Some Motivation for Motivation
What happens when your “Get up and Go” gets up and leaves? You lose track of your motivations, goals, and feel that you are starting to circle the drain. It’s time to find a way to regroup and start again… Again...
Success, they say, is about getting up one more time than you fall. Here are some tips to remind you of what you probably already know but may have forgotten during a stuck moment.
MOTIVATION
Motivation initiates, guides, maintains, and focuses what you do and how you do it. Motivation is like the jet fuel that pushes you to get to your goals, keeps you going, and continues to add fuel to your jets. Motivation reminds you that you can do a little bit more even when you are feeling like you cannot.
GOALS
Goals are all the things you want to accomplish in your day, week, month, year and even life. They are usually meaningful to you, if only to you. Goals can be small or huge, simple, or complex. Goals are the images that define your actions, the unique targets and hopes and ambitions that are special or interesting to you from day to day.
WHAT HAPPPENS IF YOU HAVE NO GOALS AND NO MOTIVATION
Without goals, there is no motivation, and without motivation, your goals can dissolve leaving you disappointed in yourself, bored, or feeling as if life has no meaning. Drifting along without goals is a less than fulfilling way to live a life, whereas a goal (even a small one) can energize and add color and texture to your days.
SOME FIRST STEPS TOWARD GOAL SETTING
- Write down a goal.
- Think about it and imagine it.
- Do a little research if necessary.
- Enjoy the image of your goal.
- Imagine you reaching your goal.
- Take one small (even infinitesimal) step toward it. (One of my writing mentors taught me, that if you don’t feel like you can write today, sharpen your pencils.)
- Feel good about that beginning. (Remember in grade school when you got a “star”? It’s the same thing – it feels good!)
INCREASE MOTIVATION OVER TIME
- Review your goal.
- Set new little bits to it that are sustainable.
- Keep your energy going.
- Talk to others who are mentors, friends, safe supporters.
- Feel good about any little 1% you add to your forward movement.
100 IDEAS FOR LIFE GOALS
From "100 Life Goals & How To Set Them"
https://www.amfam.com/resources/articles/support-for-your-dream/life-goals-examples
- Become an inspiration to others
- Master a difficult skill
- Become a thought leader in your industry
- Get promoted to an executive role at your company
- Learn about how to become a millionaire
- Go on a trip around the world
- Travel to your dream country
- Double your personal income
- Publish a novel
- Take a motorcycle trip
- Volunteer at a hospital when it’s safe to do so
- Run in a marathon
- Get six-pack abs
- Achieve zero debt
- Invest in the stock market
- Drive or buy your dream car
- See one of the Seven Wonders of the World
- Plan for your retirement
- Graduate from college
- Learn to fluently speak a foreign language
- Meditate daily
- Donate to a charity annually
- Have a long-term relationship
- Climb a mountain
- Learn how to surf
- Master a musical instrument
- Learn how to rock climb
- Live in a foreign country
- Drink enough water everyday
- Give up junk food for a year
- Paint a picture
- Craft something using pottery skills
- Master ballroom dancing
- Compose a song
- Maintain your ideal body weight
- Get paid doing what you’re passionate about
- Find your life partner
- Learn how to prepare healthy meals
- Learn how to lift weights and build muscle
- Regularly call your parents
- Create multiple income sources
- Keep a life journal
- Go deep sea fishing
- Buy your first house
- Build your dream house
- Go skydiving
- Go hang gliding
- Ride in a hot air balloon
- Snorkel in the ocean
- Climb on a glacier
- Go whitewater rafting
- See your favorite football team play at their stadium when it’s safe to do so
- Go to the Olympics
- Get a hole-in-one while golfing
- Golf 18 holes under par
- Assemble a collection of your favorite books or artwork
- Run a six-minute mile
- Declutter your home
- Appear on a podcast
- Read two books every month
- Leave a financial inheritance
- Trace your ancestry and visit their country of origin
- Try a vegan diet for a month
- See your favorite musician in concert as often as you can
- Create a new family tradition
- Maintain a healthy work-life balance
- Start an online business
- Celebrate your relationship anniversaries
- Meet an athlete or celebrity you admire
- Practice gratitude everyday
- Start a small business
- See the ball drop in person on New Year’s Eve when it’s safe to do so
- Adopt and care for your dream pet
- Give up drinking soda
- Witness the Northern Lights
- Watch a volcano erupt (from a safe distance!)
- Go to Mardi Gras
- Develop a good credit score
- Learn self-defense
- See your doctor and dentist regularly
- Always say “yes” to trying new, positive things
- Learn yoga
- Expand your vocabulary
- Participate in a recreational sports league
- Grow a thriving garden
- Go on an electronics-free camping trip
- Write a movie script or TV episode
- Learn how to sing
- Make your own website
- Become a venture capitalist
- Sponsor a child in need
- Go on a cross-country road trip
- Pay off your student loans sooner than later
- Learn how to code
- Improve your drawing skills
- Give up TV for a week
- Spend a full day at the spa
- Go on a solo vacation
- Throw friends a surprise party
- Learn how to knit or sew
Quick Boosting Motivation Resources and Additional Goal-Setting Resources
More Motivated in 5 Minutes: 5 Science-backed tricks to get you going: https://buffer.com/resources/increase-your-motivation-tips/
7 Powerful Ways to Increase Self-Motivation: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/7-powerful-ways-to-increase-self-motivation/
20 Simple Ways to Increase Motivation in the Workplace: https://blog.bonus.ly/20-simple-ways-to-increase-motivation-in-the-workplace/
42 Short Term Goals: Examples to achieve more https://www.ntaskmanager.com/blog/short-term-goals/
100 Goals You Can Set This Year: https://www.cutelittlepaper.com/goal-setting-ideas-list-of-100-goals/
