Do you struggle to find your motivation at times? You have this big goal you want to achieve, but for one reason or another you just can’t seem to get yourself motivated. You’re just struggling to find the motivation you need to take inspired action toward that goal. As a result, you kind of feel as though your life is stagnating. You feel stuck and kind of unable to move forward. Inside though you feel very restless. You know you have the ability to achieve this goal, but at the moment you’re just unable to move forward. What to do? Well there are actually six ways to get motivated that might just help you get unstuck and achieve your goal.
1) FIND EMPOWERING REASONS
You will never truly get motivated without a compelling reason that drives you forward. In other words, you must know precisely why you are wanting to accomplish your goal. However, this isn’t just about knowing why you want something, it’s rather about understanding the true value of pursuing that goal and how it can subsequently help improve your life and circumstances. With this in mind, list down all the benefits of achieving your goal. Furthermore, as you work through key tasks and activities, list down why taking these specific actions is important, and how these actions can potentially help you achieve your goal.
2) BUILD AN INSPIRING WORKSPACE
It’s difficult to get motivated while working within an uninspiring environment. A workspace that is cluttered, messy, and unpleasant, will make you feel uncomfortable, and may even distract you from your main objective. For this very reason it’s important to carefully craft an inspiring workspace that will keep you energized, focused and motivated. With this in mind, build a workspace that is distraction free, practical, organized, uncluttered, clean and inspiring. Make sure that it has all the tools you need to help you stay productive and focused throughout the day.
3) DEVELOP A REWARD SYSTEM
It’s difficult to find motivation when there are no rewards on the horizon. Rewards can be used to fuel our motivation over an extended period of time. This is especially of value while pursuing long-term goals. Pursuing these goals can of course be quite challenging. It’s challenging because these goals are often made up of many different components that need to fit together to bring your goal to life. Managing all these parts takes a significant amount of effort — requiring short bursts of motivation. With this in mind, it can be helpful to turn long-term goals into short-term milestones that are built upon a hierarchy of rewards.
4) CREATE A MORNING ROUTINE
How you begin your day sets the scene for what’s to come. If you begin your day in an inspiring way, then this makes it easier to find the motivation you need to stay productive and focused. If on the other hand you start your day in an uninspiring and hectic way, then you’re likely to get lost in a sea of distractions. High achievers often have a very specific morning routine that helps them get their day started on the right track. This morning routine often involves a combination of reading, meditation, goal setting, exercise and journaling. What kind of morning routine could you create that would help you stay focused and inspired?
5) HIRE A MOTIVATION BUDDY
One of the most effective ways to get motivated comes in the form of accountability. When we feel accountable for our actions, we naturally feel more motivated and inclined to follow through with the promises we make. Personal accountability is of course fantastic, however it’s not as powerful as the accountability that comes along with a motivation buddy. A motivation buddy is a friend, colleague, mentor or coach who regularly holds you accountable for your actions. You inform them of the steps you will take toward accomplishing your goal, they then hold you accountable for following through with your promises.
6) DESIGN A VISION POSTER
Motivation comes to us in many different ways. Some people will for instance hear something that inspires them. Others might read something, or may even get a feeling from doing something that instantly motivates them to take proactive action. We all of course have our own personal triggers for finding motivation. One trigger in particular that’s common for most people comes in the form of a vision poster. This is very much a collage of inspiring words, doodles, photos and quotes designed to keep you focused on your goals. Take some time to create a memorable vision poster, then use it as a source of daily inspiration.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
To get motivated may initially take a little thought, however once you understand your triggers for motivation, it’s not so difficult at all to find the motivation you need to pursue your goals. In fact, combining multiple motivation triggers can become a great source of inspiration that will help you build the momentum you need to to achieve your goals. It of course might take a little experimentation at first.
At times you will find motivation one way, while at other times you will find it another way. In fact, you may need to change and adjust your approach depending on your circumstances. What worked in the past may very well not work in the present moment, or in this particular situation.
To get motivated over the long-run takes ongoing effort and adaptation. Just as we need to eat food to keep ourselves fueled and energized throughout the day, we also need a source of daily motivation to drive us forward toward the accomplishment of our goals and objectives.
Imagine for a moment you could develop new habits and methods of thinking where you naturally and effortlessly adopt these ideas into your life. How would that make you feel? Would you feel more fulfilled, empowered and in control?
Yes, there is such simplicity within this IQ Doodle, but of course there is a reason for that. Making positive change doesn’t need to be a complicated process. It just needs to be a consistent process where we progressively develop new habits-of-mind through repeated exposure and implementation. And that’s what these IQ Doodles are for.
We have prepared for you an IQ Doodle pack that includes several variations of this IQ Doodle that you can use for guidance and inspiration throughout the day. Use it consistently and you will begin making positive changes in the way you live, work and interact with others.
Visit the IQ Doodle Store to learn more about how to use this IQ Doodle and begin optimizing the way you live your life today.
Learn More About this Topic
Want to know more about this topic? Here are some helpful links to articles that you may find of value:
- 70+ Ideas for Developing Unstoppable Motivation in Pursuit of Your Goals @ IQ Matrix
- The Science Behind Motivation @ Forbes
- The Science Behind Why You Don’t Feel Motivated @ Success
- The Three Critical Elements that Sustain Motivation @ Scientific America
- Will we Succeed? The Science Behind Motivation @ Science Daily
Hi Adam
Interesting suggestions here.
I’ve been blogging for a number of years now and sometimes it is difficult to stay motivated.
I think for most people, keep repeating the same thing is a problem.
But one thing that keeps me going is, I set goals for myself each week and try to improve. It keeps me going even after a major failure.
-Donna
That sounds like a fantastic way to stay motivated. Thanks for sharing Donna 🙂
Hi Donna…I would like to blog because that will be a great way for me to get thoughts out of my head and put them to good use to help others. So many thoughts always in this noggin. (Smile) So do you find creative ways to stay motivated to break up the monotony of blogging? Do you make an adventure out of it? Try visioning the people you are speaking to and imagine them smiling, laughing and really getting into what you write. What is your ultimate goal? Imagine changing lives and what your blog is going to do if your readers apply what you write. I have searched things on blogging and I found this article (among many) that you can use as a reminder. On Hostgator – No Motivation to Blog? These 4 Habits Will Keep You On Track. I will read your blog. Where do I find you? Good luck and I wish you the best.
So there is an ebb and flow, ups-and-downs, to motivation sometimes because many people experience mental focus issues (ADD/ADHD, health issues,etc.), anxiety/depression, trauma, and other things. Are there any mind maps or doodles that incorporate these types of things? It would be awesome to have a resource to step us through motivation while dealing with what our brain is actually doing just to function. Thanks for all you are doing Adam. This site and your IQ Matrix site are phenomenal. I am glad that I found them.
Hi Jeanene, thanks for your comment. Yes, I do agree with the points you made. It’s not so much a lack of motivation, but other factors that come into play that disrupt our motivation. I don’t have specific maps or IQ Doodles that cover this aspect of motivation. I am coincidentally creating a new IQ Matrix right now that walks through how to sustain motivation over the long-term, which might be a good fit for what you have in mind. Although this map won’t officially be released until next year (I stagger the release dates of the maps I create). Happy to hear that you are finding the content of value 🙂
— Adam