It seems that the constant struggle that everyone faces is the fight to stay motivated during the entire day. If you are like me, it doesn’t come naturally, and often times, it almost seems impossible. Luckily, for people that share this problem, motivation can be worked on. With many years of practice and methods, these tips will help you on your goal to achieve full days of motivation.
What is Motivation?
What exactly is motivation? Well, motivation is the ambition to carry out a goal. Rather than it being some mysterious force, we can really boil it down to something simple. Motivation is our goal setting; it is the process of goal setting and the drive to meet that goal.
A lot of how we view ourselves and our circumstances will judge on how motivated we will be. The “Locus of Control” concept is essentially the amount of control that we, as individuals, believe we have control of. There are two sides to the Locus of Control.
- External Locus of Control
This mindset is one that focuses on outside factors. We lose the ability to be motivated if we continue to blame external forces for our failures.
- Internal Locus of Control
On the other hand, this mindset is directly tied to your ability to take credit for working hard. You are the captain of your own ship, and the harder you work, the more results you will yield.
There have been many studies over the years on The Locus of Control theory, and all have pointed to an increase in motivation when an internal locus of control is utilized. We need to know we have control over our success in order to have the will power to stay motivated.
a) Organize a Daily Schedule
Although we may not like to, motivation needs some sort of starting point. I found it to be increasingly harder to gain motivation without any form of structure. Now, there is no need to organize and plan every single detail of your life out, but a rough outline will do.
Plan your morning out:
- What time will you wake up?
- What will you have for breakfast?
- Will you read a book?
Once you have a morning scheduled out, move onto the rest of your day.
- What’s for lunch?
- What will you do later on in the day?
Again, no need for a boxed-in schedule, but we all need some form of a schedule so that we can stay on track.
b) Reading A Little Each Day
It may seem that I am going down a list of things that most people hate but stay with me. Reading is known to increase cognitive functions. Whether you decide to read in the morning or night, it will benefit you.
Not only should you read, but read something that will motivate you. Just to name a few great motivational books:
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephan Covey, 1989)
- The Magic of Thinking Big (David J. Schwartz, 1959)
- The Power of Now Journal (Eckhart Tolle, 1997)
- The Last Lecture (Randy Pausch, 2008)
These are just a few great books to start with. I personally love to read each morning; this way, I can think about the motivational things I had read all day. If books aren’t your thing, listen to a podcast or read motivational news—anything to stimulate your brain for the day.
c) Keep a Healthy Lifestyle
One key factor in keeping yourself motivated throughout the day is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. There isn’t any need for a diet or health program but live in a way that makes you feel rewarded for taking care of yourself.
Make sure you drink plenty of water and eat things that you feel good eating. If you eat right, you will feel right and end up having the courage to take on those ambitious goals of yours.
d) Get Plenty of Rest
Now, this may seem like a trivial one, but getting sleep is a huge indicator of how you will feel the rest of the day. If you get a solid 6-8 hours of sleep, you will feel the energy, both mentally and physically, to take on the day.
Sleep is extremely vital in having a motivated mood during your day. This, again, touches on what I spoke of before. You want to organize your morning and nightly routine to have the ability to wake up and sleep in a regular fashion.
e) Stay Active
Yet another tie to longer periods of motivation is being active. There isn’t any need to buy a gym membership, but go for walks every morning, or when you can. If possible, running is a great metabolism booster, which of course, in turn, boosts your motivation abilities.
Personally, I try to run every single morning; this allows me to start my day off with just about the most difficult task. This makes everything else seem easy to accomplish for the rest of the day.
f) Set Goals for Yourself
We come to an obvious but very important tip. Setting goals may seem like a no-brainer, but what do you set goals for, and do you set short, medium, or long term goals?
The answer is yes to all of them.
I found that setting short-term, daily goals helped me stay motivated and on track each day.
Medium-term goals allowed me to focus on what I wanted to get done by the week or month.
Long-term goals are the big picture goals. These are the motivator that motivates all other goals.
Get Started
The number one thing that you need to do is to start. It is human nature to procrastinate; it is all about taking that first step. Motivate yourself with books, a schedule, an active lifestyle, and self-responsibility. We all have the courage to do this; it is just a matter of taking the first step towards your many days of motivation.
