How to motivate yourself

“Motivation – a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way.”

Everyone motivates themselves in their own particular way. This can range from thinking about the long-term pay-offs, breaking your goals up into smaller achievable tasks and simply turning on your favourite music.

As self-motivation differs from each individual, we ask the Life Coach Directory Team what they do to motivate themselves:

Emma, Director and Co-Founder:

“Deciding on a reward for when I’ve completed something I don’t want to do – like a relaxing bath or watching my fave TV programme.”

“Thinking for a few minutes about why it is I want to achieve something (in terms of the bigger picture) – if that outweighs the reasons not to do it, I get it done!”

Kat, Marketing Communications Team Leader:

“To motivate myself for the gym in the morning I do lots of prep before I go to bed. I lay out my gym clothes, pack my gym bag, and get my breakfast ready. This means I have no excuse when the alarm goes off early!”

“At work I try to set myself goals for what I want to achieve that week. Day-to-day I use Evernote to create to-do lists, I find this keeps me on track and motivated.”

“Another work tip is to stay interested in what you’re doing to boost motivation. Our team has an ‘ad-hoc’ hour for research and idea creation. This inspires us and gets us itching to try new things!”

Ryan, SEO Executive:

“My motivation comes from my family and loved ones and my own personal goals in life.”

“Looking forward to future events/plans and setting tasks to achieve goals in life, which I hope will bring positive outcomes and a better future.”

Ellen, Marketing Communications Executive:

“Going to the gym gets me motivated.”

“If I’m not even feeling motivated to go to the gym… I get on Instagram/Pinterest and find some motivation from personal trainers etc.”

“Planning my week and scheduling what needs to be done gets me motivated – as does the satisfying feeling of crossing it out once completed.”

Carl, SEO Executive:

“I motivate myself by thinking about the result of what I’m doing. If it’s going for a run, I feel healthier and can run further. Music/podcasts can help distract from what I’m doing too. Things usually seem easier once you’ve started!”

“Moreover, I sometimes think about something I’m looking forward to. “I’ll be going to a BBQ later, just gotta get through today” etc, it’s a good distraction. “

“As for work, colleagues have a big impact on motivation, as does the way the company is run.”

Mel, SEO Executive:

“Visualising myself as a slimmer person to get me to the gym and to eat well (and mainly the fact I need to squeeze into a wedding dress two sizes too small ha!).”

“Cleaning the house – My mind feels clearer when the house is clean so I don’t like to let it get too messy.”

Aimi, Director and Co-Founder:

“Having an end goal that is achievable and a reward at the end of it!”

Jenny, Sales Executive:

“Sunshine and music motivate me!”

Jo, Membership Services Manager:

“I break everything into small steps that feel more manageable. Getting started is always the hardest part when you’re unmotivated, so I find that breaking things up into easy stages makes it much easier to get stuck in. Once you’re on your way it’s much easier to build momentum.”

“Today is the most important day of your life. I saw this on a motivational postcard and it stuck with me. What can you achieve today? No other day matters as much as today – yesterday was the past and tomorrow is the future. Today is the day that you can make a difference.”

“I also find pep-talking myself really helps! I frequently encourage myself verbally, sing, laugh at my mistakes and pick myself up… by being your own friend and encouraging yourself you can avoid becoming demotivated.”

“Motivate someone else. When it’s hard to motivate myself, I will motivate someone else instead. Be their cheerleader. Seeing someone else take positive action always makes me much more enthusiastic about acting myself.”

Debbie, Administration Assistant

“I write something I don’t want to do on post it notes and stick them everywhere; on my kitchen door, on my diary, in my bedroom etc. and put a reminder on my phone. I get tired of seeing them and have great pleasure in taking them down when the job is done.”

“I get up in the morning and make myself a promise that today it will be done!”

Hopefully the team have given you some ideas on how to improve your self-motivation.

If you have any tips that we have missed out, please let us know in the comments below.