What is motivation? Motivation is literally the desire to do things. It’s the difference between waking up before dawn to pound the pavement and lazing around the house all day. It’s the crucial element in setting and attaining goals—and research shows you can influence your own levels of motivation and self-control. So, figure out what you want, power through the pain period, and start being who you want to be. (Psychology Today)

 I have been struggling with my own motivation lately. I have several things going on, from what I would like to do to what I should be doing. I am keeping myself busy with my blog, my health and wellness business, Toastmasters, growing my social circle through networking groups and searching for a new corporate job.  

Now how do I stay motivated when I’m not punching a clock and I’m the only one to hold myself accountable? It can be very challenging some days and there is no trick to it.  Zig Ziglar said it the best about motivation every day!

I hope everyone has heard to compose your goals, as goals are just dreams until you write them down! I like to use the format of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound) Goals. This helps me get focused and motivated on my end game.

I look at my goals daily to help me stay on track.  Now that doesn’t mean I don’t add to them or change them a little.  If I’m falling behind on a goal, what do I need to do to catch up to meet that goal?  Do I need to do something different way or do I need to reevaluate the time it will take to reach that goal?

The other thing I have learned is to write in the hard work that will go into reaching my goals.  You can write your goals and visualize them all day but that’s not going to get you moving in the right direction!  As part of my goal setting, I factor in the hard work and how much time I will need to get all that hard work done.

For my health and wellness business, I want to become a Senior Director by Dec 31, 2017.  What do I need to do to reach that? Who can I help reach their goals? How many phone calls a week, a day do I need to make? How long does that take? How many network meetings can I attend this week, this month? How many contacts do I need? How many store overviews do I need to do this week, this month? All these questions help me figure out how long the hard work will take to reach my goals.

Staying motivated is always important no matter what you’re doing, be it a diet, finishing college or starting your own business especially if you are feeling frustrated.  Successful people have learned how to stay motivated and push forward on reaching their goals!