How to Stay Motivated: 12 Strategies

“How do I stay motivated?” or “Why am I not motivated to do this?” As a career counselor and professor, I may not hear these exact questions from students, but they are definitely in their eyes. It’s also there in the excuses they give me as to why they won’t make a decision. We have all experienced that up and down cycle of motivation. Sometimes we are high on that Ferris wheel, and other times waiting in line to get on or heading back down. What we have to remember is that it is a cycle.  It’s also much easier to see the bigger picture when we are at “the top” than when we are at the bottom. While we are hanging out at the bottom though, we have to remember as long as we keep moving we will make it back to the top. Change or creating new habits is never easy and whether it is wanting to exercise more, eat healthier, read more, or meditate many of us wonder why we can’t harness the motivation to make these changes.  Below I compiled a list of strategies to stay motivated and also motivation barriers that we should be aware of.

I was inspired to write this particular article not only because of my students but also because of my struggles with staying motivated to achieve my goals or just be a better me. We all struggle with motivation at one time or another. Even those we consider successful have had their moments where they have lost their momentum, we just only see what they choose to show us.

WHAT IS MOTIVATION AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

How do you define motivation? Maybe it’s the reason or reasons you have for acting or behaving in a certain way or maybe you define it as the general desire or willingness to do something.  Why is it important? I also look to you for the answer to this question. We will all answer this differently. For me, motivation is important because I believe it leads me to accomplish goals, to grow to be a better human, to challenge myself at work, or just to wake up and take on the day. Most of us whether we realize it or not, are using motivation to do many things in our lives. Someone who keeps a clean house, may be motivated by the calmness of having their home in order or even to have a sense of control in an uncontrollable world. Yet another person who sticks to a workout routine may be motivated by the desire to be healthy, to live a long life, or just to have more energy and clarity of mind.

As you continue to read, I want you to be thinking about where you struggle with motivation in your life and where you don’t and ask yourself why? What makes you get certain things accomplished regularly and other things get pushed aside? It’s helpful to understand ourselves this way to move forward and wrangle what exactly stops us from accomplishing what we want to do.

SO, WHAT IS YOUR WHY?

Before we get into the strategies for staying motivated, you must figure out your WHY for doing what you’re doing. This WHY could also be thought of as tying your motivation to your heart. Is this goal or habit something that truly matters to you? When we truly care about something and have a powerful WHY behind it, we tend to be more likely to succeed.

Think of a time you felt motivated or compelled to take action. What was it and why was it important to you? What was the environment surrounding you? Think about other non-negotiable factors in your life when failure was not an option. What made those goals or achievements so compelling? What motivated you to keep going? Lately, I’ve been telling myself that exercise is non-negotiable. Just saying that often puts me in a better more determined mindset and also just helps me accept it as part of my day.  But that may not work for you and that’s ok! This article has oodles of strategies so find one (or more) that fits!

12 STRATEGIES TO INCREASE MOTIVATION

1. SET GOALS

While it’s important to have goals, many of us set obscure ones or only long-range goals.  Maybe you would be more successful adding in daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly ones! Try utilizing the SMART goals acronym to understand your goals, why they are important, and how to tie them to your heart and your why.

2. ESTABLISH REWARDS FOR PROGRESS

Confession. I have issues waiting for rewards. For example, this week I told myself not to watch tv and to work on other stuff (this blog) and “reward” myself later in the week by watching the season finale of a show. Well, that didn’t work. I found myself rebelling and watching the show on Tuesday. It’s a trial and error process! Or a game if you will.  But, every Friday I do reward myself with working on my planner after my workout and cleaning the house is done.

Be mindful of your rewards as well. If you are trying to eat healthier, rewarding yourself with a brownie at the end of the week is not the best reward. There are many types of rewards such as entertainment, rewards that are free, spending time with others, self-care, shopping, travel, etc.

