“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” —Winston Churchill

What do you need to make things happen for you? – A goal, A vision, A dream..

You and I can agree that it takes consistency and showing up daily. Anything good that is worth it takes time to achieve and accomplish.

This consistency is what we call “Motivation” – The bullish attitude to do it one more time…till you see results.

What happens when you are not “motivated” enough to follow through on things and tasks you start? – You are likely to give up on that dream. Now, imagine the life you envision slowly slipping away while you procrastinate and eventually give up.

What’s worse? Seeing others doing and succeeding at the very dreams you gave up on. 

Research has shown that it takes a lot of motivation to be consistent and do the things we have to do. But how easy is it to stay motivated? A lot of willpower. 

It takes a lot to stay and feel motivated because when you begin any new task, you have this excitement and enthusiasm that drives you. This

excitement would not last and most times it crashes just when you have made headway or about to reach a tipping point.

This is why most people give up on a venture they started with so much enthusiasm just before they are about to start seeing results.

Staying motivated and showing up daily is what “makes things happen” – no shortcuts. Staying motivated however is not as easy. 

Staying motivated is the key to getting things done. Motivation is needed to get you out of bed in the morning, Keeps you focused and working through a task, and helps you stay on course with the inevitable failures(lessons) that would come your way.

While motivation is most times positive,There are Negative motivations as well. In this list, you would find some negative motivational hacks to keep you motivated and help you stay focused.

Difference between positive and Negative motivations.

• Positive motivation : This is motivation you get from envisioning the end result of any task you have at hand e.g the feeling of accomplishment and wealth that comes from building a successful business
• Negative Motivation: This comes from the pain of not accomplishing a task you start. The feeling of embarrassment or the pain that would come from not succeeding from a particular task or being doubted(you can’t do it). This is the motivation that drives most people to success.

Contrary to what you might believe – Pain is a greater motivator than pleasure and there is a scientific study to prove this.

The pain of staying the same and not improving is a greater motivator to get things done – this is what drives most people to take on tasks some thought impossible and accomplished them.

Positive and Negative Motivations work wonders when applied to the right scenario. Depending on the kind of individual you are, you should pick and stick to the motivational tactics and hacks that work for you.

How do you know what works?

By trying out different motivational hacks and seeing which ones benefits you the most.

Here are 5 ways we recommend for YOU to Stay Motivated

1. Have A Goal: 

To stay motivated, you need a goal in sight. A goal you set that would get you from point A(where you are now) to point B( where you want to be or what you want to accomplish). 

Having a goal gives you direction and a real target to aim at. One way to make the most of setting a goal is by putting it in writing and being specific about the process. Your goal should not be “ I want to make so much money” – this is too generic and unrealistic as there is no such thing as “so much money” ( or is there? ) but you get the drift. 

You should have a more specific goal like “ i want to make x amount of money in x amount of time and i would achieve it doing xyz” – this is more specific.

If you are the religious type – being specific in your prayers  would go a long way to  knowing when your prayers are answered.

 

2.  Have a Strong Emotional Reason(WHY): 

Why do you want to be successful at a task? What is your driving force?

Understanding these can help you stay motivated as it would serve as a constant reminder why you started in the first place. 

It has been proven that we make our decisions to do most things based on an emotional reason and justify it with logic.

SO if you want to be successful and your definition of success involves acing an exam, making x amount of money in y amount of time..

What is the driving force? Better grade (CGPA), you want freedom, you want to be able to take care of our family and help those around you. 

You’d be surprised at the strength and motivation you can get from doing this.

It also helps to write this down and look at it constantly to feed your subconscious mind on WHY you started in the first place.

 

3. Work on Something that Interests you: 

it is easier to stay motivated at a task you like and enjoy than to one you do not. To reach any goal in life, you need to enjoy the process that takes you from point A to point B.

Working on something that interests you is an easier way to stay motivated and keep going at it.

But if you have to work on a task that does not interest you how can you stay motivated?

By looking for something within the task that interests you. 

When other people set goals or tasks for us that we don’t find interesting or want to do (A job).

Try and find something within that task that does motivate you. For example: A blogger might go –  “ I hate the keyword research, but it’s going to help me become a writer and show my writeups to people searching for solutions on Google and bing, this also helps my website get ranked – which I want more than anything in the world.’

 

4. Make Your goals public or find an accountability partner: 

This is a negative motivational tactics as it would leave you embarrassed if you do not follow through.

Finding an accountability partner who would keep you on your toes can help u stay motivated. 

Declaring to do something to like minded individuals on the same part as you would also work wonders.

This is why jogging with a partner is less painful than jogging alone. FInd you group of like minded individual or find someone you can report to who would help keep you accountable.

 

 

5.  Break up your goals:

 

 Looking at the whole task can make you feel unmotivated. Breaking up the task into smaller manageable tasks can make it fun, doable and you have a reason to get started as you are just looking at a small step.

Remember that old chinese proverb “ the journey of a thousand miles begins with a simple step/

Other Motivational hacks you can read up on can be found:

35 effective ways to keep you motivated

6 sure fire ways to stay constantly motivated