How to stay motivated to reach your goals

I was talking to a group of friends the other day and asked one of them how his degree was coming along. His shoulders sagged; he let out a sigh and said, “It’s so hard going. I really want to get it finished, but I’m struggling to stay motivated. There’s always something else to do that is more important, more fun, more exciting, and now I am falling way behind.”

Most of us have goals we want to reach, whether it’s losing weight, getting a new job or climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. However, after the initial excitement and passion subside, and the hard work, time commitment and business of daily life kick in, it’s often easy to become demotivated.

So what things can help? Here are 8 suggestions

1. Write down your goals

When you are creating your goal in the first place, write down specifically what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it - that is, why it is important to you. One of my friends refers to this as an “anchor statement”.

Think about how you will set yourself up for achieving your goal. Do you need to create more time to do it? Do you need new skills or extra money? Is the goal realistic in terms of the rest of your life? In NLP, the Well-Formed Outcome technique can be used to help ensure the goal is compelling and achievable.

2. Imagine your future vision

When creating a goal, take time to vividly imagine your vision for the future. How will things look once you achieve your goal? You can even create a visual representation to hang up in your office or home to help inspire you on the days when things are hard going.

3. Break your goal into bite-sized chunks

Big goals can seem overwhelming at times, and when we are overwhelmed, it is easy to give up. By creating mini-goals, or milestones, within the big goal, success can be accomplished one step at a time. And remember to reward yourself along the way.

4. Tell someone else about your goal

If you tell friends you are planning to run 10k for charity in a few months, chances are you will stick to your training schedule. If you keep it to yourself, it is much easier to let yourself off the hook.

5. Don’t delay, get going

One of the most motivating things in reaching a goal is taking the first step. I talked about my goal of going to the gym for five years, until everyone, including me, was sick of hearing about it. But I finally took the first step and have been going ever since. Like the Nike slogan says, “Just do it.”

6. Don’t forget to look after yourself

Take care of yourself while you are working towards your goal. For example, if you are studying hard for an exam, remember to stay hydrated, take breaks and use a chair that doesn’t give you a backache.

Pay attention to your energy levels. Notice what energises or de-energises you. Some people work best in the early morning, others late at night. Someone who is trying to reach business goals may be energised by participating in networking groups through the sharing of experiences and mutual support.

7. Keep things in perspective

When the going gets tough, take a minute to stand back and reflect. Go back to your “anchor statement”. Do you still really want to achieve your goal? Is it still relevant in your life, because, as we all know, things change?

Has your goal become so all-consuming that other things in your life are suffering? For example, are you working so hard to get that promotion that you no longer have any time to see your friends?

8. Keep going after setbacks

Sometimes we have bad days where things don’t go according to plan. We break our diet by having a huge piece of chocolate cake, we skip our run because it looks like rain, or we get fed up with paperwork and technology issues.

When this happens, don’t give up. Dust yourself off, take a few deep breaths and keep going. Your dreams are still out there.