3. DON’T GIVE UP

Acknowledge that failure may (oh it will!) be part of the process. If the accomplishment is too easy you aren’t challenging yourself to grow so it should be slightly difficult. This will inevitably cause a few road bumps and possible stalling. Just remember your why and try visualizing 5 years from now what life would be like if you stopped your mission versus if you continued and accomplished it. Which life do you want? Why did you start? Keep these reasons posted in your home or even on your phone. Also, don’t forget Newton’s Law of Motion applied to habit formation. Once a task gets started, it is easier to complete as long as we keep moving. Falling off the wagon will happen, but remember the longer you take to jump back on and forgive yourself the harder it will be to continue.

4. POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING

People can argue anything and switch sides if needed to argue the opposite perspective. That’s the power of the mind when you set it to something that’s what will happen. If you say you can’t well, you probably won’t. So pay attention to what you are thinking about your capabilities and the task at hand.

5. TELL OTHERS

Here is another one that may or may not work for you. Research, however, shows that sharing your goals may not only make you more accountable, but it also cultivates social connection. Those who publicly declare their intentions are 4 times more likely to complete their tasks than those that keep their tasks private. Try it out! Again, life should be thought of as an experiment, if something doesn’t stick or work for you, you have the power to try it another way!

6. START SAYING “NO”

Yup. I went there. Society likes to promote the facade that you can and should do it all. Between the outward persona we show at work, with our families, and definitely on social media, the truth is rarely revealed. What is this truth? Something or someone always suffers. It should stop being you and the goals that will enrich your life and make you a better you. Who else will advocate for you and have your back but yourself? Saying ‘no’ will allow you more time to do what’s important to grow you forward.

Some helpful tips for saying no:

• Keep your response simple, be firm, and direct. Be strong in body language as well and don’t over-apologize, remember you don’t need permission from anyone to say no.
• Consider a compromise. But only if you truly want to agree to the request. Don’t compromise if you need to say no. (Go reread above tip!)
• Separate refusal from rejection. Remember, you are turning down a request NOT a person.
• Be true to yourself. Be clear and honest with yourself about what you truly want. Learning to say no earns you respect not just from others but from yourself.

7. CULTIVATE DISCIPLINE

Ah yes. This one is fun. That’s partial sarcasm because it’s also probably one of the most difficult things we struggle with am I right? As mentioned above, motivation is cultivated. It is not something we should be waiting for. For example, “I hope I’m motivated to work out tomorrow. . .” is not setting yourself up to work out. But scheduling a non-negotiable time will help with that. Put it in those planners!

Here are are some other ways to cultivate self-discipline:

• Remove Temptations! This works for me! Removing the things that will be distracting is often very helpful.
• Eat regularly and healthily and stay hydrated! I know, I know, we’ve heard this all before and it’s nothing new. But did you know that low blood sugar will weaken your resolve and  change your mood? And did you know that being dehydrated just 1% begins to damage your DNA? Ever feel foggy-headed, crabby, headachy, or just low energy and not really know why? It may be dehydration. Make sure you are drinking half (yes, half!) of your body weight in ounces a day! It sounds like a lot but try it for a day or a week and see how you feel! In fact, go ahead, go get some water I will wait. Want to make water tastier? Try these infusion recipes!
• Don’t wait for it to “feel right”. Changing a habit or starting something new does something to your brain. The brain doesn’t enjoy change and wants to keep us comfortable. Decision making and habits are actually in different parts of the brain. Decision making takes more effort and habits (that are already formed) not so much. Remember, action creates motivation and change. Start doing something for as little as 5 minutes and then see if you still want to stop or give up.
• Schedule breaks/treats/rewards and avoid burnout. Forgive yourself for setbacks, don’t dwell or complain just move forward.

Understand that self-discipline is a LEARNED BEHAVIOR. It takes practice and repetition.

