Have you ever wondered why some people seem to be more successful than others? It’s not necessarily because they’re smarter or have better connections or more money — it’s because they understand the power of motivation.
When you harness the power of motivation, your ability to achieve success in life is almost limitless. This guide will help you understand how motivation works, and how you can apply that knowledge to achieve success in your work, relationships, and even personal goals.
Have a clear idea
Achieving success means different things to different people. However, when it comes down to it, many successful people achieve their goals because they have an end goal in mind and are driven by that goal.
Many experts say that people become lazy because they don’t have a clear idea of what motivates them; rather than setting goals and working towards them, people aimlessly drift through life.
Before you start trying to figure out how motivation works for you, figure out exactly what drives you and make sure it’s a positive force! Once you know where your drive is coming from, you can use your internal motivation as fuel for achieving success, both personally and professionally.
Having a clear idea of your end goal will help you create a roadmap for how to get there. And once you’ve set specific, measurable goals (more on that below), motivate yourself to succeed by imagining how things could be worse.
Remind yourself that if you don’t achieve what you want, it could be years — if ever — before you do. The worst-case scenario might be putting your dreams on hold for another five years; make sure that doesn’t happen.
Clear goals are important when trying to achieve success. You need to be able to imagine exactly what you want and where you want it, or you won’t know how to get there.
Break down your goal into chunks
When you set a goal for yourself, it’s good to break that goal down into chunks. By breaking your life-changing goal into smaller sub-goals, you can ensure that you’re able to stay motivated towards a larger goal.
For example, if you have a huge homework assignment due on Monday and Wednesday, try setting deadlines on each day that are easier to handle. Try starting with something like I will read 5 pages today and progress from there.
This is just one-way motivation can work for you; there are many other options available as well when trying to stay focused and motivated towards achieving success in life.
Once you’ve established your end goal, break it down into smaller chunks that are more manageable. While there is no hard-and-fast rule for how big a chunk should be, try to make each one as substantial as possible.
So if your goal is to run a marathon, instead of setting an end-of-year finish date, decide that you’ll sign up for a 5K at some point during 2018 and take a running class once per week.
When trying to achieve something big, it’s easy to get discouraged and lose motivation. Instead, break down your overall goal into smaller chunks so that you can set smaller goals for yourself and measure your progress.
Think about your strengths and weaknesses
The very first step in successfully harnessing motivation is identifying your strengths and weaknesses. When you know what your greatest strengths are, you can employ them to motivate yourself when things get tough.
Similarly, if you can figure out what your weaknesses are, you can learn how to compensate for them so that they don’t hold you back.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Most people tend to focus on their weaknesses, which is a huge mistake. Instead, evaluate your strengths and find ways that you can incorporate them into what you’re trying to achieve.
By doing so, you make your strengths work for you rather than against you. We may not all be born with equal abilities, but we can change our circumstances by learning how to use our skills effectively and efficiently.
While it’s helpful to set goals, most people can’t simply decide on one objective and hope that things will fall into place. That approach is called wishful thinking; it won’t get you very far.
Instead, think about your strengths and weaknesses, and then create a plan that allows you to take advantage of your strengths while working around your weaknesses. This strategic approach will help you achieve success much more quickly than hoping for a miracle.
Get some support,
have you ever taken a hard look at your goals and come up short? If so, you might be trying to bite off more than you can chew. Most people feel excited about their long-term goals, but sometimes it’s helpful to take things step by step.
Instead of allowing yourself to get overwhelmed, break down your goal into chunks. It’s an easy way to keep things manageable and stop procrastination before it happens. Once you’ve made small steps a habit, look back on your work and see what needs fine-tuning — it’ll help keep you motivated as well!
If you’re looking for inspiration, look no further than your friends and family. A support network can be a huge source of motivation — especially when you need it most.
If you know people who have been through similar situations as yours, try seeking advice from them about how they got through their rough patches. It’s okay if they don’t understand what you’re going through; after all, no one else will be able to fully empathize with your situation except yourself!
Having friends and family that support you can help keep you motivated when times get tough. Find ways to be around people who believe in your goals, even if it’s just once a week.
Find ways to measure progress
We’re driven by goals, and when we don’t have any, motivation can be hard to come by. A good way to get motivated is to start measuring your progress. Whether you’re taking a new fitness class or learning a new language.
There are lots of ways you can quantify your success and use that information as motivation. You might be surprised how quickly things will come together once you start getting regular feedback on your progress. Small wins add up over time!
You can’t hold yourself accountable if you don’t know how you’re doing. A simple way to measure your progress is by using a journal or personal planner. Every day, write down one goal you want to achieve that day. How much further did you get towards that goal than yesterday?
You can do everything right and still fail. We all face setbacks, but if you’re serious about achieving success in life, then you have to find ways to measure your progress.
Keep track of your progress by writing down what you want out of life and checking back regularly. If things aren’t going according to plan, reevaluate how you go about achieving your goals.
Reward yourself when you achieve your goal,
research has shown that visualizing a positive future outcome (like how you’ll feel when you lose those 20 pounds or make that big sale) can be just as powerful as motivation through pain avoidance.
In fact, positively framing your goals can sometimes produce better results than a negative frame — as long as it’s consistent. A 2014 study published in The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that participants were told to try.
Hard not to think about white bears, performing better on an anagram task than those who were told don’t try so hard not to think about white bears. If your motivating factor is feeling great, imagine yourself there and create an image of what it will look like: How are you going to feel?
Rewarding yourself when you reach a goal helps keep you motivated. If you’re trying to change your life, learn how to reward yourself. From setting small daily rewards for sticking with your goals (like a new pair of running shoes).
All the way up to bigger rewards that come once every few months (like a spa day or that trip abroad you’ve been dreaming about), rewards are proven to be an effective way to keep us on track, moving forward toward our goals.
When you achieve a goal, give yourself a reward that will motivate you and help keep you on track. The rewards don’t have to be elaborate, but they should be something that makes you feel good about your accomplishment.
Think about how good you will feel when you reach your goals
To use motivation effectively, you need concrete ways to measure progress. If you’re learning a new language, for example, measuring your progress can be as simple as taking an online test and tracking your grade level.
But if you have a more abstract goal — like spending less time watching TV or trying out new hobbies — it can be hard to tell if you’re actually making progress. To make sure motivation doesn’t lead to frustration, create small goals and give yourself frequent feedback on your progression.
When I started losing weight last year (and writing about it), I made sure that my daily weigh-ins were public; knowing that other people would see my weight loss motivated me even more than seeing how much I’d lost that day did.
As your motivation begins to run low, ask yourself how good you will feel when you reach your goals. Can you taste that amazing food that is just a little bit out of reach?
Or can you imagine what it will be like to walk down an aisle and say I do? If so, then set another goal for yourself. It doesn’t matter if that goal is big or small; all that matters is achieving it makes you happy.
Think about how good you will feel when you reach your goals. The most important thing you can do when it comes to staying motivated is to think about how good you will feel when you reach your goals.
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