Motivation is the catalyst for progress – the unseen force that spurs us to dream, act, and succeed. It is the component that turns average people into high achievers and helps us overcome obstacles that seem insurmountable. But motivation doesn’t happen by accident, it is something we have to create, develop, and strengthen day by day.
If you’ve ever wanted to achieve your full potential and stay motivated towards your goals, inspiration begins by understanding the importance of motivation.
- What is motivation?
Motivation is the internal drive that inspires you to take action. It is the reason you wake up early to chase your dreams, the fuel that helps you continue when things get tough, and the belief that it is all worth it.
In plain terms, motivation is what changes your “I wish” into “I will.”
There are two basic categories:
- Intrinsic motivation – motivation that is powered by internal rewards, such as personal satisfaction, passion, or growth.
- Extrinsic motivation – motivation that is driven by external rewards such as money, recognition, or success.
The best, and longest-lasting, motivation usually comes from within.
- Consider Your Capabilities
To discover your potential, it may simply come down to believing you have potential. Many people don’t limit themselves because they don’t have the ability to be successful; it’s usually because they don’t believe they have the ability to be successful.
When you trust that you can be successful, you are giving yourself permission to succeed. When you believe you can succeed, challenges become opportunities and “failure” becomes a lesson.
Understand: the quality of your thoughts will determine the ways you act. Think positive, act positive — that’s where the motivation lives.
- Set Goals that Matter to You
Without direction, there can be no motivation. When you set clear and realistic goals, your energy will have a destination.
Jot down what you want to you achieve, break it down into actionable steps, and take the first step now. Each time you accomplish a goal, you build confidence and continue to nourish the motivation.
Your goals should make you feel excited — they should be a reason to step outside of your comfort zone every day and allow you to commit to making yourself better.
- Take Action When You Don’t Feel Like It
Truth alert: motivation will not always show up to work for you. There will be days that you just feel tired, or discouraged.
The trick? Just take action anyway! Action creates momentum, and momentum creates motivation.
Even in small ways — read a page, send an email, go for a run — we can get our momentum moving forward again.
- Gain Wisdom from Failure
Sometimes failure is seen as the opposite of success, but it is not — rather it is an essential part of success. Every time you feel like you’ve failed, it is a valuable lesson about yourself and your journey.
Instead of viewing failure as losing, see failure for what it truly it is: a path that leads to growth. Most of the most successful people in the world have experienced countless failures before they achieved success. They continued to strive toward greatness, motivated by their passion and drive, despite their fears.
- Be Around Positivity
The space you inhabit and the people in it matter. Being present where people believe in you, inspire you, promote you to be better and to do better has benefits on your motivation.
Negativity and comparison only destroy energy. Instead, let the energy shift to a sense of enjoyment. Learn from others while investigating yourself to celebrate your own progress with motivation.
- Be Consistent and Patient
Motivation begins the journey, but consistency ends the journey. Motivation fades to consistently producing success. Success takes time, motivation, energy, and determination.
Don’t give up even when success or result takes time. Change may be invisible at first, but rest assured, every little effort you put into will create change toward success. Ultimately, patience and persistence are the true partners of motivation.
- Acknowledge and Celebrate Your Successes
Be sure to acknowledge and celebrate your wins — no matter how small. It’s vital to remember that every win is an indication of how far you have come, and reasons to keep stepping forward.
Competitive exhaustion begins putting effort into what is missing, gratitude strengthens motivation by helping you welcome how much you honestly have accomplished.
In Closing
Motivation is the key to unlocking your best self; it allows you to take charge of your life, make necessary adjustments, and change dreams into reality.
However, it’s important to realize motivation isn’t something to find; it’s something to build. Motivation starts with purpose, grows through action, and becomes unstoppable through belief.
So believe in yourself, believe in the process, and keep striving for more. The talents to creating great things are already inside you; you just need to light them up.
