Maintaining Your Motivation

Why do we give up so easily?

People that achieve their dreams are no different from you or I, they have just adopted certain techniques that help them maintain focus and commitment.

There is no secet to achieving your dream!

By follow the Top Ten Tips I have outlined you will be on the way to achieving your dreams. Remember, to be kind to yourself, this will take time, patience, and tenacity but I promise it will be worth all the time and effort that you invest!

1. Your goal must to be clearly defined  It cannot be a 'wishy washy' One day I'll do such and such sort of affair. It needs to be very specific. Make sure that you flesh out your goals as much as possible. What will it look like, feel like, even sound like? What are you and others doing? Where will you be, what is happening? Imagine achieving your goal in Glorious Technicolor! Always remember to write down your goals!

2. Create a 'dream board' or scrap book. Stick in all the pictures, aspirational images etc that relate to your various goals and review and update it regularly. Don't belittle your dream by saying "I'll never achieve/afford this!"

3. Set a realistic time frame in which to achieve your goals. But, make sure you don't put it too many years ahead, as you'll put off actions and never get around to starting. Make sure you write down the dates you plan to achieve your goal alongside your goals.

4. Your goal needs to inspire and stretch you out side of your comfort zone. It must excite you. You must feel passionately about it. If it's boring you'll get bored and loose interest.

5. It must be YOUR goal! It's no good doing things to achieve a goal you feel you should achieve. Your heart just won't be in it! Check that your goals are your goal's and not something you feel obliged to do for some else.

6. Break large goals down in to 'chunks' or 'Journey Goals'. These help to keep moving you towards your ultimate goal and maintain your motivation. The task will appear less daunting. Make sure each journey goal has a specific time commitment (written down!)

7. Check that your goals are realistic. If you want to lose 3 stone in 3 months you are setting yourself up to fail! If you want to meet your ideal life partner by next month you are setting yourself up to fail! If you want your ideal career, but have no experience or skills, by next quarter you are likely to be setting yourself up to fail! Set yourself realistic targets, break them down into achievable 'chunks' and review regularly.

8. Practice positive affirmations. This is just a way of re-educating our subconscious to be more positive. If you say 'I'm on a diet' your subconscious will associate 'being on a diet' with not eating, hunger, going without and makes success harder. By changing how we view our actions we can bring about success. Try saying something like 'I am leading a healthy lifestyle and making good eating decisions'. You can soon re-educate your subconscious if you practice daily!

9. Make your goal measurable! How will you know you've achieved your goal when you get there? What criteria will you judge your success by? If you want to improve you time management how will you know when you are 10 out of 10? What will you benefit from achieving you goal?

10. Make sure your goals are balanced. If you work too hard at achieving one thing, other parts of your life can get out of kilter so make sure you set a healthy balance. It's no good being promoted to that wonderful new role if you have worked yourself near too death and damaged your personal relationships and health on the way!

Remember, life is a journey not a destination. Relax and enjoy your successes. Consider setbacks as an opportunity to learn and improve. Smile at the trials and tribulations along the way. You have a plan and a road map and you are on the way to your dream life, nothing can hold you back, you just have to take control and go!