Every day I talk to people who are stuck in a rut. They’re in a job with no future or in a job they hate. They’ve been running their own business for years and they still aren’t making any money. Many of the people I talk to are broke, bored, or burned out. They want to make a change but change is hard, and it’s even harder to motivate yourself to make a change.
Even I’m not above feeling unmotived. I’ve been working hard all day and the last thing I wanted to do was sit down and write. I thought about skipping my blog post this week- who would notice? Who would care? What’s the harm?
Well, I suppose there’s no real harm in skipping a blog post this week. I don’t feel like doing yoga this evening- maybe I’ll skip that, too.
The truth is complacency does hurt- it’s how we get stuck. Sure, getting stuck doesn’t hurt so much at first, but years of feeling the pain of a mediocre life hurts us in the long run. Confidence wanes, mild depression sets in, and we suffer from unfulfilled potential. You want to get out of that job, you want to make money, you want to live a great life! Right?
If you want to stop living paycheck-to-paycheck, you’ve got to do something different. If you want to feel challenged by your work, you have to do something different. If you want to be happy, you have to do something different.
The problem with doing something different is it’s hard work. You’ve got goals and dreams but it’s difficult to stay on track. You’ve got to motivate yourself to change your habits every day. Of course that’s assuming you know the right steps to take, and if you don’t, you may want to hire a career coach to help you lay out your next steps! But for the sake of this post, let’s assume you do know what steps to take, and what you really need is motivation. How do you get it? Let me tell you how!
How to motivate yourself
Know why
What are you working toward? Why is it important to you? Knowing your why can motivate you when you don’t feel like taking action.
Make a commitment
Achieving a goal means getting results results, whereas commitments are promises of action. Focus on commitments instead of goals. What actions will move you closer to your goal?
Schedule it
Block out time in your calendar to meet your commitments. It’s easier to follow through on plans than hopes and dreams.
Share it
Sharing your goals and commitments with others will motivate you to follow through. Tell your family and friends what you’re trying to accomplish and why. Chances are they’ll cheer you on because they want to see you succeed.
Be accountable
Find an accountability partner, mentor, or coach to help you stay accountable. You’ll accomplish more when you have to answer to someone other than yourself.
Celebrate
Celebrate your progress. Give yourself a reward for every step forward. Keep up the good work!
Do you feel more motivated? I managed to motivate myself to write a post I didn’t want to write so I guess it works! May it work just as well for you!
