My Top 10 Self Motivation Techniques Guaranteed to Keep You Energized
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” ~ Amelia Earhart
Some days you jump out of bed because you can’t wait to begin your day. Other times, it’s hard to make yourself do anything. What accounts for this? What self-motivation techniques can you use to get you through the tough days?
There are many factors that either support or undermine motivation…the amount and quality of sleep, diet, exercise, emotional and mental state, curiosity and interest are just a few. But the biggest factor comes down to YOUR reason why. After all, motivation begins with motive. I encourage you to get into the habit of asking yourself, “What is my motive for saying or doing this?”
If your motive is inspired by fear of what others think, or because you feel it’s a “should”, your motivation will fade once that pressure is gone. However, if your motive is fueled by an inward energy or passion, you may falter at times, but you won’t ever give up.
When I run out of energy, here are a few self-motivation techniques I use to refuel my motivation. But before we jump in you should know, crucial to success is my practice of mindfulness. It helps me slow down and fully experience each moment, which makes it easier to practice these techniques.
- Just get started and do one thing. I find that one thing leads to another, then another. As a result, things feel easier and more enjoyable. That’s when motivation catches up with you again.
- Stop the overwhelm. Ask yourself, “What baby step can I do right now?” Overwhelm often comes from perfectionism and leads to procrastination. When you break it down into manageable steps, and focus only on the next step, a huge project becomes doable. Our internal self-talk is often what get’s in our way. I appreciate what Vincent Van Gogh said, “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” Keep it simple and just do it!
- Compete with the clock. Don’t feel like exercising? Need to write a blog post? Set the clock and speed work for 2 minutes. That’s it. You have to quit after 2 minutes. Yes, this is a mind game, but it works. What happens when you’re told you can’t do something? You fight against it, of course. You end up cramming as much as you can into those 2 minutes and more often than not, you’re brain has been engaged and will move you to keep going.
- Keep distractions out of reach. Be mindful of the way you distract yourself…checking emails, scanning Facebook, sending texts… Then put those distractions far away, so you’re not having to expending precious energy fighting the habit to reach for the phone, etc. You might also want to clean your space; clutter distracts your brain, whether you realize it or not.
- Engage The Observer, not the Judge. Avoid beating yourself up. If you need a down day, take it. Then patiently and gently nudge yourself back on track.
- Journal about lessons learned. One of the best ways to do this is to write letters to your younger self.
- Measure your progress. Review your journal to remind yourself of what you’re leaving behind and why you want to move forward. It’s empowering and motivating to see how far you’ve come! You can deepen your sense of power, by mindfully feeling gratitude for each step forward and the people who helped you to this point.
- Always remember your deepest WHY. There are layers to why something is important to you. For example, you exercise to lose weight…you lose weight to feel better about yourself…you want to feel better about yourself to have more confidence…you want more confidence to become comfortable speaking in front of a crowd…you want to be a confident speaker to share your message…your message is important because ______. Keep peeling the layers back until you reach your core value.
- Talk to your accountability coach. Sometimes we need fresh eyes to see a way out of a rut we’ve fallen into. It’s when I personally work with coaches that I see my biggest breakthroughs. I’d be happy to partner with you, and you can enlist the help of family and friends too.
- Get up and move. Exercise is such an important part of my life. When I make exercise a priority, I see the biggest shifts in my business. Not only because I feel better, I’m stronger mentally and I have more self-confidence and self-discipline. I have set times for an exercise routine, and I also mindfully take breaks to stretch, breathe and go for walks in nature to work out the kinks and restore my spirits.
I hope these self-motivation techniques will work for you as well as they do for me. If you’d like further assistance, please contact me and schedule an “Unlocking Your Potential” 30-minute complimentary consultation by phone or via Skype. Let’s see if my coaching is a good fit for you.
