Live Your Best Life!

Do you find it hard to stay motivated? If so, you are not alone, because it is not possible to stay highly motivated at all times. Of course there are people who seem to have a higher level of motivation ongoing, however, it does not mean they actually do. It is likely more about their mindset and their ability to push through and to keep going despite challenges or discomfort. 

As someone who is trained in motivational interviewing and who teaches strategies that help dial up and sustain motivation, I know too well how motivation can come and go. What typically happens is that we get excited about doing something new, we are energized and ready to take action because something is important to us, and then things get hard, uncomfortable, boring, frustrating, or challenging. When this happens to you, your brain will try to tell you all the reasons why you should stop working towards the thing you are trying to achieve and as a result, your motivation drops. 

Part of your brain is...

Do you keep the commitments you make to yourself? So often we tell ourselves we want to do something and then we spend all our time doing things for other people, while forgetting to keep the commitments that we make to ourselves. Why is it that we are willing to follow through with what we say we will do for other people, but not for ourselves?

Whether it’s work related, family related, friend related, or even a commitment to show up somewhere and volunteer, you are likely motivated to follow through because someone else is depending on you. Maybe you don’t want to let someone down, or maybe you are motivated to get something done because you don’t want negative repercussions that could result if you did not follow through with your commitment. Maybe you have been doing this so long, that it has become a habit and that anytime you make a commitment to someone else, the only option for you is to follow through with it.

The act of following through with things is both about habi...

Have you heard the old joke that the best business model is one where a gym opens on January 1^st, and then turns into a bar on February 15^th? It sounds crazy…but is it really? Have you ever had big goals in January and within a few weeks or months you are no longer putting in the effort required to achieve your goals? Why can so many of us relate to this? It’s because motivation ALWAYS falls off. Always, you ask. Yes…always. But the good news is that there are some practices that you can put into place that will help you continue to work towards your goals and help increase your motivation when it dips.

Break down bigger goals into smaller goals. When you have a big goal, it may feel overwhelming and hard to get started and see progress. Therefore, breaking down big goals into smaller, clearly outlined, action-oriented steps can help you get started and keep going.

Focus on one day at a time. When you think of the big picture, it can feel overwhelming which can cause you to bec...