8. CREATE A VISION BOARD

A vision board is a gathering of images, words, and/or pictures that represent your dreams and goals of your future life. You can create it on a computer, with magazines, or your own pictures and words. Visualization is powerful because of what it does to the brain. Athletes will often run through movements and techniques in their brains before the big competition or game. When we imagine ourselves preparing for something our brain actually runs through the process and prepares our body. Once you create your vision board try to take a few moments a day to review your vision board. In the morning and right before bed may be best! Below is my current vision board.

9. REFLECT

Check-in with yourself during your process and change what is not working. Consider the barriers you are facing and what is currently hindering you and if it’s occurred in the past.

10. GET INSPIRED

What inspires you and makes you feel motivated and happy? Movies, quotes, nature, music, just find what it is and surround yourself with it.

11. ASK A PROFESSIONAL

Sometimes you need a different perspective so reaching out for professional support to overcome physical or mental roadblocks (depression or anxiety are just two examples) and to bolster your efforts, no matter how small they may seem. Some examples may be: career counselors or coaches (of course had to mention those first!), life coaches, mental health professionals, or mentors.

12. PRACTICE SELF-CARE ALWAYS

Self-care is so important and I’ve mentioned it many times before in my blog. But, we often feel like it’s such a luxury and not a way of living life. But if we don’t put that oxygen mask on ourselves before others, we won’t be our best selves to show up for the other parts of our lives and to help those around us.

Self-care is behaviors that we engage in on a regular basis to reduce stress and enhance overall well-being. Self-care prevents burnout, reduces the negative effects of stress and helps you refocus. Some great examples are relaxation, scheduling time for exercise, indulging in an occasional treat, hanging with friends, setting boundaries with family/friends, and possibly journaling. Some not so great examples are: zoning out in front of the TV then going to bed late (how does this truly make you feel?), pushing too hard in any area of life, frequent and mindless snacking on food that make you feel worse, engaging in too many social obligations so that areas of your life are unbalanced, and indulging in retail therapy (Ha! Sorry Amazon. 🙁 )

Think about your morning and evening routines and how they are working to help you feel energized and moving you forward.

BEWARE OF MOTIVATION BARRIERS

These are things you possibly don’t expect are actually slowing you down or preventing you from moving forward.

• Negative People who put you down or rarely have anything to contribute.
• Negative News like TV, Social Media, friends complaining, it will either motivate or drain you so be aware.
• Fear of Failure. You didn’t fail at anything. Use it as an opportunity to fix, reflect, and grow for next time.
• Inaction. Dreams/Goals/Aspirations don’t become reality without action, any action is better than NO ACTION.
• Don’t Overdo It. Being productive is great but remember to take breaks.
• Forget the Past, it’s not here and now so move on. Every day is a new start…really it is.
• Stop living in the future. One thing is for certain about the future, it never turns out as planned.
• Don’t Forget About Yourself. You are the priority. You have a choice to do what you want at any time.

Are You Feeling Motivated?

If you remember anything after all this remember this: Motivation often comes after starting a new behavior and not before.  Scheduling things often helps as well. Many of us sit there and wonder when we will exercise, write, or build a new habit. If it’s not given a time, you will waste brainpower wondering when you will do it, hoping for the motivation that won’t be there. Schedule it in and keep the commitment to yourself. Setting a schedule for yourself seems simple, but it also puts your decision-making on autopilot by giving your goals a time and place to live. It makes it more likely that you will follow through regardless of your motivation levels. Take away the need to wonder and make decisions as much as you can and you will accomplish all that you set your mind to.

Remember to start small and don’t try and accomplish or change too much at once. This can tend to be overwhelming and cause a delay in starting anything.  Take it one week, day, or moment at a time and be mindful of the task you are taking on.

Celebrate you and your accomplishments no matter how small because you moved forward which is enriching your life much more than sitting on the couch Netflix binging ever will.  Still hungry for more? Go check out this motivating speech by Mel Robbins and then let me know what you connected with in this post, what you will try and implement, and/or some tips of your own!