No matter what type of goals you have – professional or personal – you need to be motivated enough to reach those. After the initial desire to reach your goal fades, it gets a little bit tricky to stick to the plan and keep going every day without giving up your dream. This is the main reason why it is so important to shape your thoughts and learn to keep that desire & motivation burning.
Read on to find 5 realistic and working ways to get your motivation burning and stay that way!
P.S. There’s also a free weekly planner printable at the bottom of this page – use it to structure your week and reach your goals easier.
How To Get Motivated To Reach Your Goals
1. Make a “Changes List”
There’s probably a lot you want to achieve or change in your life. To make things clear and simple, make a list of all the goals you want to achieve and call it the “Changes List”.
The entire process of writing and numerating your ideas makes them a little bit more real than just a thought. It is also a great idea to hang that piece of paper somewhere you can see because it will constantly remind you of what you want to change in your life.
2. Highlight The Reasons Why You Want To Achieve Your Goals
In order to remain motivated to achieve any goal, you must have a clear WHY exactly you want to reach that goal. If you can’t find any reason, or if your reason is to do it because other people want it… Then it will be very, very difficult to keep things on track and find motivation.
So, close your eyes and imagine yourself… Imagine that you have already achieved that goal. Imagine the feeling, the thoughts, or anything else related to that scenario. This will remind you that you really want this + expose that particular WHY you should start and keep working on your goal.
3. Set Up a Plan Of Action
This one starts to feel as old as the world, I know… But whatever you do, whatever you want to achieve, make a plan first so you don’t have to lose motivation while trying to think of what to do next.
List details for every step and what you think should happen when you get to that certain step. Moreover, constantly document your progress because every time you cross something off the list, you will feel a wave of satisfaction and motivation to work even harder. Hint – here’s a free goal planner to help you!
And if you want to completely maximize your goal potential, I highly recommend this book:
Goals: How to Get the Most Out of Your Life
Okay, let’s move on!
4. Encourage Positive Thoughts As Much As You Can
When it comes to staying motivated, positive thoughts are a must. Feeling down leads to a thought that you’re not capable enough, or that your goal is not important (or even lame!), but you HAVE to overcome them.
Trust me, there will be times when you fall off the track – guaranteed. But you should never abandon your goal after a few unsuccessful attempts unless this goal became completely unimportant to you. If it’s still what you want, stop hurting yourself with negative thoughts and decide that tomorrow you will do better – and do that.
5. Rewards Are Awesome… And Necessary
To keep your motivation up, it is kind of imperative to reward yourself for each successful step. A small moment of joy can make wonders for your entire state of mind.
Always remember that offering yourself a reward does not imply you are taking a pause from your goal. It is rather a way of recharging your batteries and moving forward with inspiration.
If small rewards do not motivate you at all, set a big reward for making several achievements. Make sure it’s something you really really want – otherwise it will not motivate you enough to stay consistent.
It may take some time to think of something good enough to keep you so motivated, but it’s really worth it.
Free Weekly Planner Printable – Help Yourself To Stay Focused On Your Goals
This lightweight, clutter-free Week Planner Printable comes in A4 or US Letter size and is built around the five steps above. Write your changes list, your why and a plan of action with rewards, then plan each week on two pages: your days, meals and water on the left, your weekly goal, tasks, appointments and habits on the right. Print both pages on one sheet for a weekly plan you can overview in seconds, or print just one page if that’s all you need. A short weekly review helps you celebrate progress and claim your reward. Here’s how it looks:
To get your free printable weekly planner, simply choose the size that fits the paper you use for printing:
Free Weekly planner Printable by ShineSheets – Week on 2 Pages Layout – size US LETTER
Free Printable Weekly planner by ShineSheets – Week on 2 Pages – Paper size A4
*Personal use only!
Conclusion
You see, getting goal-motivated is not rocket science… There’s really no such thing as “a hidden secret” to get motivated. You just have to be clear of what you want, why you want it and how you are going to do it. Skip any of these and your goal achievement process starts to fall apart like a little house of cards… But you’re not going to let it fall. I know – you are going to show everyone what you are capable of. You know it too.
