5 Ways To Stay Motivated To Reach Your Goals

by Grace Van Berkum, R.H.N. as featured in Sweat Equity Magazine Part of being successful in life is setting goals and then achieving them. But achieving goals isn’t necessarily easy and takes a commitment to putting in daily efforts towards achieving them. Life is super busy and there are always things that need to be done, so how does one stay focused on their goals? Consistent efforts towards manifestation is key and “keeping your eyes on the prize” so to speak. Here are 5 tips to help you keep your focus on achieving your goals. 1) Write it down and look at it several times a day. Writing down goals is a great tool for holding you accountable and helping you stay committed. Once your goal is written down on paper you are giving it more power and energy. After writing down your goal, keep it where you can see it and read it. Let it serve as a daily reminder to help keep you motivated. Even doing something like a vision board is a form of having it down on paper where you can see your goal come to life everyday. Or write down your goal on a sticky note and out it on your mirror, where you can read it every single time you look in the mirror. 2) Make a list of the reasons why you want to achieve the goal. Understanding your “why” helps you really connect to your goal, especially if the path isn’t easy to reach your goal (which it usually isn’t). By writing down your reasons and being really clear on your motivation for pursuing your goal, this helps you to stay on track. Read your reasons often to remind yourself where you are going and why. 3) Break your goals into manageable pieces. To get to your end goal you need to break it into smaller goals. Be clear on your steps to get to your end goal. Being successful at achieving something doesn’t just come at the snap of your fingers. You need to move in the direction of your bigger goal everyday and you do this by putting in the time and effort, little by little achieving smaller goals and/or practical steps that eventually take us to our final goal. Each step that you accomplish builds the foundation for the end goal. And every time you are able to succeed at a smaller step, this gives you the confidence and motivation to keep going. Breaking down your goal into small steps also makes it less overwhelming as smaller goals seem much more manageable. When smaller goals become more attainable to start, the process becomes more enjoyable and you are able to track your progress much easier. Recognizing and applauding your progress will help you stay on track and keep going. 4) Visualize your goal. Everyday imagine that you have already achieved your goal. Imagine how it feels, imagine where you are, what your surroundings look like, imagine the sounds, even the smells. Imagine every little detail associated with achieving your goal. The more details you can imagine, the better. This technique of positive visualization is utilized by the best athletes and performers in the world as a way to not only stay motivated but when you visualize an action, the same regions of the brain are stimulated as when you perform it and the same neural networks are created. According to Psychology Today, brain studies now reveal that thoughts produce the same mental instructions as actions. Mental imagery impacts many cognitive processes in the brain: motor control, attention, perception, planning, and memory. So the brain is getting trained for actual performance during visualization. It’s been found that mental practices can enhance motivation, increase confidence and self-efficacy, improve motor performance, prime your brain for success, and increase states of flow, which are all related to achieving your goal.

5) Work hard but enjoy the journey, too! Success doesn’t just come from daily hard work but it also comes from a good attitude. And it’s much easier to have positive attitudes when you are having fun working towards your goals. This also ties into #2, really know and understand why you want to achieve this goal. Hard work and staying motivated becomes a lot easier when you are enjoying the process of goal pursuit. Success is great, but also life is too short to not be happy and have a good attitude. The happiest and most successful people in the world have cultivated positive attitudes and joy from achieving their goals and dreams. They also understand that ultimate joy doesn’t come from achieving their goal, but having fun and staying joyful while working hard towards their goal is just as important as the goal. In fact, it’s one of the biggest secrets to success in life: being fully present in your consistent efforts towards manifestation of goals will not only make you happy, but will also make you most powerful. https://www.graciouslivingoasis.com/