Archive for Staying motivated
Have you ever got to a point where you thought to yourself that you couldn’t continue? It happens to me more than I would like to admit. I will get overwhelmed with a situation, and then give up or reduce the amount of effort I put forth. We need to learn to breakthrough theses personal walls that separate us from completing what we need to do.
Runners in marathons and long races will visualize walls at certain points in the race, and use them to break up the race. They will concentrate on getting to the next wall, or point, instead of the finish line. Once they get close to a wall, they use all there effort to break through the wall and continue on with the race. This keeps the mind fresh which helps them to stay motivated.
Incorporate this technique into your daily life. If you have a long day ahead of you, break up the day and set up walls that you need to break through. You should set the walls close to the times where your most difficult tasks need to be completed. Focus on breaking through the next wall, not the end of the day. This will keep your mind fresh and keep you focused on the tasks at hand. Once you break through a certain wall, set up a new wall to demolish. Imagine yourself being in a marathon and not a sprint. We don’t want to tire ourselves out within the first couple of hours, so we set up walls and short term completion goals for the day that we need to reach and ultimately pass.
In doing this, you will keep your mind fresh which in return will keep you motivated on breaking through to the next wall.
Remember, don’t picture the finish line, just picture that next wall that you need to knock down…
It only takes one day to get off track from reaching your goals, and once your off track it seems so hard and sometimes impossible to get the train rolling again. Have you ever been on a diet and deviated from it and then just gave up? It has happened to me for sure. I will work so hard to eat the right things, exercise regularly, and have a positive mindset and then I will deviate from the diet and then throw the whole thing out the window. All of that hard-work lost all meaning and now your on the couch eating a pizza to yourself.
We need to know that deviation is o.k. once in a while. It keeps us sane. It is so hard to do the right things but so easy to fall back into old habits. The important part is to gently kick yourself in the rear and get the train rolling again. Stay positive, stay determined, stay motivated.
I am using a “get the train rolling” analogy because staying motivated to accomplish any difficult task is a lot like a rolling train. It starts out slow, warming up and gently moving along the tracks, but once it gets rolling it is a powerful force that demands respect. To accomplish something difficult, start out slow and get the feel for things, and once you get the hang of it you will be rolling in no time. The important part is to stay motivated when faced with adversity or when you deviate.
When I need a kickstart or motivation to get back on the right track, I like to take a step back and look at how fortunate I am. I have a wonderful family and am emersed in a profession I truly love. These things motivate me to be the best person I can be. So remember, if you get off track from reaching your goals, stay motivated and continue the journey.
Next stop, jubilation…
