We all start the New Year very motivated to change, with plenty of good intentions and plans.
This initial motivation gets us going, it makes us excited, we gain momentum and then what happens? Life gets in the way, we get distracted, unfocused and by the end of January, we have lost our zest for change!
Why does this happen? Of course, there are many reasons but, generally it boils down to one thing: we tend to rely on motivation alone and that is not enough …indeed it does get us going but what keeps us going, what keeps the fire burning is establishing new routines and habits, new behaviors which become so automatic that motivation won’t be needed any longer!
But like Rome, habits are not built in a day … it takes time, we have to be committed and motivated in the interim … how do we do that? It’s a little bit like the egg and the chicken situation …
Read on to find out how to reframe motivation and in 3 simple steps that will keep your fire going 🙂
1 – Start with why
Start with why. Research shows that when you start a new routine, ie going to the gym, planning your healthy meals, meditating … , you need to identify very clearly why you are doing it.
When your motivations are tied back to your personal values, they’re more likely to be successful and to transform your resolution into established habits.
For example, if your resolution is “I want to exercise 3 x week this year,” that may not be a powerful enough motivator. However, if you think how going to the gym will improve your life, your body, your confidence, your energy …whatever might be important to you and rephrase your intentions such as “I want to go to the gym 3 x week this year because when I go to the gym, I have more energy, feel more positive and more patient with my kids ” this will be a much more powerful motivator.
Think about the intentions you set for this year and for each of them answer very clearly to these questions:
- Why do I want to do this?
- What are the benefits of doing this?
- Who else will benefit from me doing this?
The 3rd question is important as we are more likely to stick to a new intention if we think it will also be positive for the people we love (we are naturally good, altruistic people after all 🙂 )
2 – Track and acknowledge your efforts
Knowing that you are walking the walk and not just talking the talk is a powerful motivator and therefore tracking your efforts is a great way to boost your motivation and sustain your momentum.
Depending on your type of goals, you can use different record systems…I personally love to write it all down, in a good all fashion way, in a journal and I even use a massive 365-day wall planner where I record my daily actions … all beautifully colour coordinated (I know … I am such a dork!)
I have different goals, personal, fitness and business goals (all represented by different colours) and whenever I take action for any of those, even the smallest of steps, I write it down on my journal and I add a colourful sticker on my wall planner.
At the end of the week, you can clearly see all of all the little or big steps you took and quickly assess what needs to be improved and, very importantly, congratulate yourself on your efforts.
This will give you a sense of achievement which will boost your desire to continue on your quest for your end goals.
3 – Feel the magic
We work hard and concentrate so much on the end goals that we project all our good feelings into the future and forget that we only ever live in the present … I love Eckart Tolle 🙂 …
We often fall into the trap of thinking “when I get/reach/have X, I will be …happy, satisfied, proud, beautiful etc. etc. “and by doing this we deny ourselves of the chance to feel happy, proud, beautiful … now! We deny ourselves of the possibility to feel and embody the benefits of our work straight away.
As soon as your goal is set and you start working towards it, imagine how your future self (the one who will have achieved the goals) feels, acts, dresses, behaves… …think about yourself as your future self … and start feeling the magic now! This is a powerful motivator!
Above all be kind to yourself, there will be days when your motivation is low no matter what and that is normal unless you are supermen or superwoman but then you won’t need to set goals at all 🙂
For us, mere beautiful mortals, I would add that, focusing on progress rather than perfection is another very powerful motivator …but that is a topic for another blog.
Wishing you the best health and vitality,
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