Summary

The article presents strategies for maintaining motivation amidst personal and societal challenges, emphasizing goal setting, planning, distraction management, self-reward, visualization, and remembering one's initial motivations.

Abstract

The author of the article shares personal experiences and insights on staying motivated despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, societal divisions, and personal life changes, such as becoming a parent. The article outlines a series of effective strategies, including writing down and planning goals, identifying and blocking out distractions, rewarding oneself, practicing visualization, and regularly reminding oneself of the reasons for starting. These strategies are aimed at helping individuals sustain their motivation and achieve their desired outcomes, whether it be financial success, creative projects, or personal development.

Opinions

The author believes that writing down goals significantly increases the likelihood of achieving them, citing a Harvard study that suggests only a small percentage of people write down their goals.
Distractions, such as social media, family, and emotions, are seen as major obstacles to achieving goals, and the author suggests practical steps to minimize their impact.
The author values the importance of rewarding oneself and keeping activities fun, using their own experience of linking the completion of a book with the reward of playing a video game as an example.
Visualization is considered a powerful tool for improving life quality and achieving goals, with the author recommending daily visualization practice to enhance motivation and focus.
Remembering the initial reasons for setting goals is emphasized as a crucial motivational factor, helping individuals to stay committed to their objectives and push through difficult times.

Effective Strategies On How To Stay Motivated

“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going” — Sam Levenson

At the beginning of the year, I had goals, a heaping bundle of motivation, and the determination to succeed in all aspects of my life. It felt great, but it didn’t last long.

Lately, I’ve been feeling pretty down, and I’ve got plenty of reasons. I mean, we’re in the middle of a fucking pandemic. Our country (America) is more torn than ever, and – to top it all off – I just had a daughter. Whew.

One thing came after another, each rocking my world, like taking LSD at a Coachella concert.

I had to learn some useful strategies to keep my motivation, so I read over a dozen books, set some pretty big goals, and got to work. Here’s what I learned.

Decide What You Want

You wouldn’t be reading this unless you had something that you want to achieve. What are your goals? Maybe you want to boost your income, pay off debt, write a book, or learn a new skill.

Start by writing it down.

In a study done by Harvard, studies show that only 14% of individuals had set goals, and only 3% wrote them down. Maybe this explains why 5 percent of the population rule over the remaining 95 percent?

Plan it out

Don’t just write down your goals. Plan them out. We all tend to lose our motivation at times, but that doesn’t matter if we plan our dreams. Motivation is like fuel for a fire, except this fire is your willingness to follow through on your goals. As long as you plan them out while the motivation’s intense, it’ll be easier to stick to it.

Figure Out What’s Distracting You And Block It Out

There will always be some sort of distraction that keeps you from achieving your goals. Social media, family, friends, T.V, emotions — the list goes on. Figure out what’s distracting you.

Try shutting off your phone whenever you have something important to do.
Get organized. Keep your work area clean and free of distractions.
Let others know when you’re busy.

Find Ways To Reward Yourself, And Keep It Fun

I love to play video-games, and I use to play all the time. No joke. From 6 in the morning till’ midnight, you’d almost always find me playing Resident Evil, Skyrim, or some newly released AAA game.

I had to create a system, so I started to reward myself with video-games/game-time.

In 2018 I set a goal to finish and publish my latest book — Live a Little — by October 26th. Why? Because Red Dead Redemption 2 launched the following day.

Safe to say, I published my book on 10/26 and played RDR2 for the next three weeks. Obsessive? Maybe. Publishing a book is a significant accomplishment

Practice Visualization

Humans have the unique and incredible ability to visualize events that haven’t yet happened.

It’s both a gift and a curse.

If misused, visualization can trigger emotions such as stress, anxiety, and even depression. Though, visualization can — and is often — used to improve the quality of our lives.

Athletes practice visualization to prepare for an upcoming event. Musicians practice visualization before performing onstage. You should practice visualization every morning before tackling your goals.

Think about the outcome – the final result. Focus on the big picture. Concentrate on the tiny details. See yourself accomplishing your goals. Do this every morning and you will start to see and feel the results.

Remind Yourself Why You Started In The First Place

Don’t forget to focus on the big picture. I’m proud of you for setting goals but don’t forget why you put them in the first place.

“Now tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” — Mary Oliver