How to Keep Yourself Motivated

Heroes have capes, and we have our motivation. Can you imagine seeing Superman without a cape? Motivation is the main pillar of a happy, successful life. Unfortunately, losing interest often comes and takes down that pillar as if it was made of sand.

You may have asked yourself: “How do I stay motivated?”, but no convincing answer ever came to light. Well, you’ll find your answer here, along with a set of steps to follow if you want to maintain the spark that pushes you to go forward. So, read on to find out how to keep yourself motivated!

Look For a Purpose

One of the most leading reasons for losing motivation is lack of purpose. If you don’t have something to work for, you may feel like your life is pointless–although it isn’t necessarily that. To avoid feeling this way, try to set a goal for yourself.

For example, challenge yourself to own a car by the time you’re 40, learn a new language in just one year, exercise every day for a whole month, or improve your computer skills.

It doesn’t matter how big your goals are; what matters is your success in achieving them. Achieving a goal that you set for yourself will boost your mood and give you enough motivation for another goal. 

Build a Growth Mindset

There are two types of mindsets: fixed mindset and growth mindset. If you aren’t constantly looking for a change or personal development, you might have a fixed mindset. So, it’s time to change!

To keep yourself motivated, it’s essential to look for ways to be better all the time. If you’re always planning to learn a new skill or harness your talents, you’ll have a never-ending flow of motivation.

For ultimate motivation, you must challenge your boundaries and stretch them persistently. As a very wise Disney character once said: “just keep swimming!”

Surround Yourself With Inspiring People 

Do you ever think about how great people became great? For example, Ernest Hemingway certainly didn’t surround himself with dull and unmotivated people. Someone definitely sparked a beam of imagination within his mind and led him to wander toward the unknown. As a result, he led a legendary life, and his books are living proof of that.

What we want to say is, if you want to stay motivated, look for someone who makes you inspired, and sit next to them! Surrounding yourself with successful and inspiring people will do wonders for your motivation and mood.

Firstly, you’ll work harder to keep up with them, and you’ll learn new things as you spend time with the group.

Secondly, if you suddenly lose interest in a project or some crucial step in your life, you’ll have people to vent to, and they may even have ideas to help you. On the contrary, uninspiring people will drive you away from success with their monotonous conversations.

Stop Procrastinating

Procrastination is motivation’s biggest nemesis. When you constantly delay your tasks, you eventually lose interest in performing them altogether. That’s why it’s essential to give yourself a push the minute you start thinking about procrastinating.

While it isn’t easy to stop procrastinating, you can achieve it if you work hard enough. It’d help if you broke down your task into small steps and took them one by one. You can also try switching up your work environment if you feel unmotivated in it.

Moreover, you can try and take advantage of any surge of energy you get to do something new and productive, instead of wasting it complaining about work. Try this, and you’ll feel more motivated for an extended period.

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is heavily concerned with focusing on the present moment instead of the past or the future. You may be asking yourself what that has to do with motivation. Well, constantly thinking about the future and its endless possibilities eventually leads to losing interest in what you’re doing now. 

For example, if all you think about is ticking a task off your to-do list, you’re going to miss any chance at enjoying it. Accordingly, you’ll always wait for the finish line without accounting for how you got there.

However, if you focus on what you’re doing now and give it your all, you’re going to stay motivated for a long time. The idea revolves around associating the feeling of reward with the journey, not the end of the task.

Imagine a road trip. Do you really care where you’re going? No, as long as you’re having fun on the road. The same goes for your goals.

Reward Yourself

You must build a successful reward system for yourself. Even if the entity you work in doesn’t do rewards, you do it. Humans, in general, need a finish line to start the race. We crave a sense of certainty to compensate for all the other uncertainties in life. That’s why a guaranteed prize at the end of any task will get us moving faster than ever.

You don’t have to reward yourself only in your career. Many accomplishments in your personal life deserve rewards. Examples are losing weight, decluttering, and maintaining a healthy diet for more than a meal!

Doing this will give you that boost of motivation you’re in dire need of. Also, it’ll keep you waiting for something, which is an excellent fuel for successful journeys.

Break Down Your Goal Into Smaller Tasks

Having a big goal to achieve in your career or personal life may overwhelm you and send you down a self-deprecating spiral. So, you’ll lose interest and motivation before you even start. 

Accordingly, don’t deal with your goal in bulk because you’ll feel like it’s too difficult and won’t work as hard as you should. To make it less intimidating, try to break it down into smaller tasks. 

Alternatively, if you separate it into tasks and work on them one by one with breaks in between, you’ll feel more refreshed and rewarded by the end. Your motivation will be renewed after each step, urging you to go on. It’ll also be ideal if you reward yourself after each milestone. You’ll be less likely to lose interest in the middle of an important project.

Appreciate the Magic of Deadlines 

There is a worldwide agitation associated with the word deadline. It gives us the sense that we aren’t in control of our own time. And because of this way of thinking, we miss out on its benefits.

As a rule of thumb, if you aren’t committed to a deadline, you’ll procrastinate till infinity and beyond. That’s why setting a deadline for yourself is crucial. Deadlines will keep you motivated, and you won’t even have time to lose interest.

Additionally, you’ll feel proud of yourself for reaching your goal within the set time. This will give you a rush of motivation that’ll get you through your next deadline.

Stay Optimistic

Optimism is as essential to humans as fuel is to cars. It allows us to visualise a brighter future, so we work harder to reach it. Not to mention, being optimistic benefits our mental health and makes us more productive.

Otherwise, viewing life through a pessimistic scope robs us of our motivation. This mindset eventually leads to unproductivity and disappointment. Logically, if you think your project will fail, you won’t give it all you’ve got. That’s why you need to work on changing the way you think and adopt a more optimistic view of life.

Talk to a Professional

If you try all of the above steps and still can’t manage to find your motivation, it may be time to consult a professional. While you may think that’s unnecessary, your demotivation may result from an underlying issue that you’re unaware of.

Talking to a psychiatrist about your feelings will get you on the right track. They won’t necessarily give you a magic pill to solve all of your problems, but they’ll guide you towards positive thinking. So, you’ll feel more confident in yourself, and you’ll find your motivation.

Not to mention, if you have a psychological condition that’s obstructing your view of life, such as depression or anxiety, they’ll start a treatment plan and help get you on the right track.

Conclusion

Losing motivation is an issue that nearly every person faces. But, unfortunately, it robs us of many enjoyable moments that’d otherwise feel rewarding if not for the demotivating dementor. Nonetheless, don’t lose hope because we have the advice to get you going again. 

Firstly, always try to have a goal, and don’t restrict yourself to the boundaries of a fixed mindset. Just let your thoughts run wild, and, as you grow old enough, you’ll see their transformation into achievements.

Secondly, avoid procrastination and pessimism at all costs. They bring about demotivation and unproductivity and turn you into a shell of a person. Ultimately, we hope you have more insight now into how to keep yourself motivated!