn
Okay, you believe that the positive living approach is definitely the way to go. You’re meeting and greeting the world with a whole new positive attitude and your life is starting to show the signs already. People are actually being influenced by your new attitude and are responding in kind. Being positive really works!
Then something happens. You receive some not so pleasant news and you’re right back where you started! What happened to your determination? How could this happen? What can be done on a regular basis to keep you motivated?
You need to have a personal motivation plan in place. And motivation is, as the word itself suggests, a motive for action.
Here are a few suggestions to help you get started.
1 Apply Motivation Everyday.
Is it possible to be positive and optimistic all the time? The answer is “No”! It is true that motivation doesn’t last but if you work at it, keeping yourself on track, you will have many more up days than down. If we want to stay motivated continuously, we will have to apply motivational “food” to ourselves everyday. As we need daily food for physical energy, we need daily motivational “food” for mental energy.
2 Build A Motivational Base
Read or listen to motivational material daily. Go to the nearest library or bookstore and find yourself some inspirational material. A well-written book that offers sound advice is more motivating than reading about the latest most horrific stories or market declines. Alternatively, forget reading if you have no time. Use audio. Audio is really great to listen to because you can also be doing something else while you are listening to it. Just spend half hour everyday listening to motivational tapes or CD’s in your car or while working out at the gym.
3. Have A Healthy Lifestyle
Exercise regularly. It helps your body to work more effectively and efficiently. You will enjoy life more. When the body moves, the mind moves even more. An active body promotes an even more active mind. The mind gets organized whether you want to or not. We may be thinking about work while we exercise but we develop more creative solutions. So, set aside a little time every week for exercise. You’ll be more productive when you return to your work.
4. Do Enjoyable Activities
Find some activities that give you real pleasure, things that excite you and allow your talents to shine. This makes you feel good about yourself and promotes positive emotions. When you enjoy what you do, you tend to excel and succeed easily. And with each success, your self-esteem grows and motivates you to greater heights. You will enjoy even more of that particular activity. Suddenly, you feel that success comes naturally.
5. Remind Yourself Of Your Goals
We should have clearly stated goals and action plans with deadlines written on paper. Take the necessary steps to achieve your goals. Remind yourself constantly of these goals. Develop a strong desire to attain those goals. Our subconscious mind will steer our daily activities and action towards attaining these goals. If you know what you want and want it strongly enough, then you will surely get it. Strangely what we do today has everything to do with where we’ll be in 6 months.
In order to get ahead, you must always be motivated. All the motivation in this world will not do anything for you unless you ACT NOW. Apply these steps and believe that these are practical and effective guidelines. The results will surprise you.
Along the way, count your blessings at every opportunity and be Grateful.
