Self-motivation is the Key To Finishing Everything You Start!

Self-Motivation is the Key to Finishing What You Start. This post is the second in a two part post on self-motivation. Originally when I started writing it I had in mind ten tips to boost your self-motivation. I categorized the 10 tips but then I got so carried away that I could have written a post on each and so I had to trim it down! rnSo without further ado here is the second part of “Self-Motivation is the Key to Finishing What You Start.” 1. Understand your reasons It’s really important that you understand why you want to achieve your goal, not just that you want to achieve it. If you don’t fully believe in the goal you have set for yourself then you are unlikely to achieve it and you will never have the true self-motivation from the start. rnAsk yourself what benefits you want to realise by completing the goal. If those benefits aren’t something that you want for yourself, then maybe the goal isn’t right for you. Sometimes the reason that people don’t reach their goals is that they’ve unwittingly set a goal that conflicts other interests. Check that the goals you have set yourself really are the thing that you most want to achieve. For example, you might have a goal to earn a promotion at work but in reality you know that you wouldn’t be happy if you actually did that role as the longer hours would mean less time with your family and ideally your number one priority would be more time to spend with your family, not less. If that’s the case, is there another way you can attain career satisfaction, and still keep quality time at home? 2. Don’t get Complacent You might find that you decide a goal, you set yourself some timescales, you find self-motivation much easier than expected and you seem to be well on the way to meeting your targets. This can lead you to be really complacent about the final steps towards your goal! A common mistake is not following the original timetable you set yourself because you think it will be easy to catch up, or thinking that the first few steps towards your goal were so easy that you don’t feel challenged enough to still want to reach your goal. This is where it’s vital for you to have a good understanding of why the original goal was so important to you! If you have set up a business, and exceeded the targets you set yourself for turnover, or number of customers, it’s very easy to think business is going well enough for you to take your foot off the gas. Big Mistake. It can only take a bad review, or losing a good client for things to go the other way, and if you haven’t been putting in as much effort as you should have, then suddenly things can go very wrong. Likewise, training for a marathon, you could be going really well and find that 10mile runs seem easy, so give yourself a week off and then all of a sudden you can’t get back into the habit of running every day. Self-Motivation is all about constant reminders, checking the plan to see if it still fits what you want to achieve, and re-evaluating where you are against reaching your goal. 3. Learn from Failure If you have set yourself a goal, then the reason you have set it is probably because it is something that you find hard to do or have never done before. The very nature of this means that you will encounter difficult challenges, you will make mistakes and will suffer setbacks. The key to success is not being put off by these failures, but persisting until you get things right! Go back to your mentor or your support group and share these experiences – undoubtedly someone will be able to help you through it. Learn what went wrong, get yourself back on track and move on to the next step towards your goal. rn4. Be kind to yourself In striving to reach a goal, you will be doing new things, learning concepts you haven’t come across before, and coming up against challenges that previously haven’t existed! Getting what you want isn’t always easy, and it won’t always make you happy. Focus on the end result, not the hardships you encounter along the way, and if you slip up or need a break then don’t worry! Don’t be too hard on yourself, use your planning, your support group and your own self-motivation to help you put things in perspective. 5. Remember why you want it! In general, people are happiest when they are on the way to achieving a goal of some kind. Whether it is reading a book you have always meant to read, saving for a deposit for your ideal house, losing a few more pounds to get you into that perfect outfit, or making the first sale in your entrepreneurial venture. Self confidence, personal pride and happiness are all tied up in the realisation of our goals, so whenever you have a bad day remember what it is about your goal that will make you happy. Keep that image in your mind, or stick a picture on the fridge, anything that will remind you of why it is that you are doing this. Everyone finds their self-motivation in different ways and some people find theirs easier than others. Just remember, reaching your goals in life is always difficult, and for every goal you achieve, countless other people will have failed; you should be very proud of your achievements! You can find the first instalment of Self-Motivation is the Key to Finishing What you Start by visiting my blog.