How to stay motivated to achieve your personal goals

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway”

Earl Nightingale

Motivation is the drive you have to make things happen, it is what pushes you to act. However, staying motivated isn’t often easy.

You find that you are fired up to crush your goals after you’ve set them. But after a few days, weeks or months, you experience some setbacks because you are no longer as motivated as you were when you started.

I know how it feels to stare at your tasks with a little sadness knowing that you sat with it but didn’t do much because you lack the required motivation to push you through. Even though there are ways to be productive when you don’t feel motivated, what you want is to stay motivated for as long as you can.

It happens to a lot of us, and it doesn’t mean that we don’t want what’s on our goal list badly enough. It just means that some days we lack motivation, and it causes us to put off things we need to do. And that becomes a problem in the long run because every minute we spend putting off our work adds up. It adds up to hours and then days and weeks and before we know it, we are wondering where all the time went.

Setbacks are normal but you can always get motivated again to continue working towards your goal. Through reading and watching some videos, I have come across a few tips that help me stay motivated and I am sharing them with you. One or a combination of these tips will help you stay motivated and on track with your goals.

9 Tips to stay motivated while you pursue your goals

1. Make sure they are your goals

Setting your goals whether long-term or short-term can be easy once you’ve decided what you want to be or do. However, it can get difficult especially when you are bombarded with what you “should” to do, as this blurs the line between what you “should” become and what you want to become. When this line is blurred you will confuse what we should do with what we want to do.

So make sure that your goals are based on what you really want to attain and not what someone else wants for you.

Advice and guidance are very important but make sure that they are aligned with your own goals.

2. Find a source of motivation

When trying to stay motivated, your will power isn’t often enough, you need some amount of stimulation and/or inspiration from other sources. So read books, listen to podcasts, talk with your family and friends, watch inspiring videos, read/save/put up motivating quotes or anything that gets you fired up. Something about another person’s journey or ways in which they got to where they are, can light the fire within you to continue.

3. Break your goal into smaller goals (sub-goals)

Starting small and keeping it simple is important if you don’t want to feel overwhelmed. When you’ve broken down your goal(s) into smaller sub-goals, start with one at a time. Taking on too many at a time can be daunting, so start with one sub-goal. It is easier to stay motivated when what you need to do isn’t as big.

Download this FREE work session tracker to document your distractions and track the time spent on each task. Using the Pomodoro technique is a sure way to stay focused and get a lot done.

4. Develop healthy habits

Our habits are what makes us who we are. Put healthy systems in place that lead towards achieving your goal. For instance if you want to be fit and healthy, make it a habit to exercise regularly and eat healthy, you can take it a step further and exercise in the morning before you start your day, that way you are less likely to put it off or skip it.

5. Be consistent.

The benefits of consistency cannot be over emphasized. Each day, commit to take an action towards your goals, No matter how little, each step taken daily leads you closer to your goal.

6. Focus on reasons you want to accomplish your goal(s)

Visualizing the benefits of your goal goes a long way in helping you stay motivated.  First make a list of the reasons and benefits of your goal(s) and keep the list handy. Now close your eyes and visualize yourself having achieved your goals: the rush, the effects, the joy, the smile, that’s what you want to hang on to. It helps in getting you to stay motivated.

When you think about how hard the task in front of you is, you are less likely going to want to do it but when you think about how fulfilled you’ll feel when it’s all done, you are more likely going to start.

The benefits of completing anything keeps us more energised and motivated to take it on.

7. Stay accountable

Everyone is different so the way you stay accountable is different too. If you know that you are disciplined enough to keep yourself accountable, then review your sub-goals and/or goals regularly and keep yourself accountable.

But if you can’t keep yourself accountable, then get an accountability partner. This could be a friend/family member if you know that you can be honest and upfront about your progress to him/her or a mentor. The goal is to be honest whenever you review how you are doing.                                            

8. Celebrate your wins

While your “big” goal can’t be achieved immediately and quickly, your sub-goals can. So when you achieve anyone of your sub-goals, be sure to celebrate the win. Reward yourself for a job well done. This will keep you optimistic about achieving your goal and make you eager and motivated to take on the next one.

9. Believe in yourself and your effort

“Believe in your infinite potential. Your only limitations are those you set upon yourself.” 

Roy T. Bennet

You can achieve so much if you believe in yourself. So when you put in the work, believe that your efforts drive closer to your goal. Every minute you put in is worth something because you are worth something and everything you touch turns to gold. Believe that you can do it and you will do it.

Your ability to act comes from within you, even if you need some help getting started. So if you need a bit of help believing that you can do it, give yourself some evidence daily by completing daily tasks that lead to your goal. It is hard to argue with evidence.

For you:

Remember that you are in charge of your actions and choices. Your ability to act comes from within you, even if you need some help getting started. So feed your motivation regularly and put healthy systems in place to help you stay grounded so that the fire in you won’t burn out easily. Additionally, find ways to make it fun, you are likely to carry on if you have fun doing it.

Thank you for reading this post and I hope you learnt a thing or two. Remember that your motivation isn’t only dependent on what you’ve read, it is largely dependent on your willingness to act and the action itself. So take steps and stay motivated.

Feature photo by Burst