14 Psychology-based Tips for Staying Motivated and Accomplishing your Goals
How to Stay Motivated (even when you’re not feeling it At Work & In Life)
Some days it’s easier to get out of bed and feel motivated to seize the day, but it might be more challenging on others.
Staying motivated even when you're not feeling it is IMPORTANT because it can influence your productivity, relationships, attitude, performance, and the likelihood of accomplishing your goals.
In this post, we dive into effective tips and strategies to keep you inspired, driven, and on the path to success. Discover how to overcome obstacles and maintain a positive mindset in the ever-evolving professional landscape. Read on to unlock your full potential, get your SPARK back, and make your dreams a reality!
Tips to Stay Motivated and Accomplish your Goals
1. Understand Your Why
Define your "why": Based on your values and passions, come up with a clear purpose in life that resonates with you. Your "why" should inspire you and be something you are passionate about.
Understanding your “why,” the bigger picture and the vision for your life will help you gain the motivation to stay on course.
Think about the purpose behind what you're doing, including:
· Why are you going after something?
· How do you want to feel once you accomplish your goal?
· Why are you in your current position, and what are you hoping to accomplish?
2. Set achievable Goals & Regularly Review Them
Break your "why" into smaller, achievable goals that align with your purpose.
Goal setting and motivation go hand in hand. So, establishing goals will help you focus on what you want to accomplish and will help you move into action mode to achieve your overall mission.
Goal and Expectancy theory describes motivation as the product of how much you personally value your goal and how much your believe you can realistically achieve your goals.
To direct your attention, focus, and efforts toward a goal so you can:
· Manage your time effectively to accomplish them
· Regularly review them to see if they need to be modified or adjusted.
· Be encouraged and more likely to stay persistent toward achieving them.
3. Prioritize your Tasks
Feeling overwhelmed or spread too thin can hinder motivation and inspiration, making it difficult to do your best work. However, by concentrating on the most crucial tasks and handling them one by one, motivation becomes easier to attain.
Create a daily and weekly to-do list and pinpoint tasks with the nearest deadlines and the greatest impact on your progress. Prioritize these tasks to make the most of your time management and tackle them first. Then, devote your full energy and focus to each task individually, beginning with the most vital one for the day and progressing through the list.
4. Continue to Learn & Stay Curious
Read or listen to audible books to learn new ideas or be exposed to different experiences or success stories that can motivate you. You can get ideas from others and learn strategies to help your success.
Tip: I love to regularly listen to some of my favorite podcasts, whether on my daily walk, while working out, or going grocery shopping based on my favorite interests. For example, I listen to some on business, relationships, and health. Whenever I listen, I learn something new or feel encouraged to keep going by hearing someone else’s perspective.
5. Boost Your Mental State With Positive Affirmations
You are what you think. Positive affirmations are tools that can help you stay motivated and encouraged.
Studies show that the secret behind positive affirmations is that the subconscious mind believes things repeatedly said by the conscious mind.
Some positive affirmation examples:
I believe in myself and trust the process
I have what it takes to be successful
I am confident and capable
Tip: For your life, it might be as small as telling yourself each morning what a great day it will be, so you’ll start to believe it. I also practice meditation with positive affirmations. Here’s one of my favorite videos for self-love. I’ve also enjoyed reading many of Louise Hay’s books on personal development.
6. Ask for What you Need
Sometimes at work or in relationships, we’re unmotivated because we’re not getting what we need. In work, that might be needing support on projects, receiving more regular feedback, positive affirmations, or encouragement.
Having conversations asking for what you need will help empower you. I know it might feel out of your comfort zone because you’re thinking, “do I really have to tell someone what I need, shouldn’t they know.” But in most situations, you have to ask for what you need and speak up.
Staying motivated is an internal job, so the power is in your hands. Take a stand and ask for what you need.
7. Continue to Challenge Yourself
Sometimes we lack motivation because we’re just bored or uninspired. Maybe you’ve been in your current position for years, aren’t excited about it, or need to be challenged more.
