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The beginning of a new year always brings new goals and aspirations. Unfortunately, shortly after the start of the new year, you may need help to get motivated.
You are not alone. I’ve fallen off of my program of trying to get fit for the year because of a lack of motivation.
I’m total with you. If you’re feeling like you’re losing motivation or could use a little bit more motivation, check out these tips.
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Set goals to get motivated
So, first things first. Start with setting goals.
Take a moment to look at the big picture. Then see how you can break down your goal into smaller goals.
Remember, you want to take steps toward your goal, even if they are small.
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You want to do one step at a time to reach your goal. But not be overwhelmed with the big picture.
By breaking your big goal or task into smaller goals or tasks, you will have something more achievable. Which, in turn, will get you motivated.
Make your goals SMART.
One way that I have found helpful in achieving my goals and staying motivated is making my goals SMART.
If you haven’t heard of the SMART method, SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Specific
Using the example of losing weight, you don’t want to make your goal: “Lose weight.” Be more specific with your goal by making your goal, “I want to lose 10 pounds.”
Measurable
Then to make things measurable. You do this by making your goal something that you can track. Back to the example of “I want to lose weight.”
This goal is not measurable. To make it measurable, you want to say, “I want to lose 10 pounds” or “Lose enough weight to fit in my old jeans.”
Making your goals measurable is an easy way to keep you motivated, especially when you are making progress.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”One way that I have found helpful in achieving my goals and staying motivated is making my goals SMART.” quote=”One way that I have found helpful in achieving my goals and staying motivated is making my goals SMART.”]
Achievable
You definitely want to keep your goals achievable or realistic if you want to stay motivated.
You don’t want to say I want to lose 100 pounds when it is very difficult for you to lose two pounds.
Relevant
Next, take into account what’s going on in your life. And ask yourself if this is the right time for your goal. If you set a goal that is not relevant, you’re not going to get motivated to complete it.
Time-bound
And then lastly, you want to make your goal time-bound. So back to the example of losing weight.
To make your goal time-bound, you would want your goal to be “I want to lose 10 pounds by the end of March.” You have to have a deadline.
You never want to set a goal without a deadline because it’s just a dream. So put a deadline on your goal. This will definitely keep you motivated to work against the clock.
Remember why
Now, if you’ve set your goal and are still not motivated, remember why you set the goal.
For me, it’s hard for me to get motivated when I’m just thinking about having to work out or watch what I’m eating. But if I remember the big picture, it becomes easier to get motivated.
I remind myself that I want to lose weight to feel good, be healthier, and get back into the clothes in the back of my closet that I haven’t been able to wear for several years.
Those are the things that keep me motivated, and those are the reasons I want to keep going. So what is your reason why?
Have fun
The next tip is to have fun. I listened to an episode of Amy Porterfield’s Marketing Made Easy, and it was pretty awesome. It was the interview with John Acuff.
One of the things that he said that really struck me is you need to have fun when trying to complete your goals or at work.
He does a lot of public speaking at company events, and what he’s found is that when companies make things more fun, their employees are 30% more satisfied and 46% more successful.
Making things fun and enjoyable, not only at work but at home, makes you more successful because you are more motivated.
Now don’t get me wrong. Having to eat a certain food is not always fun when you are trying to lose weight.
And when I was potty training my son, it was not always fun even though that was a big goal. But there are ways of making it fun so that you can find things more enjoyable.
When I was potty training my son, he would make me want to pull my hair. But I got to a point where I didn’t get frustrated with him.
And when he did go to the potty, I did my potty dance for him. Doing the potty dance made it fun.
Visualize the end
Next, you want to visualize your results. Really close your eyes and think about what it would look like to accomplish your goals or your dreams or the task at hand.
Consider making a vision board for big goals. Seeing yourself reach your goals will get you motivated to get going.
Get organized
Now, a quick way to get motivated is to get organized.
Clean up the clutter on your desk in your workspace. Go through and remove things from your planner or calendar. By doing these things, you will have more clarity and find motivation.
Stay accountable
Next, you want to stay accountable. The best way that I found for myself is to have an accountability partner. Someone you can check in with and let them know your progress.
For me, this is motivating to have someone to check in with because I don’t want to let my partner down.
Now, if that’s not your cup of tea, you could even try some type of tracker to help you track your progress.
You can see where you are so that you actually see that you have made progress, which keeps you motivated. Especially when you feel like you’re not getting very far.
Be flexible with your plans.
Next, you want to have a plan. But make yourself flexible and be ready for change because things happen in life.
You don’t want to be let down when life throws you a curveball.
Stay positive
Now you want to make sure that you keep a positive mindset. Doing this helps when you have some affirmations to repeat.
You definitely don’t want to let the negativity creep up in your mind. By repeating positive affirmations throughout the day, you stay positive and motivated.
No procrastination
Next, you want to cancel out procrastination immediately.
Now, I’ll be honest. I have a bad habit of putting things off or moving things to the next day on my calendar.
The quickest way to get motivated is to start crossing things off your to-do list. So don’t hesitate and procrastinate. Get it done now.
Eliminate distractions
Now, the biggest motivators for me is starving my distractions.
You can get super motivated, and someone or something can come to take your motivation with distractions.
Now, distractions don’t only come in the form of people or your cute little kids. But they come in the form of tasks and electronics as well.
If you notice that you are constantly being distracted by having to get the house clean or your cell phone buzzing with a new notification, it’s probably time for you to cancel out those distractions. At least for a moment.
Celebrate small wins
Lastly, make sure that you celebrate the small things. And celebrate your small wins.
It’s easy to look at the bigger picture and forget that you’ve made a lot of progress.
Don’t forget to celebrate the small wins and reward yourself. Because you’re doing a great job!
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