How to Motivate Yourself?

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by Jayaram V

Seventeen suggestions to keep your motivation and morale high.

Some people begin tasks which they never finish. Some people are so deflated mentally that they do not see any justification to plan their lives or achieve success. These situations arise mainly due to lack of proper motivation. Motivation is the fuel to success. It is the desire for success, approval, recognition or fulfillment, garnished with purpose and inspiration, which propels you to achieve something or aim for something as part of your vision, purpose and self-preservation.

Self-motivation is your road to independence

There is nothing like self-motivation. It sets you free from the mental dependence upon others, which some people are habitually conditioned to follow. They will not take initiative in doing anything, unless someone tells them to do. The urge to do something or achieve some goal must come from within. The stronger the desire the greater the commitment. In work place, your boss or your colleagues may motivate you. But in real life, especially in personal matters and goals, you have to motivate yourself and keep your mind and body well conditioned.

It is necessary that you take personal responsibility for your motivation. Your heart and mind must be in proper alignment with your dreams and aspirations. If your motivation comes from within, your chances of sticking to the course you have chosen and reaching your goals remain high. If you depend upon others constantly and look to them for encouragement and approval, chances are you will drop off before you hit the finish line.

People are by nature selfish and self-centered. This has been my experience. Unless they have a stake in your success, they do not care whether you succeed or not. In fact, most of them secretly want you to fail and humiliate yourself.

Their hidden animosity increases greatly if they are in direct competition with you. Hence, you must be armored and well prepared to fight your own battles and keep your courage intact in the face of adversity, failures and setbacks.

Unfortunately, our motivation does not always stay strong. From time to time we relapse into our usual selves. We lose interest or become distracted from our goals and aspirations due to various reasons. We wallow in self-pity and misery, and we may even look for excuses and scapegoats to avoid hurting ourselves.

Repeated failures, disappointments, lack of encouraging environment, envious friends and family members, undue criticism, these and many other factors may discourage you from pursuing your goals and realizing your dreams.

In such circumstances, you have to pick yourself up and move on with renewed enthusiasm. Perseverance comes with constant self-motivation. You should find ways and means to encourage yourself, keep your morale and enthusiasm up, and work relentlessly towards your cherished goals.

If you have chosen the right purpose and if you are engaged in activities and pursuits that you like most, if you goals are aimed to make the best use of your natural talents and abilities and they are in harmony without your deepest hopes and aspirations, it would be easier for you to keep yourself motivated and remain in the zone.

Yet, even in such cases, from time to time, you may have to boost your motivation and keep your spirits high, because just as the body tires and suffers from work related fatigue, your mind also loses interest in what you do if you overexert yourself.

Self-motivation techniques

The following are some suggestions to keep yourself motivated and enthusiastic in all situations.

1. Frequently Remember your goals and keep returning to them repeatedly.

2. Remember your mission or your ultimate purpose in life, what you want to do with your life and why you want to achieve success.

3. Remember your past successes, what made you seek success, and how you began the journey and dealt with problems in the past.

4. Practice affirmations to boost your own morale and keep your spirits high. Positive affirmations counter the negativity and the discouragement you receive from others.

5. Avoid negative people, the energy vampires who discourage you, criticize you or find fault with you to keep your spirits down. There will be many people in your life who do not want you to succeed because of envy, hatred and any personal reason. Avoid them by all means.

6. Mingle with friends and family members who want you to succeed, who are genuinely interested in your progress, and upon whom you can rely in difficult times for advise or encouragement.

7. Have a few mentors who can give you advice on specific issues. If you can afford, you may also engage a professional counselor.

8. Read self-help books to remain motivated or keep your spirits high. You can return to them whenever you need inspiration or fresh guidance. You may also visit list of websites on Self-help for the same purpose.

9. Organize your work. Keep a daily to-do-list and a weekly or monthly planner. If you do not like the practice, at least keep a mental list of major tasks you need to accomplish for the day or week to reach your goals.

10. Remember your enemies and people who want you to fail. Success is the sweetest revenge and the best way to deal with them is by achieving success beyond their imagination.

11. Visualize the end you want to achieve and the sweet rewards of success. With the end in your mind, you will remain committed to your goals and plans.

12. Join a professional club or association to keep yourself informed of the latest development in the field of your specialization, and meet like-minded professionals to know their plans and programs.

13. Have a few role models. Follow the lives of successful people, how they thought and dealt with their problems and how they achieved success. Imagine what they would do or think under similar circumstances.

14. Dispute your fears and negativity. Even if you successfully practice positive thinking and remain focused on the positive aspects of life, you may still be assailed by doubts, negativity and irrational beliefs and fears. Learn to dispute with them using reason and facts, before they consume your mind.

15. Have a mental trigger or a catch phrase to fire up your motivation instantly. You can do it by having a mantra or statement that reminds you of your goals, abilities or determination. For example, use phrases like "I am unstoppable," "I can," "I will," "Shake off."

16. Take a break from work occasionally or go on vacation to charge yourself mentally and physically. While at work pause and take a deep breath from time to time to invigorate yourself.

17. Keep yourself healthy. Bad health is one of the major sources of negativity, depression and demotivation. Eating healthy food, doing exercise, keeping yourself physically active, counting your calories, watching your weight are a few important means by which you can remain in good health and remain motivated.

Self-motivation is the best way to remain committed to your ideals goals. It is the best way to keep your life and destiny detached from the whims and negativity of others. So charge your mental batteries with self-motivation and keep working for your success.