Powerful Ways to Increase Self-Motivation
Some days we wake up ready to take on the world. Other days we wake up and hit the snooze five times. Then, we show up to work late because we stopped for a coffee that really isn’t helping. The main difference here is the motivation level. The good news is that we can practice ways to boost this mysterious energy.
Here are five ways to boost your motivation when you feel it slipping.
Take Care of Yourself
If you don’t sleep enough, eat right, or drink enough water your energy levels and motivation plummet. It’s a fact. These things may not seem enticing at first, but once you work them into your daily routine you will see the benefits quickly. That’s the key, though, to create a routine that works for you. The hardest part of a good routine is starting the habit. You will have to find healthy food you enjoy, train yourself to go to bed on time, and maybe keep track of how much water you drink. You have to stay on it relentlessly for at least a couple of weeks, but once you do that it’ll start coming naturally. You’ll find you want another glass of water when you need one. You’ll start to find you don’t care so much about greasy foods anymore. They might even start to make you sick!
Visualize Your Goals
Goals are a powerful motivator. We often lose our motivation when we forget them. People without goals often feel lost and depressed. Unfortunately, goals often seem far off. When we visualize goals, however, it makes them seem closer. So, close your eyes and visualize that car, or yourself in that new job, or that house. If your goal is a physical item, go and drive by the car dealership or that house you want every now and then. Keep your eyes on the prize and you’ll find yourself doing what you need to get it.
Talk Yourself into It
According to Forbs.com, the first step to learning optimism is to acknowledge the moments when you’re being pessimistic. Once they have been acknowledged, you have the power to debate pessimism away. Optimism can be learned, and you can be your own teacher. So, when negative, defeating thoughts come up, talk yourself out of them! Be kind to yourself and do not use degrading language. Talk yourself into doing what you need to do by reminding yourself of your goals and telling yourself you can achieve them. If self-talk is not a strength of yours, cultivating relationships with people who encourage you is also very helpful. If nothing else works, bribe yourself with a reward when you finally get that thing done.
Face Your Fears
Ignoring your fears is a great way to let them rule you. Your struggle with motivation might actually be a fear of failing or even a fear of success. Facing your fears, a little at a time gets you more and more comfortable with them. The more comfortable you get with fear, the more manageable it will become. It will lose its power to sap your motivation, but it may not ever go completely away. However, you will always know how to handle your fears if you keep facing them.
Develop a Mantra
Mantras are not just for monks. Repeating a positive phrase will help you to believe it more. Saying something like “I’ve got this.” or “I won’t lose.” will make you start to believe it. Praying also works in this same way, if you are of more religious persuasion. Any time spent meditating on what you want to get or where you want to be will get you closer to those goals.
