Motivation!

Sometimes, like many others I have talked to over the years, I am just unmotivated to do a lot of things… unmotivated to work out, clean the house, do my homework… and then sometimes, all I do is productive things and dog on myself if I even take 5 minutes to lay on the couch and watch bad reality TV. I have always wondered what the secret is for those people that hit the gym every day at 5am and then again after their 8 hour work day, how some people keep their house sparkling clean every day, and how some of my classmates seem to do nothing in life but focus on school. Well thank you, MSN living, for the “9 Secrets of Motivated People.”

1.       When you make a plan, anticipate bumps. I need help in this area specifically. I have made a lot of plans and had a lot of goals, and when something happens that throws me off for the day, the next day is ruined too. Also, the rest of the week. And then it is over.

2.       Channel the little engine that could – really. MSN says that a person’s drive is often based on what they believe about their abilities, not on how talented they actually are. People that believe they are self-efficient do a lot better with goals than those who do not believe it. Maybe I should take this to heart, and believe it myself more!

3.       Don’t let your goals run wild, but work on them every day. I have always been told that if you set your goals too high, you may not ever reach them and will get discouraged. Maybe that’s a big part of my problem too. Even if I don’t really think a goal is unreachable, maybe it IS unreachable for that week or month, or year. I need to set smaller goals, maybe start with just making daily goals instead of trying to make goals for the year.

4.       Go public with it. This is something I actually do try to do. If I’m going on a diet, I try to tell my family and friends so they know not to ask me out to dinner and my roommates usually try to go on the diet with me, or vice versa. The only problem is that it only lasts about a month and then it’s over.

5.       Lean on a support crew when struggling. This is something I need to do more, and I think I need to do this more in life even when I am not talking about motivation. We all need to do this. I keep things bottled inside for so long that I sometimes just blow up, and I really always hate myself after I do it. I need to just lean on someone, like my mom, when something inside is eating me up instead of trying to deal with it myself.

6.       Make yourself a priority. Put yourself first, and be selfish, even though it doesn’t feel right sometimes. This can be totally hard sometimes but it can be done! At least it is hard for me to do… I tend to feel guilty when I put myself first for something but do not have to feel like this all the time!

7.       Challenge yourself – and change things up. I definitely agree with this, when on a diet, eating the same healthy salads gets so old day in and day out for lunch and supper. It’s good for the first week or so, but then after that… give me something bad for me! Changing things up and learning new recipes is something that could help stay on track!

8.       Keep on learning. I do truly enjoy learning about new things and love to “learn something new every day” Here is a fun little fact of the day blog to check out.

9.       Remember the deeper meaning. The article says that you are more likely to realize a goal when it has true personal significance to you.

Here is another article about goals!