What are you will to sacrifice in the short term to get what you want long term?
Do you know your reason why?
You see, the struggle you’re facing is a test to see if you’re truly committed to the life you say you want.
The truth is, you are not going to be motivated 100% of the time. No one is. So, what can you rely on when you don’t feel motivated? The answer is discipline.
Here’s how you can become more disciplined.
1.) Understand your why. Why are you doing this? I find that writing down all my reasons why am I doing something and reviewing it first thing in the morning keeps me focused and disciplined. It reminds me every day what I am playing for, so to speak.
2.) Do what you need to do when you don’t feel like doing it. I know, that sounds pretty obvious. But it can be really hard to do when you don’t have motivation. What I find helpful is using the Pomodoro Technique. Say I have to complete a project that I feel overwhelmed by. I break it down into manageable chunks and set a timer for 25 minutes. For those 25 minutes, I focus on the task at hand and block out everything else – which are usually my excuses about why I can’t do it or get into the right mindset to do it. When the timer goes off, I take a break. And usually, just by forcing myself to take action, I am able to get into the right groove and mindset.
3.) Become intentional in what you do. All lasting changes you make in your life come from the small choices you make, consistently, every single day. Know what you need to do and make a conscious decision every day to do those things. Understand what your pitfalls might be and have a plan on how you will combat those things.
4.) Forgive yourself when things go wrong but keep going anyway. There are going to be times when you will fall short of your own expectations or fail at being disciplined. That’s okay – it means you are human! When you fall down, get back up, dust yourself off and get after it. When things don’t go according to our plans, we tend to feel overwhelmed and second guess what we are doing. It’s kind of like when you’re trying to eat better, and you overindulge in one meal and the rest of the day becomes a free for all mini game of making bad dietary choices, because, you know, you can just start fresh tomorrow. Acknowledge what happened, take it as experience for the future, forgive yourself and move on in the direction you want to move in.
