Sam's Blog: 11 Tips for Improving Motivation

Have you ever wondered how people reach their goals? We've all seen Olympic athletes, prima ballerinas, and folks like Bill Gates achieve challenging feats. How do they do it? Does something set them apart?

Take Sir Edmund Hillary for example. He, along with Tenzeng Norgay, was the first ever person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, not knowing if achieving this was even possible until he did it. How did he persist? In an interview, ^[1] Hillary emphasized the importance of strong motivation, concentrating on the task at hand, and careful planning.

Do you want to acquire the persistence to aim high? Follow these steps to improve your motivation, overcome obstacles, and gain great success.

Steps

Material goals perhaps?
Identify your goal, being as specific as possible. Do you want to lose weight to fit into a favorite outfit, feel healthy, or look great (or maybe all of the above)? Are you looking to earn extra income for a dream vacation, a night out on the town, a new car? Or maybe you're itching to organize an overflowing closet?
Determine why you want to achieve this goal and envision the end result. When you are fit, will you enjoy increased stamina and strength or feel satisfaction from onlookers' admiration? Will you find excitement in traveling to a new place? When you find things easily in your closet, will you feel satisfaction in finding what you want easily and being able to close the door without pushing it shut?
Visualize your goals
Use visualization as a goal-setting technique. How do you imagine yourself feeling? Confident? Excited? Accomplished? Close your eyes and really see and feel what it is like to be at your destination. Feel it throughout your body. Repeat this exercise as often as necessary, at least twice a day.
Write your goal and vision down. Writing down goals tends to lead to more successful results than simply thinking them. When you commit your goals to paper and you are able to look at them daily, you'll remain focused on the desired outcome, particularly if it's a goal that will take time to achieve. No matter what you're striving for, there will be challenges along the way. Writing down your goal and keeping it in sight will keep you moving toward accomplishment.
Break it down into baby steps
Break down your goal into baby steps. Make your entire project realistic by being systematic. Brainstorm and jot down all of the little things you can think of that will propel you forward.
- If losing 20 pounds is your ultimate goal, you will experience smaller successes along the way. Note these as well as the activities you enjoy in your new fitness and diet program.
- If you want to earn an extra $10,000 for a dream vacation, think about how much you can realistically earn per week toward that end. Can you begin by putting money away each week from what you already make? Do you need to look at job sites for extra work? What kind of work would be feasible? Jot down all of your ideas.
- Organizing an overflowing closet can take more than one session. Take a look at your closet and start with one section. Can you tackle the floor first? A top shelf? Prioritize the areas and get to work.
Create an action plan. Look at the goals and activities you have written down. Next, figure out what must be accomplished each day to work toward your goal.
- What type of work out will you do?
  - Strength training?
  - Cardiovascular workout?
- Where will that extra money come from?
  - Overtime?
  - Second job?
  - Out of your current paycheck when you receive it?
- How much time will you give to that closet?
  - 15 minutes per day?
  - 30 minutes per day?
  - Longer?
- Where will you begin?
  - floor?
  - shelves?
  - hanging items?
Look at your plan daily, acknowledge your accomplishments, and adjust as needed.
Create an encouraging atmosphere. Every challenging journey has its setbacks. Surround yourself with supportive people and environments. Stay positive and intent on your goal. As Sir Edmund Hillary put it, 'Almost anything has its moments where you have to overcome considerable challenges, and if you're able to overcome those challenges, you feel a great sense of satisfaction.'^[2] Recognize setbacks for what they are and stay focused. Your journey is as important as reaching your goal.
Laugh in the face of setbacks
Laugh at the setbacks and celebrate success. Take the time to stop and recognize the small steps you have accomplished. When you have a baby step behind you, do something kind for yourself.
- Get a massage.
- Enjoy a special meal with friends or on your own.
- Take a bubble bath.
- Buy a set of weight gloves.
- Treat yourself to a yoga session or something you find relaxing.
- Enjoy a good book.
Take responsibility for achieving your goal. Recognize and accept that you are the only one who can get you where you want to be. Remember: You can do it, and as you take your goals seriously, so will those around you.
Find support with friends
Stay in control of your schedule and find the resources and determination that will help you.
- Keep appointments with yourself.
- Learn to say 'no' when someone asks for your time and it conflicts with working toward your goal.
- Join support groups in your community or online. Find peers. Some websites offering support groups are listed in 'Tips' below.
- Ask for family support.
- Express your desire for help if you need it. Start seeing asking for help as a sign of strength.

Tips

Support groups in the online environment can be found through such sites as: Meet up, http://www.meetup.com meetup.com; Yahoo groups, http://groups.yahoo.com yahoogroups.com; Facebook, http://www.facebook.com facebook.com.

Warnings

Working toward a goal and celebrating the small achievements along the way may be addictive.
As you enjoy success, your motivation will increase and you may not only meet but exceed your goals.
Steady progress may lead to the desire to create new and more challenging goals.