10 Beautiful Ways to Motivate Yourself
“Forget about the fast lane. If you really want to fly, just harness your power to your passion.”
Positive and proactive people are all self-motivated. They do not rely on other people, certain events or accumulation of wealth to make them happy. Their happiness starts with themselves. These are the people who are just impossible to deject. People who struggle with self-motivations are also those who can’t seem to shake off despair and trials. While others are gifted with the natural instinct to look into the brighter side, others are born to look in the other way.
Self-motivation can also be learned. With determination, practice and focus you can transform the dour and gloomy life you lead right now to the positive and happy one you so desire.
1. Compare yourself, only to yourself
Comparing yourself to others is a pointless exercise. You will only find it frustrating and disappointing. Your life is totally different from everyone else. Every one of us has our own set of challenges, gifts, outlook in life and motivations. Thus, your wealth, your physical appearance, your lifestyle, your house and your idea of success cannot be compared to your sister’s or your neighbor’s. Instead, compare yourself to the person you were. Track your improvements and successes. Your past achievements will motivate you to work harder and go farther.
2. Stay around positive people
Being around positive people is already a motivating factor. The optimistic energy that radiates through them will reach you and pull you towards a more positive lifestyle and visions. With a positive company, you will have friends who will constantly push you to do better, people who believe in you and will support you through challenges. On the contrary, being around pessimists and skeptics can drag you down. Negativism also rubs off among close and constant company. Choose your friends well.
3. Keep learning new things
Learning new things and self-improvement are the best confidence builders and motivators. Knowledge widens our horizon and opens doors to more opportunities. Do not stop learning and always take every chance you got to read good books, learn a new skill or another language or travel and visit new places. The skill, knowledge or experience will be a gift to yourself, something that will stay with you forever.
4. Dreams, goals, plans and steps
Start with a dream or a lot of dreams. Then set definite goals in order to achieve your dream. And then make plans, a roadmap towards your goals. In the roadmap will be series of steps or smaller goals that will get you closer to the main goal and the dream. If you dream of heading a successful business empire one day, your goal could be to set up a successful business. To achieve the goal, your roadmap could include setting up a business, working hard to grow it, an expansion, going national, going international and setting up a conglomerate. The steps could include a business plan, an internship, an industry immersion, a home business, first store, fifth branch, and a national headquarters. Concrete plans make dreams more possible and goals more achievable.
5. Face your fears, everyday
Get out of your comfort zone, as much as possible. Cuddling yourself all the time can thwart your development, growth and drive. On the contrary, constantly facing challenges and personal fears will push you to be stronger, work harder and discover new worlds. Facing your fears is the only way you could conquer them. Comfort zones are best for retreats – restful, relaxing, and reinvigorating. When life’s getting too hard on you, take an indulging rest, recharge and then get ready to face it again – stronger, wiser, and fearless.
6. Yesterday was a lesson, today a gift
Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes you win, other times you learn. Past experiences can either be fond memories or lessons learned. Your life today should not be defined by your past mistakes. Everybody falls, success is just a matter of how you stand back up. Do not forget past mistakes and its lessons, but don’t dwell on it too much. Your focus should be on how you can make a better life today.
7. Focus on what makes you happy
What makes you happy? Know your aspirations, hobbies, and passion in life. What are your deepest desires? Who are the people you will happily wake up early in the morning, work harder, and be a better person for? Knowing and recognizing your deepest sources or motivation will help you focus on it. When you value your child’s future more than anything else, working, saving up, and sending him or her to school will not be the daunting goal it is when you’re simply looking at it as a duty.
8. Visualize your rewards
When you have a clear visualization of your rewards, working towards achieving it will be less work and more labor of love. Putting up visual reminders is a common and effective motivation technique. Create a vision board with all your goals in it – your dream house, a new car, or a big business and put it on the wall, on your bathroom mirror, or use as screensaver. Women trying to lose weight put up a picture of themselves at their slimmest or one at their heaviest. Something they will look forward to or something to never go back to.
9. Stay healthy
Health is a big factor to your general outlook on life. Fit and healthy people generally have a more positive and upbeat view of life, while unhealthy people are more pessimistic. Shake off that dour and gloomy feeling by getting into the healthy regimen. Get more physical. Clean the house, use the stairs, walk the dog, cook and eat in. The energy will pump you up and more!
10. Keep moving forward
Life is a series of ups and downs. Flat lines are only for the dead or dying. Look ahead for the highs of achievement and success, but also anticipate downs of pitfalls and challenges. A few setbacks do not mean the end of the road for you. It is just life’s way of telling you to slow down, learn more, or to take a detour. Whatever you do stop. Rest a while, make a new start, or barge on ahead, just never stop.
If life is always a bed of roses it would be boring. We need a few heartaches to remind us of bliss, a few failures to recognize every achievement, and some disappointments to appreciate ourselves. Life is what you make it and your life is wholly in your hands. Shit happens. You can choose to wallow in depression and frustrations or you can try your darnest to rise up and show them your true mettle.
