8 Ways To Motivate Yourself from the Start
The past few weeks we have talked about why goals usually fail and how to strategically plan and accomplish your goals. It is important to start off on the right foot when we are seeking to attain our goals, so today’s post lists eight ways for you to motivate yourself to achieve your goal(s) from the very beginning.
These tips come to you from Zen Habit‘s blogger and author Leo Babauta. These specific tips are from his amazing productivity book, The Power of Less, The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential…in Business and in Life:
1. Start small
Set yourself up for success. Start slow, start small, and gradually build from there.
2. One goal
As we mentioned before, accomplishing a goal requires energy, focus and motivation – all limited resources. Focus on one goal to start and your narrow focus will drastically increase productivity.
3. Examine your motivation
Why are you seeking to accomplish this goal? As we discussed, it is essential to choose a goal that aligns with your core values. The goal has to have some significance, otherwise, you will likely fail.
4. Really, really want it.
Similar to the above, you must be passionate about and committed to your goal. If not, your motivation will falter.
5. Commit publicly
Hold yourself accountable by telling others of your commitment.
6. Get excited!
This is also very important as your excitement will translate to more energy and motivation to accomplish your goal.
7. Build anticipation
From Leo: “This will sound hard, and many people will skip this tip. But it really works. It helped me quit smoking after many failed attempts. If you find inspiration and want to achieve 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. By delaying your start, you are building anticipation, and increasing your focus and energy for your goal.”
8. Print it out, post it up
Constant reminders help to retain focus and maintain your excitement as well. As Robert Price told us in his post, it is vital to actually write out your goals!
Thanks again to Leo Babauta for his inspiring and useful tips. If you want to learn more about setting goals, accomplishing more by eliminating the non-essential, I highly recommend you check out his book, The Power of Less.
I just arrived in London, England where I will be training for my new job the next two weeks. I have made it a goal of mine to exercise for 20-30 minutes before work each day so I will be doing my best to stick to my goal using the above tips! What about you? What are your goals? What do you think of the above tips? Let me know in the comments!
