Ways to Get Motivated When You’re Down!

When I fall out of the routine because of disruption from things going on in my life, it’s hard to get started again. But I’ve always found a way to break out of that spot, and here are some things I’ve learned that have helped:​

1. One Goal at a time partner!

• Whenever I’ve been in a stand still, I’ve discovered that it’s often because I have too much going on in my life. I’m trying to do too much. And it takes all my energy and motivation. It’s probably the most common mistake that people make. They just try to take on too much & try to accomplish too many goals at once. You cannot maintain energy and focus (the two most important things in accomplishing a goal) if you are trying to do two or more goals at once. It’s not possible! I’ve tried it many times. You have to choose one goal, for now, and focus on it completely. I know, that’s hard. Still, I speak from experience. You can always do your other goals when you’ve accomplished your One Goal.

1. Find inspiration!

• Inspiration, for me, comes from others who have achieved what I want to achieve, or who are currently doing it. I read other blogs, books, magazines. I Google my goal, and read success stories and then implement things that will attach me towards that goal.

1. Get excited!

• This sounds obvious, but most people don’t think about it much: if you want to break out of this bump in the road, get yourself excited about a goal. But how can you do that when you don’t feel motivated? Well, it starts with inspiration from others, but you have to take that excitement and build on it. For me, I’ve learned that by making videos about it, and sharing it with others, and re-watching it as much about it as possible, and visualizing what it would be like to be successful, I get excited about a goal. Once I’ve done that, it’s just a matter of carrying that energy forward and keeping it going.

1. Build anticipation!

• This will sound hard, and many people will skip this tip. But it really works. It helped me quit playing around after many failed attempts. If you find inspiration and want to do a goal, don’t start right away. Many of us will get excited and want to start today. That’s a mistake. Set a date in the future — a week or two, or even a month — and make that your Start Date. Mark it on the calendar. Get excited about that date. Make it the most important date in your life. In the meantime, start writing out a plan. And do some of the steps below. Because by delaying your start, you are building anticipation, and increasing your focus and energy for your goal.

1. Post your goal!

• Print out your goal in big words. Make your goal just a few words long, like a mantra. For example, “Take 15 mins to follow up with potiental clients >> Daily <<”, and post it up on your wall or refrigerator. Post it at home and work. Put it on your computer desktop. You want to have big reminders about your goal, to keep your focus and keep your excitement going. A picture of your goal also helps. Which I'll get to in just a minute.

1. Commit publicly!

• None of us likes to look bad in front of others. We will go the extra mile to do something we’ve said publicly. Now, you don’t have to commit to your goal in your daily newspaper or on television, but you can do it with friends and family and co-workers, and you can do it on your blog if you have one. And hold yourself accountable — don’t just commit once, but commit to giving progress updates to everyone every week or so.

1. Think about it daily!

• If you think about your goal every day, it is much more likely to become true. To this end, posting the goal on your wall or computer desktop helps a lot. Have you seen a dream board? If not, you should totally make one. Mine is on my phone, in my car, and on the wall above my desk. I put it there so I have to see what my goals are. Sending yourself daily reminders also helps. If you can commit to doing one small thing to further your goal for just a few minutes every single day, your goal will almost certainly come true!

1. Get support!

• It’s hard to accomplish something alone. When I decided to run my business, I had the help of no one, but I had a great business community where I could focus on what they were doing. When I decided to quit playing around, I joined a few FaceBook groups and that helped tremendously. And of course, my kids kept me focused every step of the way. I couldn’t have done these goals without them, or without the others who I came across for mentors. Find your support network, either in the real world or online, or both.

1. Realize that there ARE ebbs and flows on any business ride!

• Motivation is not a constant thing that is always there for you. It comes and goes, and comes and goes again, like the tide. But realize that while it may go away, it doesn’t do so permanently. It will come back. Just stick it out and wait for that motivation to come back. In the meantime, read about your goal, ask for help, and do some of the other things listed here until your motivation comes back.

1. Stick with it!

• Whatever you do, don’t give up. Even if you aren’t feeling any motivation today, or this week, don’t give up. Again, that motivation will come back and you want to be there and still going when it does! Think of your goal as a long journey, and your slow period is just a little bump in the road. You can’t give up with every little bump. Stay with it for the long term, ride out the ebbs and surf on the flows, and you’ll get there.

1. Build on small successes!

• Again, if you start small for a week, you’re going to be successful. You can’t fail if you start with something ridiculously easy. Who can’t dial a few numbers in an hour? You’ll feel successful and good about yourself once you JUST do it. Take that successful feeling and build on it, with another baby step. Add 20-30 minutes to your daily routine, for example. With each step (and each step should last about a week), you will feel even more successful. Make each step really, really small, and you won’t fail. After a couple of months, your tiny steps will add up to a lot of progress and a lot of success.

1. Read about it daily!

• When I lose motivation, I just read a book or blog about my goal and then go out an implement it. It inspires me and reinvigorates me. For some reason, reading helps motivate and focus you on whatever you’re reading about. So read about your goal every day, if you can, especially when you’re not feeling motivated.

1. Call for help when your motivation stops!

• Having trouble? Ask for help. Best advice is to get a like-minded partner that is really wanting something as bad as you do to join you. It doesn’t matter who, just tell them your problems, and talking about it will help. Ask them for advice. Ask them to help you overcome your spot of feeling blah. It works!

1. Think about the benefits, not the difficulties!

• One common problem is that we think about how hard something is. An example would be talking to a few new people sounds so hard! Just thinking about it makes you tired. But instead of thinking about how hard something is, think about what you will get out of it. For example, instead of thinking about how tiring it can be to be on the phone and explaining yourself to the 100th person, focus on how good you’ll feel when you’re done, and how you’ll be able to tell people how it just took a few no's over the long run to get where you are now. The benefits of something will help energize you.

1. Kick those negative thoughts & replace them with positive ones!

• ​Along those lines, it’s important to start monitoring your thoughts. Recognize negative self-talk, which is really what’s causing your slump. Just spend a few days becoming aware of every negative thought. Then, after a few days, try squashing those negative thoughts like a bug, and then replacing them with a corresponding positive thought. Squash, “This is too hard!” and replace it with, “I can do this! If that princess Sofia can do it, so can I!” It sounds crazy, but it works. Really!!