“You can find inspiration from others but determination is solely your responsibility.” – Dodinsky
Even the most enthusiastic and determined individual who seems unassailable most of the time will encounter instances when they doubt themselves. They may feel lost and demotivated.
This is normal because we’re all human.
Achieving success for most worthy goals will require time, prolonged effort, and lots of faith. Since the journey will be long, it can get tiring to keep up the effort and motivation required to continue on the journey.
When you feel like your strength is ebbing and you’re losing faith, it’s important that you dig deep within yourself and find the motivation to keep going.
- Gratitude journaling
An attitude of gratitude can make you feel positive and give you hope. It’s impossible to be depressed, unhappy and angry when you’re feeling grateful.
Keep a gratitude journal and write down all the things you’re grateful for. More importantly, write down how far you’ve come in your journey. As a species, humans tend to never be satisfied and we keep moving the goalpost.
For example, when you just started your business, earning 5k a month may have been your goal. But once you reached it, 10k may have been your new goal.
Currently, you may be earning 25k a month and living well, but you feel like a failure because others are making 100k a month and you need to get there ASAP.
Listen… be grateful for how far you’ve come. It’s great to progress and want to keep winning, but one must stop to smell the roses every now and then appreciate what they’ve earned.
Then, keep going forward. When you know you’ve won so much, you’ll know you can win more.
- Vision board
Have a corkboard or a whiteboard in your house/office and stick pictures of whatever it is you want in life. Attach quotes, images, etc. that inspire and move you.
Look at the board daily so that you’re reminded of what it is you’re working for. When the reward is clear, you’ll gladly pay the price no matter how long it takes.
- Rewrite you goals
Writing your goals down is an excellent practice. However, once may not be enough. It’s easy to forget your goals when you’re in the trenches fighting for success. When bogged down by the daily tasks and the mundane list of things you need to get through, the weight of it all can take a toll on your enthusiasm.
At times like these, rewriting your goals will rekindle the fire within you to keep going. You MUST encourage yourself. If you let the fire within you die out, you’ll quit.
- Listen/read motivational material
Read motivational books. Or watch movies such as, “The Pursuit of Happyness” or “The Legend of Bagger Vance” or whatever movies that people find inspiring.
Or you may decide to watch videos of Les Brown, Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, or other self-help gurus. Do what helps you get fired up.
Like Zig Ziglar said, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”
- Set small milestones
Sometimes you may need small wins to keep going. If all you’re focused on is a big goal, it’ll take you a while to get there. But if you break down that big goal into smaller milestones, you can reward yourself each time you hit a milestone.
This will give you the drive and desire to keep going because you know you’re winning. For example, if your goal is to generate 10k a month in your online publishing business, you may wish to aim for 2.5k first.
Then 5k… 7.5k… and finally 10k. By breaking down the big goal into smaller bite-sized goals, you’ll be able to not only track your progress better, but you’ll see that you’re improving and be disinclined to throw in the towel because it’s taking too long to reach the big goal.
- Take a short break
Sometimes you may need a 3-7 day break just to de-stress and clear your head. After all, music is the space between the notes. Take the break and come back rejuvenated and ready to work.
- Massive action
For some people, ramping up their efforts and doing more than they thought possible will help to inspire them more. It may seem strange, but monotony can set in when you’ve been doing the same thing for a while.
By challenging yourself, you’ll feel like you’re getting more done and capable of faster success. If you can handle it and you enjoy the challenge, go for it.
At the end of the day. you need to remember that if you don’t inspire yourself, no one will do it for you… and if there’s a fire within you, no one will need to light one under you. You only lose when you quit.
So encourage yourself and keep going.
