How To Motivate Yourself In Tough Times
How to Motivate Yourself When Everything Is Awful
Athletes, business people, and even families need motivation to succeed. Life’s challenges seldom wane, and often come unexpectedly, so digging deep for inspiration is especially important during tough times. But motivation can be elusive at times, prompting positive thinkers to refocus on the tasks at hand.
Economic prosperity, personal success, and your ability to satisfy demands others place on you ebb and flow; based on things you do as well as forces beyond your control. Motivation and personal inspiration mirror these patterns, calling on you to step-up your game when questions about the future cloud your daily routine.
Circumstances are unique for each individual, but these proven, go-to strategies help countless individuals find motivation during trying times; when it is needed most.
Reflect On Success
Motivation, by nature, speaks to the future. But valuable insight is already at-hand; contained in some of life’s previous chapters. When times are tough, or when your perspective suffers; take time to reflect on some of the positive outcomes you’ve orchestrated in the past. Not only does the experience illuminate tangible steps you might take to address prevailing issues, but it also provides inspiration for moving forward. As you look upon past success it becomes easier to envision the same types of outcomes for the future; setting you on the road to motivational success.
Low-Hanging Fruit
Incremental approaches yield feedback faster than grand designs. In other words, inspiring motivation is easier when you start with achievable goals. During tough times, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer size and scope of the challenges lying before you. Instead of allowing yourself to fall into a cycle of self-doubt, adjust your thinking toward more immediate gratification. Rather than becoming preoccupied with thoughts about the ultimate endgame, focus instead on the incremental successes found on your path to fulfillment. Proactively tackle tasks you are sure to achieve quickly and successfully. With each tangible accomplishment, you’ll be better equipped to handle the next challenge. And your personal motivation will feed on success; perpetuating an effortless flow of positive outcomes.
Lean On Purpose & Passion
Consistently identified as one of the central components of a successful life; purpose fortifies motivation. When times are tough, turn an eye toward what is important to you; furnishing clear reasons to work toward goals. Without clear purpose, it becomes easier to lose motivation, as you question where your efforts are ultimately going to lead you. Your own definition of purpose might be fairly broad, encompassing ideals like “provide for family or “make a difference”. That’s okay, because you’ll support them with concrete goals too.
Passion and purpose go hand in hand for most people. Animal lovers, for example, share passion for protecting creatures unable to protect themselves; thus finding purpose in volunteering at the local shelter or taking-in homeless pets. Use your own passions to inspire motivation, which translates into positive purpose easily applied to the things you do each day.
Pursue Goals
Goals provide benchmarks for motivation, setting you up to succeed professionally and personally. Assigning real value to your accomplishments fuels motivation, as you satisfy short-term goals. Inspiration is drawn from the big picture too, but it is a mistake to ignore the smaller payoffs along the way. Relying only on major successes doesn’t always carry you between large-scale accomplishments, allowing motivation to wane as you strive toward grand goals. Use discipline to see things through to the end, but allow yourself to bask in incremental wins as you soldier onward.
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