Motivation; actors are constantly asking what theirs is, musicians have used it as the title to songs and albums. It is the burning question behind any goal, project, or endeavor.
What motivates you? What is my motivation? The quote above reminds me of a very important fact. Often, when you start a new project, whether it is personal or professional, the motivation is flowing over. It’s new, it’s exciting, and you have so many ideas. Eventually, however, that overflowing motivation begins to wane; as time passes, obstacles present themselves, excitement dwindles, competing priorities pop up, generally, the going gets tougher. At this point, it is very easy to let your goals fall to the wayside, to allow your focus to become clouded. Suddenly, you have absolutely no motivation to do the thing you were so excited about just weeks before. How do you combat this? What must you do to get back into the saddle? Treat it like bathing, that’s what!
There is nothing quite like that fresh out the shower feeling. You are rejuvenated, skin tingling in its dewy freshness, clothes feel even softer on your skin. But, invariably, that feeling goes away. So we do it again the next day. Why not take the same approach to motivating yourself? Why not find ways to motivate yourself every single day? I challenge you to take the 60-day Motivation Challenge. Here’s what you have to do.
Step 1: The What
Identify your goal. Is it to start a new business venture, create a blog, lose ten pounds, find a new job? Whatever it is, identify it and write it down. Then put it somewhere that you will see it every day.
Step 2: The Why
Identify why you want to obtain the goal you have set. We are more easily knocked off course when we forget what inspired us to set the goal in the first place. Do you want to achieve financial freedom? Do you want to make the world a better place? Do you want to fit into those pants you bought 2 years ago? Whatever the reason is for setting the goal in the first place, identify it, write it down, and post it next to the place you posted your goal.
Step 3: The How
Identify what works for you. How are you motivated? Is it by seeing awesome quotes like the one in this article? Is it by being reminded every morning as soon as you wake up? Are you visual? Whether you choose to set a daily alarm on your phone that tells you to keep up the good work, to find inspirational quotes online, or to write yourself sticky notes about how awesome you are and post them around your workspace, pick something and do it every day for 60 days.
By making motivation a self-started and daily activity, it will become a part of your routine. Once this has happened, it will be much easier to find motivation from within and you will be able to continue along your path to success with less chance of falling off track. And everyone likes a challenge, right?
