How do you stay motivated?

New Year’s resolutions.

 

Less than half keep them past 6 months.

It isn’t because people are lazy.

Or want to fail.

On the contrary; most people fail at resolutions and goal setting because they simply don’t know the secrets for success.

 

One of those secrets – and a key to making long-lasting changes in your life – is staying motivated.

 

It’s easy to stay motivated in the beginning, when your energy is high. When everyone around you is excited and doing the same thing. The tough part comes when the challenges or obstacles set in. And they always do.

 

So how do you stay motivated when the going gets tough?

 

In May 2012, when I was pregnant with my daughter Reese, I gained quite a bit of weight. At one point in the pregnancy, I looked at the scale and was up 10 pounds in one month. Horrified, I knew I needed to change; I made a commitment to myself to eat better and start working out.  And I set to it the next day. For the first 7 days, I jumped out of bed, threw on my workout gear and practically sprinted to the gym. I got on the treadmill and faithfully did my 30 and 45-minute workouts. When I got on the scale on day 8 and saw I hadn’t lost any weight, though, I felt shocked and disappointed. It felt like all my hard work was for nothing and I almost threw in the towel. Then I remembered how awful I felt when I looked at the scale. After journaling my feelings and have a little crying session, I decided to continue for another week and re-evaluate the situation after that. So I went back to the gym and worked at it for another 7 days. I can’t tell you how happy and proud I felt when I weighed myself again after that week and discovered I’d lost 2 pounds!

 

Can you relate? Have you tried doing something and started excited and then gotten discouraged? Here’s a trick to help you stay motivated even when the going gets tough.

 

In the example above, I used my reasons for starting my workout routine to keep me going even when something tough – gaining weight instead of losing it – came up. Today, I take this even further. And I invite you to do the same.

 

Instead of just thinking about your reasons for starting something, use this tip, which I learned from NYT-bestselling author Michael Hyatt, to stay motivated and aimed at your goals. Right down your motivations in advance and keep them with you at all times. And when you find yourself faced with an obstacle or a challenge, take out your sheet of paper and reconnect with your motivations. If, for example, you’re trying to stay organized and you do a great job the first week, but find yourself slipping into old behaviors after that, you might write down:

 

I want to get and stay organized because I waste a lot of time each week looking for things. I’d rather use that time to spend with my partner/family/learn something new.

 

I want to get and stay organized because I hate the way it feels to have clutter all over my house. It feels heavy and keeps things chaotic in my space and my mind.

 

Then, when you get home from work and you feel too tired to go through the mail, or you find little stacks of things piling up, you can pull out your My Motivations Paper and get back in touch.

 

Action step: what resolutions have you tried making and failed? What are your motivations for wanting these things?

 

Scroll down below and leave me a comment. I’ll read and respond to every one!