Momentum and Motivation: 6 Ways To Give You That Edge
Have you ever heard of the adage, “slow and steady wins the race”? In many situations, this approach is sometimes true. The tortoise in the story of the tortoise and the hare won the race not because he was the smartest, fastest, or even wittiest. Rather, he won the race because he was so focused on the end result: crossing the goal line. Like the tortoise, you too have the ability to with the race. Here are some strategies you can use to give you that edge, to stay laser-focused, and stay motivated so that you can achieve your goals.
Many of us struggle to keep up the momentum and motivation during our own quest to achieve a goal. Just know that you are not alone and that this is more common than you realize. Even though plateaus, setbacks, and relapses are completely normal when it comes to life-changing goals, there are many things that you can do to keep the fire inside during the journey.
Try these strategies to maintain your momentum and motivation:
Take action daily. This is the single best step you can take in order to further your momentum. Taking action ensures that you’re making progress, no matter how small. So do your best to keep moving. Even if you don’t know exactly what action you’ll be taking, just do something that will help to further yourself.
For example, if you want to lose weight, commit to eating healthy and allow yourself a cheat day. If you want to grow your business, review business growth materials.
2. Find motivational nuggets. Take a few minutes each day to read something positive and inspiring, whether it’s motivational quotes or affirmations to keep your confidence going.
Motivational quotes that inspire you can help transcend your mindset away from the daily grind and onto things that are bigger than yourself! Feed your mind words that are encouraging, optimistic, and loving.
3. Check your progress. If you’re feeling stuck or like you’re not moving forward, review the goal that you’re trying to accomplish. One of the best ways to hold yourself accountable is to write down your goals and check in on your progress each day.
Think positively about how close you are to the goalpost, and that each day brings you closer and closer to reaching your goal rather than focusing on how far you are from it.
4. Talk to someone. One of the best ways to stay motivated is to find another person who has already achieved goals similar to the ones that you’re working on.
If your goal is to get physically fit, for example, find a bodybuilder, runner, athlete, or other like-minded individual whose been in your shoes. Talk to them about the struggles and challenges you are facing. Ask them questions if you’re unsure about how to approach a workout or routine. Remember they’ve been in your shoes, so they’ll be able to give you some great insight into what you can do to overcome the issues you face.
Extract all the wisdom, advice and helpful tidbits that you can from their story.
5. Plan your week. Sometimes the most critical step you can take to ensure you succeed is creating a plan. Make a plan and schedule time to work on things related to your goals. We use schedules for everything else in our lives, so there’s no reason that time devoted to working on personal goals cannot be included as well.
6. Reward yourself. Small rewards have been shown to motivate everyone from kids to older adults. Rewards act as a positive reinforcement, and even affirmation of a job well done.
Goals that can take more than a few months to achieve may require some incentivization from time to time. If you don’t set realistic and achievable milestones along the way, you may start to feel that your goal is unachievable. So be sure to reward yourself when you reach those milestones. Getting rewarded not only helps you feel accomplished, but it also serves as a good indicator that you are one step closer to reaching your goal.
These are just a few of the things that you can do on a regular basis to keep motivation and ensure that we’re continually making progress.
The key word is “progress.” If we’re taking some action or doing even just one thing on a daily basis that furthers us along in our goals, we’ll feel better about ourselves and be able to keep that momentum.
Another thing that you can do on a regular basis to keep the momentum and motivation alive is to write in a journal. Journaling is a great way to identify areas that you struggle with as well as areas that you excel in. You can identify positive patterns and destructive patterns. Be sure to apply your learnings to the various situations you will encounter in your journey. Listen to inspiring talks. I don’t know about you but when I hear a wonderful motivational speaker, I walk away from the talk feeling like I can do anything! Join a support group related to your goals. Having a support group that you can turn to when things are rough can certainly help you get back on track. Spend a few minutes in quiet meditation on our life’s purpose, or even posting daily reminders. Reflecting on why you are pursuing this goal can sometimes give you that motivation you need to move forward.
The more alive that we can make our goals, the more inspired and motivated we will be to take action and achieve them.
