6 ways to stay motivated and achieve your goals

By Ashlyn Parson // Contributing Writer | Photo by Steven S. // Flickr

Motivation: Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal.

Do you find yourself often lacking motivation to perform a task? Are you one of those often caught daydreaming when you you should be working?

Self-motivation is the most efficient way of improving your confidence and self-esteem. Apart from giving you strength to achieve your goals, it provides a change in your personality and character as well.

Self-motivation is a must in every aspect of life; whether it’s a career, your social life, relationships, health, spirituality, personality, etc. Even if you are a generally motivated person in general, at times, you may have a difficult time staying motivated for a certain task. For instance, I am a very motivated person, but only when it’s something I’m extremely passionate about.

Though there are numerous ways to improve your self-motivation, only some are greatly useful. You need to know how to set goals and achieve them because if you consistently set goals and never reach the endpoint you will lose motivation and vision. Here are six techniques to stay motivated:

1. Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision into reality. The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life and will help you overcome obstacles in your way.
2. Staying focused on a task can be difficult for some. For instance, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder, which makes it very difficult to focus. I have to rely on my medication in order to stay focused on tasks, and it is sometimes extremely frustrating. However, you must persevere and remain focused on the task at hand.
3. Avoid procrastination. Never let procrastination interfere with your completion of tasks. Once you have set goals for yourself, do not make excuses to delay them. The more you put tasks off, the more likely you won’t achieve your goal.
4. Share your ideas/goals with family and friends – They are the best motivators and can often help you problem solve and stay on track.
5. Being positive and staying optimistic are great ways to stay focused. Furthermore, it is best to surround yourself with people who are optimistic and confidence boosters. Those who are discouraging and pessimistic should be avoided.
6. Last but not least, rewarding yourself is the best way to stay motivated. When you reward yourself, you are increasing your self-esteem. Therefore, when you conquer small battles, you make progress on your task while feeling accomplished. You goals will seem easier and more attainable as you chip away at them one piece at a time and treat yourself along the way.

This article originally appeared on Ashlyn Parson’s blog.

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