Achieving goals is not a matter of having "discipline". It’s a matter of motivating yourself, and keeping your focus on your goal.
Here are few tips that you must follow to stay motivated.
1. Always think positive.
Monitor your thoughts. We all talk to ourselves a lot, but we are not always aware of these thoughts. Start listening. If you hear negative thoughts, stop them, push them out, and replace them with positive thoughts. Positive thinking can be amazingly powerful. Learn to think more positively most of the time. Learn to let to go of negative threads of thought before they have a chance to take hold of you.
2. Make a deal with yourself.
Good for overcoming procrastination and getting things done. You can make the deal small or large.
You simply tell yourself something like: When I'm done with this chapter/these reports I can take a walk in the park and enjoy an ice-cream.
This will help you complete your task and also motivate you to reach your goal.
3. Ask yourself questions in the morning.
Ask yourself uplifting and empowering questions each morning as you wake up!
What am I ______ about in my life right now?
What about it makes me _______?
How does it make me feel?
Put in your own value in the blank space. For instance, a couple of my questions are:
What am I happy about in my life right now?
What am I excited about in my life right now?
It’s important that you really feel how it makes you feel. When I think about the last part about what makes me happy right now I really feel it. These morning questions are great because the way they are set up makes you recognize things you take for granted and then they really get you to feel those positive feelings.
4. Compare yourself with yourself. Not with others.
Comparing what you have and your results to what other people have and have accomplished can really kill your motivation.
There are always people ahead of you. Most likely quite a bit of people. And a few of them are miles ahead. So focus on you. On your results. And how you can and have improved them.
Reviewing your results is important so you see where you have gone wrong in the past to avoid similar missteps further on.
5. Move the goalposts.
Set a large and specific goal. This will motivate you much more than small goals. A big goal has a big effect and can create a lot of motivation.
6. Post a picture of your goal someplace visible .
You could post it probably near your desk or on your refrigerator, for example. Visualizing your goal, exactly how you think it will be when you’ve achieved it, whether it’s financial goals, or building a dream house, or physical goals like finishing a marathon or getting a flat stomach, is a great motivator and one of the best ways of actualizing your goals.
7. Just get started.
There are some days when you don’t feel like heading out the door for a run, or figuring out your budget, or whatever it is you’re supposed to do that day for your goal.
Well, instead of thinking about how hard it is, and how long it will take, tell yourself that you just have to start.
8. Find inspiration, on a daily basis.
Inspiration is one of the best motivators, and it can be found everywhere. Every day, seek inspiration, and it will help sustain motivation over the long term. Sources of inspiration can include: blogs, online success stories, forums, friends and family, magazines, books, quotes, music, photos, people you meet.
9. Don’t fear failure.
Instead redefine it as feedback and as a natural part of a successful life. Try to find the valuable lesson(s) in each of your failures. Ask yourself: What can I learn from this?
As Thomas Edison said:
"I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work."
More importantly;
10. Make each day count.
We don’t have all the time in the world. So focus on today and do the things you really want to do.
