Interested in how to stay motivated every day? Because staying motivated is no small feat, follow our list of not one but 10 Top Tips on things you can do every day to boost your motivation levels. Scroll through these great and easy ways for staying motivated and procrastination will start to become a distant memory. Bye-bye Monday blues, hello mojo!
SMILE
Fun things first. Smile at the prospect of a beautiful day. As buddha’s teachings go, “Each morning, we are born again. What we do today is matters most.
“Each morning, we born again. What we do today is matters most”
Buddha
No matter how difficult a day you are preparing to face, make smiling a non-negotiable part of it. Simply smile or offer a smile to someone – anyone. This could be your loved ones or the person who kept that door open for you.
BREATHE
Of course, everyone breathes, but how you do so can have a huge impact on your motivation levels and even mental health. Stand comfortably, head slightly tilted upwards to allow optimal airflow to the brain. Take a deep breath through your nose and slowly exhale through your mouth until you feel completely emptied out. Repeat a couple of times, then resume breathing normally, Feel free to repeat throughout the day!
ENGAGE
Human is by nature social creature. So said Aristotle some millennia ago. So stop to have a chat with a colleague or family member today. Staying connected makes you feel good which in turn helps you stay motivated. Once you measure the positive impact of dropping in to say hello or taking a break to call a friend, no chore or deadline will be important enough to divert you from these genuine marks of attention.
BE GRATEFUL
How to stay motivated when things around you don’t work out the way they should? Even then, we urge you to be grateful. For what, you may ask? Your good health, the fresh breeze on your face on a sunny day, you name it. Go with what comes to mind first and be truly grateful for it, no matter how big or small. Ponder daily on what you’re grateful for to start seeing even failure in a positive light. Because that’s the key to staying motivated.
ACT
Mark Twain famously said that ‘the secret of getting ahead is getting started’.
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started”
Mark Twain
It’s a phrase you’ve probably already experienced time and again. Make Mark Twain your mentor and get over the hurdle of just getting cracking. And the real hard part, doing the actual work, will fall into place like the pieces of a puzzle. The ‘work’ is not actually what you think it is going to be. Hours of concentration will fly by, however, the initial spark required to get you going can eat up all your energy. Fear not and act!
HYDRATE
So now you’ve started and are in the full swing of things. But remember to give your body the water it needs before it sends off signals of its own. Curb fatigue and the loss of motivation that goes with it with an extra glass of water. Why not prepare a cup of tea for yourself? As you’ll have gathered, the right time for staying motivated is NOW.
DREAM
The above techniques are all well and good, but after a while, you may start feeling a little weary. Even the best launch pad for staying motivated will only get you so far. In order to make staying motivated a sustainable daily routine, you will need to envision why you want to stay on track. The good news, all that’s required is to dream. And dream big if you like, because setting a goal is the best way to reach it. Didn’t Walt Disney say ‘if you can dream it, you can do it?
“If you can dream it, you can do it”
Walt Disney
VISUALISE
There is a powerful tool if there ever was one. If you can already see it in your mind’s eye, it has entered the realm of possibility. Picture yourself attaining your goals and the work behind it will be easy peasy. Visualizing will make you want to apply yourself. Ralph Waldo Emerson made this valid point: ‘Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm”
Ralph Walso Emerson
All you need to do right now is close your eyes and make it happen virtually. Then virtually just do it!
STRETCH
Back to the material body. To reach for the skies, why not literally stretch upwards and reach as high as you possibly can? This step is an actual physical way, if only metaphorical, of reaching your goals. Anything to show you it’s doable. So by stretching up or forward (or any kind of stretch that signifies success to you), you are breaking down your own barriers. You’re edging closer, one step at a time. As Roy T. Bennett put it, “What you stay focused on will grow”.
“What you stay focused on will grow”
Roy T. Bennett
TAKE STOCK
Once you’ve started making all of the above parts of your day, stop now and again to look back on your own achievements. The feel-good factor that comes with taking stock will work wonders for your overall mental health. Appreciate the significant changes you are able to bring about. This mindset is sure to spur you on. Nothing can stop you now.