Have you ever gotten excited about your New Year’s resolutions only to have them fizzle out mere weeks after? This is a common enough story and we’ve all been there. When the “fresh start effect” fades away, your determination falters and the first bump on the road often signals the end of the journey.
So, what can we do to keep our motivation high for the longer run? Here are 4 great ways to stay motivated.
Listen to your heart
If you want to feel motivated in the long term, choose a goal with your heart. When an objective comes from your heart, it will be easier to stick with it through tough times. You will make sacrifices more readily when it is clear what you are making them for.
Dig inside yourself and get in touch with the vision that you have behind your goal. If your objective is to eat healthy or exercise, what is your underlying vision? Maybe a vision of yourself in good health, fit, slim and happy.
Whatever that vision is, take a moment to visualize the person you aspire to build. It will help you see meaning in everything you do.
For example, why would you put your sneakers on and go for a run instead of watching a TV series? The sofa might be more tempting than the effort. However, if you go back to your vision, the choice will come effortlessly.
Go after goals which are genuinely yours and you will find plenty of motivation to make them happen.
See Also: How to Set Personal SMART Goals To Succeed
Align your habits with your long-term goals
One day, I checked my own goals and tried to determine what the difference was between those that I achieved easily and those I seemed to struggled with.
And I found a clear pattern.I have a few long-term goals, like maintaining a certain weight or getting a new degree before I reach 40. I realized that I do well with the first one, less so with the second one.
Why do I seem to have a two-speed motivation?
I’m not less motivated in getting a new degree. The problem is that I have nowhere to start from. My weight goal, on the other hand, is linked to short-term goals or habits, such as eating 5 servings of fruits or vegetables per day, eating fish twice a week and exercising at least four times a week. These daily and weekly habits help me reach my long-term objective.
I haven’t set any corresponding habit for my degree goal. And I’m not going to achieve it just by looking at it…
The secret of success lies in the things we do regularly, like our daily and weekly habits. These habits must be aligned with the vision we have.
Having a vision is not enough. It must be translated into small daily steps. If we only have a vision or a long-term goal, we will feel overwhelmed by the mission and we won’t know where to start from.
Sometimes, it’s the other way round and we struggle to ingrain new habits. In that…
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