So you’ve started your goal with tons of enthusiasm, but a few weeks in you loose the momentum, life gets busy, and sometimes you just aren’t motivated.

Some times you want to just relax, get that extra sleep, cave in and do something totally indulgent.  Eat those cheat foods, skip your workout,

Avoid, avoid, avoid.

It’s true that objects in motion stay in motion.  The hardest part is when you are trying to get that ball rollin’ from the beginning – or all over again in the middle of your great progress.

Yes sometimes we all fall off the saddle but its important to get right back on and keep the momentum going.

Here’s how to get and stay motivated to accomplish ANYTHING!

1) Start Small. Doing something for just 2 minutes to get back in gear is one of the best ways to keep something going. The key to finishing a long term goal like getting fit, writing a book or just staying organized is to create space for the routine. As long as you get your sneakers on and close the door behind you, your body will most likely naturally get to the gym. If you start with just 2 minutes of organizing you will probably end up spending 20 minutes doing so and you’ll be incredibly proud of yourself in the end.

2) Create public reinforcement. By announcing your goal to friends and family or blasting it all over social media you are holding yourself accountable, and so will the people you tell.  Most people would rather not disappoint others or look bad in public. By doing this you are not only going to disappoint yourself but you will disappoint your community if you give up on your goal. This can be a strong motivational force for sticking with it.

3) Make it enjoyable. Lets face it, if it’s not enjoyable why would you want to do it? You will most likely make up any excuse in the books just to avoid what you “have to / need to” do to accomplish your goal.  If you don’t get great pleasure out of the process or at least the end goal – you probably wont stick with the plan.  If you hate going to the gym, find a fitness routine that is fun and make a pinterest board of Hot Bod’s that you will one day aspire to have.  Each time you hit one of your small fitness goals, reward yourself with a little treat (not food though as that would be counter productive).

This brings me to my other points:

4) Chart your progress & Reward yourself often.  Separate your main goal into small manageable micro-goals. If you want to work out, celebrate when you hit your first whole week of workouts with out skipping a day. If you want to get organized, break it out into one desk draw per day. Chart your progress with an X on the ol’ Cali (aka calendar), create an excel sheet or a daily blog. When you reward yourself, make sure its not something counter productive like a day off from the gym if your goal is to work out or a day to sleep in if your goal is to wake up earlier.

5) Visualize it. Like I said in my previous blogs, visualizing and dreaming about your end goal will light the fire in your pants to do things necessary to complete your goal. This alone will inspire you, how good you’ll look in that bikini, how proud you’ll feel when you write that book or how beautiful your home and cabinets will be when you are organized.

6) Never skip two days in a row. If you are trying to create a routine, we are all human so we may skip a day here and there – however having a goal of never skipping two days in a row will keep you on track. It’s so much harder to get back into a routine than to pick it up after just one day off.  Make this your goal and make sure you have a back up plan for sick days. If you are under the weather, maybe do some weights or stretching at home for 15 minutes. This still counts as working out and it will help you stay on track. No excuses!

How to maintain energy and focus if you loose it along the way.

1) Look it up, read about it and google it. Reading inspiring stories of how other people accomplished their goals will reignite your passion to finish yours!  Seeing others do what you dream of doing is a sure fire way to remind yourself that it IS possible, it HAS been done and you CAN do it too!

2) Think about the benefits. And remind yourself of why you started this goal in the first place. If you no longer think these reasons take priority any more or feel there are more pressing issues at hand, dig for more reasons. Although life does come between our goals sometimes, you will always be more proud of yourself if you simply didn’t give up, even when things got tough.  Most likely your goal is geared towards living the optimal life you dream of.  If stress or family matters take precedence at first glance – it may be more of a time than ever to stick with your goal. It will give you some much needed “me time” and help manage stress from other things that may be on your mind.

A little tip I just was reminded of:

We are all made of atoms that are literally vibrating as long as we are alive. The feelings that we feel and the energy we feel around accomplishing something should not be labeled “good” or “Bad” but simply how we are feeling and if we are feeling like Blah, tired, lazy, bored, nervous or unmotivated (or the reverse of any of these) we should examine WHY we are feeling that way and change the experience we are having.  Just realizing that we are going to vibrate from now until the day we die with either “good” or “bad” feelings doesn’t change the fact that those feelings and vibrations in our bodies will still be there. Channel that energy into your goals and you will be amazed at how it can propel you! – Thanks to Marieforleo.com and this video here for this tidbit on vibrating!

Motivation advice from my personal experience, various websites and Zen habits.net

Hope that inspires you!
xoxo

Emily