We, humans, are moody creatures. We can have our days of utter productivity, and then we can fall into a slumber of demotivation and dullness. New opportunities are always exciting. Watch as you start a new job or at the beginning of the school year. You’ll probably be so lively and energetic; you’ll want to prove yourself, do 3 times better this time, avoid all of last time’s mistakes, and make sure everyone knows what you’re capable of. One month later, the excitement will shrink. You’ll watch yourself fall back into old habits. You will procrastinate; then you will justify it. You will give yourself the most fantastic excuses and promise that tomorrow is a brand new day: you will make up for all the wasted time, double your efforts, and get everything done. And then you will procrastinate some more. Perhaps then, what is missing is not a few tips on motivating yourself but a lifestyle transformation: a new take on an age-old issue.
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Spot Where It All Went Wrong!
What is the solution? You’re all good intentions, and you know you can, but it keeps coming down to the same thing: you’re bored and burned out. Nothing seems to work out for you. And the couple of things that initially do quickly lose their glamour, and you’re tired of falling back to zero over and over again. Like the rest, you probably know that you can’t solve a problem you can’t yet define. So the first step here is to pinpoint your issue. That might sound like trying to find a needle in a haystack because there are a thousand thoughts and a thousand more feelings inside each of us. Where does the issue lie, and how can you find it?
You can find it by experience. Look back at the past years. When were you most excited about a job, and when were you least happy? What fires you up and gets you out of bed for a morning jog? Which diet lasted with you the longest?
The keyword here is consistency: a routine that can keep you going, unlike a machine; nobody wants that. But a pattern you can fall back to that pushes you forward even if you can’t stand leaving your warm comfy bed today.
We all get bored. We have all felt that a job, a goal, or a new diet is sucking the joy out of our life. And we wanted to throw it all away and retreat to a happy, carefree life of snacks and sitcoms. But how did those who managed to go on do it?
Ask yourself: do you quickly bore? Do you lose focus? Do you need a sense of direction? Or is it that you’re choosing the wrong road altogether? Is this not the right job for you, or are you simply exaggerating what could be a simple passing setback?
If this is the job of your dreams, if you know where you’re going, and you’re happy with the choice, but the details make you miserable, then your issue is demotivation. If you know your body deserves better treatment, if your attempts at diets and working out come out of your deep concern for your health and emotional well-being, then you know you’ve got the right goal. If becoming a doctor is all you’ve ever wanted and the long study hours are the special price to pay, you know you need a new sustainable, constantly motivating approach to life.
If you fit into one of the categories up there, stay put. We will help you. But if you’re having doubts about what you want, your goals are not clear, and your vision for the future is blurry, then you probably need a complete change of direction. Find what you love and get at it. Don’t waste any more time trapped in the wrong life.
How to Motivate Yourself at Work
Now that you’re sure this is the job of your dreams, it is essential to hold onto it and overcome whatever obstacle comes your way.
Beautify Your Work Environment!
You will probably spend more than half of your day in your office. It is natural to feel like the long hours and the too-many tasks burden you, primarily if you work in a massive company with many other employees like yourself, all in suits, all in identical shapeless cubicles. The settings can be depressing. But they don’t have to be.
Add personal items to your desk: a picture of a family member who would be tremendously proud of you or another family member whose life you can seriously improve when you have the means. Whenever the job gets tedious or exhausting, it would help to remember why you’re doing it all. Imagining their smile or proud, happy faces could help you through the darkest days.
Add a beautiful drawing that soothes you or a small poster of your favorite singer. Items that have positive connotations for you can help enhance your mood. Experts advise you to choose an office with a window; it is relaxing to look outside and see the sky and the vast green lands around; it reminds you of the big beautiful world. But realistically, not everyone can work right next to a window. To overcome that, hang up a painting of your favorite natural setting or a photograph of scenery that captivated you.
In short, surround yourself with reminders of good times. Create your friendly environment. Make it your personal space and add life and colors to it. It doesn’t have to look like a prison cell.
Challenge Yourself!
Not every job can allow you the opportunity of creating something or see the end goal of your hard work. That can be frustrating since you put in all this time and effort and don’t see a concrete result in the end. The trick is to set goals for yourself. Your job might not recognize those; they will be yours and yours alone. Set yourself a daily target. The target can increase weekly as you challenge yourself and manage your time better. Watch your progress. Make a small Excel sheet of your daily goals and watch as your quality improves. The little daily achievements work like magic.
Don’t Isolate Yourself!
