🙌 What is motivation? 🙌 And how do you get more of it? It is defined as 'a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way’........
Motivation is what drives you towards a goal, gets you up in the morning, and keeps you working through a task, determined to succeed when things get tough.
There has to be driving force behind why you do what you do: when you are getting upset or demotivated by something, some advice may include ‘think of the bigger picture’ or ‘don’t lose sight of your goals’. For example, you may be motivated to eat 'eat clean' because you want to maintain/lose a certain amount of weight, but another plate of salad may become boring and demotivate you at that moment in time. Thinking of how far you have come and why you are not eating Ben & Jerry’s out of the tub takes focus and a sprinkling of will power to get your mind back on track. A student starting university has the goal of achieving a degree at the end of three years. This will keep them motivated to complete the course to gain the certification.
Motivation is why a person acts or behaves in a particular way. It also drives people’s willingness and desire to do something. When there is motivation, there is enthusiasm. Motivation is an internal phenomenon: and what motivates me will deffo not motivate the next person. Different strokes for different folks and all that.
So how to you get motivated??…..
- Set goals. These give you a direction to focus on. The are measurable
- Your goals have to interest you: you are much more likely to stay motivated if you are working towards something that you want to do or achieve.
- Find something that interests you within goals that don’t. I’m not particularly interested in watching hours of YouTube tutorials to learn photoshop, but I know it will help me with my designing and online presence down the line.
- Plot your progress. Can you see the evidence that you are making progress?
- Break up your goal into smaller, bite-size chunks. I had an aim to get fitter for horse riding again after a c-section, so I started off by going to the gym twice a week instead of hitting the gym hard and losing all motivation. Going to the gym has now become a habit that I stick to.
- Use rewards. I love buying myself small things off eBay or Amazon. Books, iPhone camera lenses, a face roller (true story, its amazing!). Whatever floats your boat! A trip to the pub on a Friday after work. Treat yo’self!!
- Don’t do it alone. I don’t have the motivation to work-out at home, hence why I go to the gym to classes. I need the encouragement of a class full of people and a fitness instructor shouting at me!
Go and grab a piece of paper and write down your goals. Then start mapping out how you are going to achieve them. Also once you've written it down, it helps bring your vision to reality & serves as a reminder.
I love working. It’s a fact. I love posting on my Squiffy Print Instagram, I love messaging customers, I love doodling new designs. However, I now understand that to keep going requires some other things too: I need to stay healthy to be on top of my game. This sounds geeky, but I also do these on the reg:
- Have a decent breakfast with some extra vitamins too, I need fuel, man!!
- Move every day. Walk the dog, quick jog, go to the gym. Helps release some happy stuff!
- Fresh air: going from having a outdoor career to now working behind a computer can be a bit suffocating. I have a dog and child that need to be outside too so this allows me to down tools to spend some time with them outside.
- A to-do list. I used to write mine on a post-it note so I couldn’t get as much on it (!!!) but now I start off Monday with a list, then prioritise the important tasks. Any left over will get rolled over to the next day.
- Take regular breaks. Even it its to sit outside to eat lunch now the sun is making an appearance. This gives you time-out to come back to what you were doing with ‘fresh eyes’.
- Sleep! I realise now I am NOT a night owl when it comes to working. I can, however, get out of bed really early. So that's how I roll.
- Drink the water! Water is one of the most important substances on earth. All plants and animals must have water to survive. If there was no water there would be no life on earth. If you are well hydrated you have better concentration, it's a medical fact. When you are not properly hydrated the effects can be felt in your brain as symptoms like headaches, poor concentration and reduced short-term memory
Wow, even just working all that down has given me a boost!! Guys, go forth and drink the water and write the to-do lists!
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