Explore your interests and passions, and identify activities that bring you joy, satisfaction, and makes you feel inspired. These could be personal hobbies, professional aspirations, or causes that you care about.
Make it a habit to have a growth mindset for continuous learning so you can get new ideas, have a fresh perspective, or get out of a rut.
Challenging yourself can include:
· Learning a new skill
· Ask to be part of a new project
· Career development
· Taking on new challenges
· Improving day-to-day tasks
· Getting certifications
· Reading or listening to audible books.
8. Surround Yourself with the right people
You are the company you keep. So, surround yourself with the right people (friends, family, and co-workers) who understand your goals and can encourage and support you along the way.
Look at who you’re around most of the time because you might feel unmotivated because you’re not around the right people. For example, maybe you’re in a toxic work environment or have a toxic boss, and it might be time to decide if looking for a new job is the next step.
“The better you are at surrounding yourself with people of high potential, the greater your chance for success.”-John C Maxwell
9. Put Yourself First & Develop Healthy Habits
On an airplane, we’re told to put the mask on ourselves before we help others. And the same is true for your life. You must be able to prioritize yourself and develop healthy habits, as your health can impact your mood, and motivation.
So, if you’re feeling down or uninspired, start by re-evaluating your habits to ensure you have work/life balance and are taking care of your well-being.
Some of the habits of top performers can include:
· Have a regular morning routine
· Take breaks
· Get enough exercise/movement
· Eating healthy
· Meditate
· Prioritizing your activities and tasks for the day
· Practicing gratitude
10. Stay Positive & Visualize your success
Motivation starts within, so keep your words and what you're putting into the world positive. Just like parents tell their kids they can do it, encourage yourself with positive self-talk and don’t let limiting beliefs hold you back.
There will be harder days than others, which is why it’s good if you can visualize yourself completing the goal and focus on what that will feel like. This will keep you motivated even on hard days.
11. Don’t Focus On The Things You Can’t Control
It might seem apparent, but it's worth acknowledging that some aspects of life are beyond our control. Whether it's a colleague's response to an email or office politics, understanding that your primary focus should be on your efforts and personal ambitions is crucial.
In all aspects of life, it’s never a good use of energy to focus on the things we simply cannot control. Work is no exception to that.
12. Ask for Feedback
If things aren’t working out or you’re not accomplishing your goals, stay positive, but also take a step back and ask those you respect for feedback.
Ask questions like:
How can I improve?
What do you think is holding me back?
What do you think I can do differently to accomplish this goal?
No great progress is without process, so keep putting in the work.
13. Choose to Have Fun
Sometimes life gets us down because we're taking it too seriously.
Doing something that brings you joy can bring you back to life, ready and excited about the days ahead. Getting together with friends and family, or as simple as taking regular walks outside.
In the book "The How of Happiness," happiness is said to be a huge factor in the productivity of staff and employees.
The only person who has the power to make you happy is you.
14. Celebrate Wins
Working on your goals takes time, so one way to stay motivated is to reward yourself along the way. Celebrate small and big wins and the steps you’re taking.
Whether it’s big or small, if you complete a goal, it’s an achievement, and you’re one step closer to your goals!
Treat yourself, give yourself a moment to see your progress, go out to your favorite meals, and celebrate with friends. After I’ve completed a task, I’ve been working on for a few hours, I’ll take a break to get away from it and enjoy some time outside. For bigger projects, I might celebrate the win with friends/family.
Final Thoughts
Staying motivated and accomplishing your goals requires perseverance, dedication, and a positive mindset. The only person who has the power to make you happy is you.
Surround yourself with supportive people and resources, continue learning and adapting, and celebrate your milestones along the way. As you overcome obstacles, gain confidence through experience, and maintain a clear focus on your ambitions, you will find yourself progressing toward your dreams.
Also, if you’ve tried most of these and still aren’t feeling motivated at work, it might be time to evaluate if it’s time to quit your job and start looking for a new job.
Remember, the journey toward success is a marathon, not a sprint – so set another goal, stay inspired, and keep pushing forward to achieve the greatness you are truly capable of.
You Got this!
- MelodyJoy