MOTIVATION: FIND IT AND GET MOVIN’ ON YOUR GOALS!

Are you waking up in the morning or thinking that you don’t like your life from time to time? When times are tough, how do you get past the why I am stuck here feeling unsatisfied? Year after year, you are in the same place before. Are you the type of person that has to reach rock bottom before you feel the need to change your life? Most of the time, it takes one small act, like applying for that job that pays more money or saving $50.00 out of your paycheck for you to start your emergency fund. Honestly, the problem is that you have to get motivated.  What will motivate you to move and act to achieve the life you want to lead. We all tend to believe we need to take big actions to make significant changes in our lives, but we do not.

According to verywellmind.com (2020), “Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. It is what causes you to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge.” It’s the spark that will keep us going.

Cicely Tyson states, “Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew,” It will make you stronger, smarter, and wiser so that you will never have to experience those challenges again. These challenges can motivate you to become a better person, and these challenges can be your “why story” that will lead you to your motivation.

What is your WHY story? When searching for your why think about the entire picture that made you say, okay, I am ready. Your story is somewhere amidst everything, buried in the plot of your life, waiting to be hauled out from all the elements that make you, you. Write out everything that led you to want to change. Keep All your frustrations, inspirations, and happy times because your why is sitting somewhere in the most of it.  Find your why! Your WHY story is not for everyone. So, do not concern yourself with what people think.

However, knowing what is holding you back allows you to work on the area that needs improving, which will give you the necessary motivation to achieve your goals. It could be you because you are too much in your head, stopping you from achieving your goals. It could be you need to go back to school to update or learn new skills. Whatever it is, you should seek and find out to take the next step toward achieving your goals.

Next, you must recognize and acknowledge your feelings. No matter what society says, many of us want to feel and be grown in every sense of the word. This feeling makes us want and need various things. When something we feel is missing from our lives, we must figure out and act before working our way down the rabbit hole of depression. You might want something different for yourself that will lead to other things you may want down the line. So, grab hold of the motivation you need to push you forward.

Your feelings will lead you to acknowledge if your motivation is intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic Motivational behaviors come from the personal gratification you feel when you complete a goal or task—for example, Joining the basketball team because you love the game.

Extrinsic Motivation behaviors are the motivation you feel for work you will perform to receive some benefit or evade reprimand. For example, when someone must complete charity work or spend a couple of days in jail, they are motivated to do it to avoid jail time.

You can also find motivation when you have the right kind of people around you. People who will challenge you and provide positivity to your daily life are the type of people you need to be around, trying to be better and achieve better for themselves.

Make sure your goals are smart goals ─ which are specific which means answering the what and the who questions that pop up in your assessment of your goals. Be measurable by quantifying your goals to track how much you are improving. Make sure your goals are achievable, which means realistic and attainable. Being relevant is knowing what your “why-story” is when it pertains to setting your goals. Make sure your goals are time-bound to track them appropriately.

Acknowledge all your accomplishments, whether they are big or small ones, because you are still one step closer to achieving your goals.

Speaking positively to yourself can lead you to motivation, and it is a part of self-care. Note before your change anything, and you have to change your mindset; therefore, look at things not from a failure point of view that will send you down a depression state, but from these are all lessons that I need to learn to figure out, once again what will work for me and what will not.

And lastly, if you find yourself struggling with staying motivated. Build your confidence. Be that goal-oriented, successful person even though you feel like you are not. Keep working on what you need to work on to achieve your goals. If you are looking for instructions to better your life, it is all about trial and error, and you have to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t.

Understand that your motivation will be your lifeboat, which saves you in your dire need. It’s the rush of adrenaline that will move you when action is needed. If you do not want to be the same person, you must motivate yourself to take action.