How To Stick To Your Goals When You’ve Lost Motivation

HOW TO STICK TO YOUR GOALS WHEN YOU'VE LOST MOTIVATION Motivation is the energy that drives us to accomplish our goals, whether they are small day-to-day tasks or big, life-changing ideas. But often our dreams remain just that – dreams; we envision success without actually achieving it. So what can we do differently to ensure we stay the course? THE RISE AND FALL OF MOTIVATION Many of us start every year in the same way – with bags of motivation and a list of goals we want to achieve. Figures show that: 75% 46% manage to retain New Year's resolutions for six months or more maintain New Year's resolutions in the first week It's extremely common for us to lose the motivation to achieve our goals. So what can be done? REGAINING MOTIVATION Whether your goals are personal or professional, here are 7 ways to help get your motivation back and make your resolutions stick. Share your goals to keep yourself accountable Share your plans with people who are committed to helping you achieve. It could be a mentor, partner or friend who will keep you on track. Try the HABITFORGE APP² to work on your goals with others doing the same. Be realistic about what you can achieve Productivity studies show that it's hard to stay focused when you choose too many goals. SET NO MORE THAN 3 GOALS AT ONE TIME, Specific Measurable AND MAKE THEM Achievable V SMART Realistic Time-bound Redefine your goals if they get too tough motivation often wavers when our goals appear to have gone from challenging to impossible. CLARIFY YOUR GOALS BY ASKING YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: Will achieving this goal make a difference to my life? What will my life be like if I succeed? 4 Have a clear picture of how you will achieve success A clear, step-by-step strategy is essential %3D for helping you reach your goals. Try using the EISENHOWER MATRIX to clearly divide what you need to achieve into URGENT, NOT URGENT, IMPORTANT and NOT IMPORTANT to ensure you are prioritizing effectively. Set short-term targets Short-term milestones will break up a big goal. That way, you can more easily see the progress you've made, helping you to stay focused. SET A WEEKLY REMINDER on your smart phone to help you keep track of your progress to date, or download the GOALSONTRACK APP3 to keep yourself accountable. 6. Reward yourself for the small successes Knowing there are rewards waiting for you after each hurdle can increase your motivation. CHOOSE REWARDS THAT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD. Go to the movies, eat at a restaurant you always wanted to try or treat yourself to a massage. Cut yourself some slack when you fail Other life priorities sometimes get in the way of your goals, and it's easy to feel bad about not achieving them on time. 17 REMEMBER: FAILING HELPS US TO GET ONE STEP CLOSER TO SUCCESS. "Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely." – HENRY FORD It's more than possible to regain lost motivation, and it's easier than you think. SSOURCES IStatistic Brain. (2015). New Year's Resolution Statistics, statisticbrain.com Habitforge. habitforge.com Getting Things Done gettingthingsdone.com Goals On Track, goalsontrack.com Cherry, K. (2016). What is motivation? verywell.com Evans, L. (2015). Why sharing your progress makes you more likely to accomplish your goals. fastcompany.com Jalango, C. (2013). How you can get motivated to reach your goals. hbr.org Knight, R. (2014). How to make work resolutions stick. hbr.org Seetubtim, M. (2016). How to stick to your goals when you've lost motivation. huffingtonpost.com CashNetUSA. Money's on the way® This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License - www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 L5