When you’re facing a lull in moving forward, there are clever ways to motivate yourself. Motivation isn’t something that remains static and there will always be times when motivation seems to be lacking. This could be due to stress, anxiety or other personal issues that we all face.
Create a visualisation board
Put together a board filled with images of how you would like your life to be. Where do you see yourself in 2-5 years time? What will be happening? Ensure that the images you use are in line with your values. If you want to save the planet and be eco friendly, don’t put too many pictures up of aeroplanes. If you value friendship over possessions, put more pictures of people socialising together than pictures of cars, houses and material goods. Put the visualisation board somewhere that you can see it daily and use this to remind you of where you want to go.It’s a great way to quickly remind yourself of your long-term goals.
Make a list of the disadvantages of not moving forward
It’s a good idea to remind yourself of the costs of not being motivated. What will happen if you stay as you are? How would this affect your life? if you are currently not doing much and aren’t being productive, what would happen if you continued in this ways for the next year or two? Would you stagnate? Would the lack of direction and progress depress you and encourage anxiety? What’s more – how will feel about yourself if you stay in the same situation for longer than you need to?
Act as if
This one takes a bit more effort but it can help to pretend as if you have already reached your goal. If losing weight would make you feel better about yourself. Imagine how you would feel and treat yourself that way now. The more you show yourself self compassion, the better. Sometimes acting as if, can lead to the reality arriving (look up “Law of Attraction”).
Self compassion
Lat but not least, you will be far more likely to meet your goal if you treat yourself kindly. People mistakenly believe that being hard on yourself or self critical will enable you in some way. This isn’t true. Self criticism holds people back, it doesn’t propel them forward. You will have setbacks on your path to your goals but it’s important to understand that you aren’t alone in this. Life rarely offers good things up without any effort.
Remember to enjoy the journey, the path to your goals shouldn’t exclude happiness just because you haven’t reached your goal. If you are someone who says, “I’ll be happy when…”, realise that you are effectively telling yourself that happiness will only come with a certain condition. You can also choose to feel as happy as possible whilst attaining goals. This is your choice. You can be happy now whilst you climb your way up.
Mandy X
Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash
Author: Mandy Kloppers
Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.
