In the midst of working from home, we are all in a variety of situations where motivation has been lost. As I struggle to finalize all my final essays and projects for my classes, I decided it was time to write about motivation and how to get to where you want to be. For all transparency, I am *NO pro* in this, but I would consider myself a decently motivated person in general and I love encouraging others to get to their goal. So here we go!
I think the most important thing is to remember the big picture of whatever it is you are trying to do. WHY do you want to do whatever it is. Keep in mind this doesn't necessarily need to be an end result, it can be, but it can also just be something to prove to yourself. Maybe you're trying to get back into fitness, but it's not for a specific size or weight, you just want to feel active again. That's the goal, that's the why, you want to remind yourself what your body is capable of and be able to prove to yourself you can be consistent with movement. At the end of the day, the WHY is what helps drive us to complete the task. I don't want to work on my research paper, but I do want to prove myself to a professor I admire and ultimately get an A in the class. Our why's are different and all dependent on different circumstances. I personally am terribly at waking up early. I believe wholeheartedly that I was meant to be a hamster or some nocturnal animal. Yet, I am in a human body and can easily sleep till noon without even trying; it probably doesn't help that I go to sleep too late, but it's quarantine. Regardless, my "why" to wake up earlier in the morning is so I can have a chance of taking Millie the Dog on an early morning walk, it's only happened a few times, but at least I still have a reason in my head. FIND YOURS and your motivation might just be with it.
Also be sure to reward yourself along the way. I said it once, and I'll say it again, and a thousand times more: PROGRESS IS PROGRESS. Of course if we're looking at a specific due date, it might be necessary to establish a plan for your progress, but otherwise, little things still count. Accomplishments don't have to be awarded for only 1st place, something counts when you show up and put effort toward your goals. Please don't discourage that. Find ways to motivate yourself and give yourself breaks, like 2 pages of essay written and 1 hour of Netflix, whatever works for you. I used to have an extremely overwhelming class and all the assignments took a lot out of me. I STRUGGLED to find motivation, so I started this thing called a motivational muffin. I found this chocolate chip muffin at Starbucks (which no longer exists??) and I really liked it. I would buy it, put it on my desk by my computer and knew I couldn't eat it until I made serious progress. It worked out, and I did so much better knowing I had something to look forward to. I also like to dance/move around at least every 2 hours of studying. The reality is when I stare at something for too long, sometimes I need to remove myself in order to come back more ready to work. So honor yourself throughout the process. One step in the right direction is STILL PROGRESS.
One of my favorite pieces of advice for motivation is to reach your goals with others! I love exercising and working out, but I find it so much more motivating to do it with others. It's probably from all of my practices on a team sport, but honestly most things for me is just more fun with your friends, I'm an extrovert. This is great for working out, from a 6 feet away of course, and zoom has been my best friend for it. You could also study with others, Face time while studying to keep yourself better accountable. Sometimes all you need to find your motivation is to see it in someone else. Start a book club with friends, ask them to check up on you for the assignment you have been avoiding, tell them about your goals and encourage them to push you. It's so important to remember you are not alone. There are other people out there struggling to find motivation for their various tasks, goals, and projects. Find someone who needs motivation and you help their accountability and they can help yours. Then there will be even MORE people out there motivated in the world.
At the end of the day, motivation will come and go and depending upon the tasks in front of us we find it in a variety of ways. As my final semester in college comes to an end, my motivation is that the end is near. I will finish my essays and I will finish my work because it's SO close to being over. Unfortunately that doesn't work for all motivation, not every goal will come to an end and there will be a specific "finish" to it, sometimes the deepest goals we have in life will never end, like continuously striving to be our best selves. That's a challenge I take on every single day, week, month, and year. I know that's not something that will ever end, but I always see the bigger picture and won't lose my motivation for that. Just know motivation can never be hidden too far away, it's always with you, you just need to find it and use it to accomplish the things you desire.
Good luck completing that assignment, working out consistently, starting that new blog, painting more, learning to skate, whatever the goal is --- you got this. I'm always a resource if you need the reminder that you are more than capable of accomplishing your biggest dreams and goals, but it won't work out if you don't work on it.
So start accomplishing your goals -- TODAY.
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