One of the most common mistakes people make when trying to get motivated is setting the wrong goals. But setting goals in a way that gets you motivated, keeps you on track and gets you want most is easier than you think!
We all love the idea of change for a better future, whether that is getting thinner, getting successful, getting rich, getting our marriage back on track, getting organised, or 101 other things, but very few of us actually go on to set goals which give us the 3 key elements to create unbreakable motivation – and ultimately succeed!
If we follow the 3 simple steps below, not only will we learn the best way to get motivated, we stand a much greater chance of achieving our goals with less stress and more fun!
Step 1 - Vision
If we spend all our time “working” but never any time focusing on what to work on, we’re in real trouble! In order to get motivated, we need a clear picture of what end results we actually want.
We need to actually spend the time to create a detailed vision on where we want to go and what our life will be like once we get there.
Once we know this vision for the future, and we can get truly excited about it, we will have more determination to actually achieve what it is we want.
Step 2 - Energy
To work towards our life’s dream in amongst everything else we need to get done during each day – especially if our dream is particularly ambitious – we need plenty of energy. And when we talk about energy it’s important to understand what we mean.
Energy means sustained strength and vitality, both physically and mentally. It means being consistent, or creating a biological baseline to make sure we are at our peak as much as we can!
In simple terms, this means getting a solid 7/8 hours sleep every night, eating the right food, exercising, keeping healthy and getting organised with our life balance. If we look after ourselves and stay in the best condition possible for us we will be more positive, more proactive and have more zest for taking the action we need to reach our goals.
If we also have a great way of creating the right life balance for us, we will find it easier to create the time for ourselves to follow our goals and work towards our dream future.
Step 3 - Progress
The single most important thing when we speak about gaining – and keeping – motivation is making consistent progress. Without progress in the right direction, towards what we ultimately want, our motivation will fade and so will the belief we can achieve what we want.
The key to making consistent progress is ACTION! We need to actually start! We need to set small enough goals to keep them fun, easily achievable and focussed on the end result. There are lots of models to setting goals, but a simple one to remember is the SMART model, where goals are set to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based.
The Motivation Killer
But before we think we have it all figured out, I wanted to share with you the single biggest thing which kills motivation - and that is COMPLACENCY!
Complacency kills motivation because as soon as we think to ourselves 'that's good enough' we lose our ENERGY and we limit our PROGRESS.
As soon as we think 'We don't have a bad life" or "I've done OK, I should feel proud of myself just to get where I am" we are telling our minds that where we are now is 'good enough' for us to stay.
But motivation comes from having a dream, having a vision of a better future, having goals and ambitions and as soon as we tell our minds that we're happy here, we lose our focus on our future and we stay still.
So, what beats complacency? Well, it's consistency and we're back to Step 3 - Progress.
Without following this simple 3 step process we will struggle to keep the motivation we need to achieve our life’s goals, but taking just a bit of time to learn how to create motivation for the things we want can make a massive difference to our mindset and our future!
Without the vision, we have no idea of what we actually want, without maintaining and managing our energy, we will make little progress and without consistent progress, we will never keep the energy we need to succeed at what we want to achieve.
Once we have the 3 key elements in balance, we can become unstoppable and life can become exciting and fulfilling again!
To show you how to get all of this for yourself, I have written a free guide called the Mindset Map. It goes through my signature 5-stage process called the Mindset Makeover Method to give you the map for unbreakable motivation for yourself.
Sound interesting? Just download it for FREE here