Blog
25
11
2018

Top 5 Ways To Stay Motivated

Highly successful people usually have a lot of ambition, intellectual curiosity, and personal motivation.

Being motivated is particularly valuable as it helps them work hard, remain dedicated to achieving their long term goals and to make significant improvements in their lives.

But how do they obtain such high motivation levels?

You will be happy to discover that most successful people have high motivation levels because of their lifestyle, mindset, and habits — all of which are learnable.

To help you get improve your motivation, this article will share the 5 best techniques that successful people use to stay motivated.

Define and track your goals

It is very difficult to stay motivated unless you are working towards a goal of some sort.

Goal setting gives you direction and help you feel like you are achieving something worthwhile.

You will also see a massive boost to your motivation levels as you achieve each goal.

However, it is important to set “SMART” goals, which are:

Specific

All of the goals that you set should be highly specific.

For example, instead of having a generalised goal like “Get fit”, your goal should be “Go for a 25 minute bike ride five days a week”.

It is much easier to tackle specific goals, which makes staying motivated easier.

Measurable

A goal like “Go for a 25 minute bike ride five days a week” is simple to track.

You can write down how many times a week you went for a ride.

You could also track how long each ride was or how fast you went.

Agreed upon

If there are other stakeholders involved, do they agree upon the goal?

If you have a busy family life and your partner is over-worked, can you go a 25 minute bike ride five days a week without putting too much strain on them?

Realistic

Can the goal be achieved given the availability of your time, resources, and knowledge?

Time-based

Smart goals will also have a time component.

Instead of saying “Increase my business’ profits by 25%” a SMART goal will be “Increase my business’ profits by 25% by June”.

It’s also important to have both large long-term goals and short-term goals.

If your long-term goal is losing 30 kilograms by August, you should formulate a series of short term goals from that larger goal, including:

  • Adhere to a diet proposed by a dietician for the next year
  • Ride my bike for 25 minutes per day, 5 days a week
  • Go to bed by 10:30pm every week night and get up at 7am
  • Have at least 2 weight training sessions each week

Document your progress towards reaching each goal to create a positive feedback loop and increase your motivation levels.

Improve your physical and mental health

Researchers have discovered that motivation levels are closely tied to physical and mental health.

Simply put, the healthier you are, the higher your motivation levels will be.

Some of the best technique you can use to improve your physical and mental health include:

Exercise regularly

Regular exercise will boost your motivation by increasing your energy levels, alertness, and general mood.

You will feel more engaged and ready to get the job done — whatever that job may be.

Exercise works by causing the release of endorphins.

They are natural analgesics that give you a positive feeling.

When under the influence of endorphins, you will be feeling great and experiencing much more motivation.

Improve the quality of your sleep

Failing to get enough quality sleep will negatively impact your motivation levels in a number of ways.

You find it much more difficult to concentrate, your mood will be negatively impacted, you won’t be able to retain new information as easily, and you will find decision making more difficult.

By getting at least 8 hours of sleep per night, you will be more capable and receive a boost to your motivation levels.

Drink more water

Studies have shown that dehydration can lead to a loss of focus, creativity, and energy.

Try to drink at least at least 2 litres of water per day — more if you are living in a hot climate or working outdoors.

Eat a healthy diet and don’t skip meals

A healthy diet that contains plenty of fruits and vegetables will give you the sustenance you require for energy and good health.

When you eat well, you will find that your motivation levels are much higher and you have the energy required to get things done.

Use sources of inspiration to stay motivated

One of the most effective ways to stay motivated is to look for sources of inspiration that remind yourself of the bigger picture — the reasons why you have set such ambitious goals.

The best sources of inspiration for increasing your motivation levels include:

Inspirational people

Surrounding yourself with people who are positive, intelligent, and ambitious will provide you with a huge amount of inspiration and motivation.

Inspirational books

There are hundreds of inspiring books that are very motivational.

Check out books by authors like Robin Sharma, Tony Robbins, Jen Sincero, Charles Duhigg, and Tim Ferriss.

Inspirational movies

A great movie can completely lift your mood and provide you with plenty of inspiration.

Inspirational music

Want a quick burst of motivation?

Try listening to Richard Wagner’s Ride Of The Valkyries at a loud volume.

You will be pumped full of energy and ready to get things done.

Use music that you personally find uplifting to give you motivation throughout the day.

Reward yourself

Attaching rewards to your goals is a simple technique that has been proven to increase motivation levels.

You can attach rewards to long term goals like “I’ll buy a new car if I can save £10,000 this year” or short term goals “I’ll have a beer if I mow the yard and clean the kitchen this afternoon”.

The feeling of satisfaction that will achieve while enjoying your reward is highly motivational.

Meditate

Meditation can improve motivation in several ways:

Meditation improves focus

Most forms of meditation involves placing your focus on a single bodily sensation or thought.

This improves ability to focus on single tasks for longer periods and helps you remain motivated while performing them.

Meditation makes it easier to relax

Meditation is a relaxing activity that can be used to restore your energy levels.

Having additional energy will help you remain motivated throughout the day.

Meditation calms your emotions

Many people find staying motivated difficult because they experience negative emotions leading to anxiety or stress.

Meditation can help you process these emotions, which can also improve your motivation levels.

Meditation improves brain health

Researchers have discovered that meditation can improve the health of your brain’s frontal lobe.

This section of the brain is responsible for decision making and is important for maintaining motivation.

Thanks for reading Top 5 Ways To Stay Motivated.

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author: Stephen Coleclough

Stephen Coleclough is a leading international and domestic tax consultant who specialises in solving complex problems. As well as advising on tax matters, Stephen also enjoys exploring topics relating to physical and mental wellbeing. You can follow him on Twitter at SColeclough.

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