How to keep motivated.

There’s no doubt that at some point you’ve set yourself a goal– “I want to lose weight” “I want a promotion” “ I want to run a marathon” “I want to read more” and the likelihood of achieving these goals is often reliant on how motivated you are. 

Motivation is mysterious and can strike at any time of day or night. When we lack motivation it’s usually linked to your goals; if they are too big they can seem insurmountable and not possible. 

Setting something unachievable can leave us feeling hopeless and start to wonder if even setting goals in the first place is pointless; and thus, another couch potato is birthed into existence! (Hey, we’ve all been there, it’s so warm and comfy and we’ll just sit here for a little while…) 

But do not fear, we are here to kick your motivation into overdrive with these 5 hacks:

Make sure your goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) as this is key to their success. Many times, people will set goals that are too obtuse and vague - let's take a classic common goal of ‘losing weight’. A better version would be to set a goal of ‘losing 10kg in a year’. 

At all times try to avoid using abstract goals. For example: 

“Trying harder at work” would be better as “Increase work sales by 10% in the next six months” 

“Enjoying myself more” would be better as “Plan events for at least three Saturdays per month over the next year” 

“Go to the gym more often” would be better as “Commit to working out four days per week over the next three months” 

“Drinking less” would be better as “Go two weekends a month without drinking alcohol for at least a year”

While it can be easy to get bogged down on the difficult parts of achieving your goals, try to focus more on what you find enjoyable. For example, if you're trying to be healthier and lose weight, but you hate exercising, focus on something you do enjoy while you're doing it. Imagine fitting into those new pants and how they’ll make you feel… you’re suffering now but it’s all moving towards making a better you!

For the big hairy audacious goals it can be easy to lose focus as they can seem so impossible. But breaking them down into sizeable chunks with rewards along the way can be a great incentive. 

This sort of positive reinforcement can be highly beneficial to help you keep motivated, as there is something else ‘at the end of the rainbow’ more than simply feeling good. Be careful not to make it something that goes against the idea of the goals. For example, there’s little point in giving up drinking for a few months, only to reward yourself by throwing a huge party and getting plastered!

It’s so easy to set some goals and then just let them drop by the way side. By setting yourself simple reminders you can keep yourself on target to smash through these obstacles! If your willpower is strong you can do this yourself; keep reminding yourself why you want to make these changes and what how good you'll feel after.

Check in with yourself regularly along the way and at the end examine how you did. How did you think you went, was it easy, hard, boring, exciting? If your goals are too easy or too hard, it can be difficult to keep motivated and achieve anything. Continually reminding yourself what you want to achieve is key!

People are motivated by all different things – so don’t beat yourself up and compare yourself to others. If you’re one of the many that continually set goals only to lose sight of them, then we hope out top tips have helped.