We spend far more time in our jobs than we would want. But the more you think of it as an obligation, the more you will hate it. Think of it as part of your journey. Make friends and indulge yourself in work activities. Good relations and good friends are significant assets in a job. Whenever you’re too bored to write another word, leave your desk and have a little chat with a colleague. Lighten up the mood and familiarize yourself with everyone. You may eventually find discreet, fun, and entertaining company during work hours.
Secretly Do What You Love!
Every job has a few dull bureaucratic tasks. Challenge yourself and find a creative way of doing them instead of the old boring methods. Your boss will appreciate it if you introduce a new concept. Don’t trap yourself in the box. Look at the bigger picture and aim to impress. The rewarding feelings you will get from making an adventure of your everyday tasks can revive your passion for the job you love.
Finally, remind yourself that this is what you want and what you have worked hard to achieve. Keeping that in mind will give you the extra push you’ll need every time.
How to Motivate Yourself to Lose Weight
How you look and feel about yourself contributes significantly to how you generally feel about life. If you’re not pleased with what you see or are too insecure about it, making a difference is probably the right thing to do for you. But you’ve tried a thousand diets, and you can never get yourself to commit to the gym. What should you do? How to motivate yourself to lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle without giving in to the endless temptations of your favorite junk food restaurant right across the street?
Have a Little Conversation with Yourself!
Now sit with yourself and ask yourself why you need to lose weight. Visualize your answer and write your thoughts down. Add a drawing or two of the new you hope to achieve. Write down how you would feel by then: that you’ll enjoy the glow of health in your cheeks and the general lightness in your walk, that you will love trying new clothes, and your confidence will hit the roof.
When you’re done, hang your little project up. Could you keep it in front of you? It’s essential to think in the future tense when you’re doing a challenging task you don’t enjoy with a greater goal in mind. Keep your eyes on the prize.
Set Realistic Goals!
Setting unreasonable goals is the worst thing you can do for yourself. You cannot lose 80 pounds in a month. If you work hard and follow the strictest of diets, you still won’t get there, and the disappointment might also set you back. Alternatively, set a goal of 15 pounds. The satisfying feeling you will get will push you into the next 20 pounds when you achieve that. Remember that it’s better to go slow and steady.
Surround Yourself with Supporters!
A friend with similar goals and strong determination can do you wonders. Surround yourself with people with the same goal in mind. Don’t throw yourself in the face of temptations, then blame your will for giving in. A friend around will force you into sticking to the plan and will push when you’re too tired to walk the extra mile yourself.
If you do not have a friend of this sort, you can resort to social media. Find an online diet partner. You can share your daily routine and encourage each other when either of you is demotivated. Besides, going public with your intentions of losing weight will pressure you into carrying on with it. You wouldn’t want to disappoint yourself or your friends, and it will be harder for you to consider quitting.
How to Motivate Yourself to Study
Much like our tips on motivating yourself to lose weight, having a study partner can be mutually beneficial. With the long hours and the complicated curricula, you might find yourself putting off studying until the farthest time possible. Here are a few things you can do to avoid cramming up your studies at the last minute.
Tutor Others!
Tutoring some of your classmates is one of the best approaches you can take to studying. Teaching someone else eventually ends up teaching you, and it’s more fun and less stressful.
See What Works and What Doesn’t
Monitor your behavior when you study and what you get out of it a few hours later. What information sticks in your head and why? If you’re more of a visual person, you will find that using pictures in your studies can help you memorize the information better.
Accordingly, pick the best method for you and apply it to the rest of your studies. When you can see how productive your studying session was, it is bound to motivate you to a better, less time-consuming studying.
Reward Yourself!
Give yourself periodic quizzes along the way. Doing well on a quiz will give you the confidence to keep going. Reward yourself for your good grades and keep your goal in front of you. Remind yourself that it is yet another step on your road to a bright future.
How to Keep Yourself Motivated
Now that you’re already familiar with how to motivate yourself at work or how to motivate yourself to study more efficiently, the question is how to keep it up. After the first push, the first spurt of positive energy, how to keep yourself motivated should be your primary concern.
Don’t get dragged into a routine of doing things. Always renew. Pause. Take a breath. And try doing it differently.
Treat every task and goal in your life not as an obligation but as a step in the right direction: a part of the journey you should enjoy and cherish.
The most important lifestyle change you’ll need is to think positively. Conquer your negative feelings of boredom and frustration with a clear vision and a relaxed mind.
The secret to how to keep yourself motivated is to want to: to want to stay motivated, to not give in to yourself.
