5 Ways to stay motivated in 2020

Consuming Motivational Content

Many times you will attend a conference that will leave you feeling inspired. The feeling that comes as a result of having sat through a motivational conference has you feeling the need to get proactive. You are amped to get started and in most cases you do. Shortly thereafter the motivation dwindles as life takes its course. You get busy with day to day activities and before you know it, the conference is long forgotten, the idea you started on sits idle and weighs on you daily as you cannot seem to muster up enough enthusiasm to continue. This happens until the next burst of motivation comes in the form of a video, a talk with friends or yet another conference. It quickly starts to feel like a cycle and not long after you start to believe conferences do not work, nor does motivation.

Here are 5 quick tips on how to stay motivated:

· Understand your zen and consume it regularly

It is important to recognize when you feel most motivated, by being conscious of what gives you the most motivation and creativity, you are able to determine what to consume. Find what motivates you and consume it often.

Cath Duncan wrote an article on how to get motivation back and said “often, once you’re clear on what you really want, you spot new strategies for getting it that you hadn’t noticed before.”

· Create a plan and execute it

Setting out to achieve a goal without a plan leaves room for failure. It allows you to fall short with not indicators. This is not to say the plan will not change over time, however it is essential to set out with the end in mind and how you plan to get there. To fail to plan, is to plan to fail.

Lolly Daskal, CEO of Lead From Within says, “sometimes it's not so much the what or the how that matters, but your why--the purpose behind what you're doing. Being clear about what you're working for can give you the stimulus to stay on course.”

· Find an accountability partner

We all need someone who will keep us accountable to what we set out to do. This can be in the form of a friend, a mentor or simply someone you hold in high regard.

An article on reachout.com reads, “Don’t do it alone. Join a class, or find a teacher or someone you can share the experience with. Other people’s encouragement to keep going can be a big boost to your motivation, particularly when you’re doing it tough.”

· Infiltrate your environment with reminders

Create a community of like minded people, read material that speaks to your goal and go to the places that encapsulate your goal. In the event that you want to become health conscious, read material that feeds your mind, engage persons who are health conscious on social media, attend events etc. Same is applicable in business, leadership, blogging, etc.

Nick Eubanks, CEO of The Future, emphasizes that having a community around you that understands what you are going through helps overcome the moments of being demotivated. "I found that a professional support group gave me assurance that the way I was feeling was not only natural, but normal -- and it helped me get over it," he says.

· Live the life you want to see

Input vs. output. The plan is to be executed with precision and excellence. You are to give your end all to your plan. You are to put in the hours, the work, the effort and the energy. In as much as staying motivated and on track to attain your plan. It is equally as important to ensure that you put in the time, effort and input.

James Clear is of the opinion that --- if you only work when you feel motivated, then you’ll never be consistent enough to become a pro. But if you build small routines and patterns that help you overcome the daily battles, then you’ll continue the slow march towards greatness even when it gets tough.

To speak about what you want is important, to plan around what you want serves as an accelerator, but to put your words and plan into action is where the results lie. You are to stay motivated in what you consume, the company you keep and what you do on a day to day basis.

As the Chinese proverb goes – ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'.

By Mavis Braga Elias

Civil Engineer, speaker, philanthropist

@mavisbraga