how to stay motivated

It is no secret that some days it is easier to find motivation than others. No matter what is causing you to lose a little drive, today we are breaking down the most common stressful situations and how you can stay motivated through them all.



How to Stay Motivated When You’re Hunting for a New Job

Searching for a new job feels like a full-time job. The time between search and success can be frustrating and draining.

You only get one chance to make a great first impression, so here are some tips for staying motivated through the stress of the job hunt.

1. Clarify Your Values

Do your values match up with the position you are seeking? First, you must clarify your values and get a sense of the values and culture of your potential new organization.

Very few people make an effort to clarify their values. The process, among other things, requires focus and an honest self-appraisal. Honesty always comes through as prospective employers evaluate you. If you clarify your values, you will save time in your job search.

2. Write out your Marketable Skills and Areas of Excellence

One motivating factor when you are between jobs or are seeking a more challenging career is knowing the value you bring to the organization.

Writing out your marketable skills is only the first part. Finish the job by matching up accomplishments with those skills. Write about how you used those skills and contributed to a successful project or met some important goals in your past.

Areas of excellence, on the other hand, are subjective qualities beyond skills. They are the sum are talents that add flavor and evidence that you are worth hiring.



3. Determine your Areas of Weakness and How Can you Improve

The value of self-knowledge is in your ability to evaluate your weaknesses. To the extent that you are honest in that evaluation, you will reap benefits in staying motivated.

Be honest. Can you list at least three weaknesses, and what you should do to improve on them?

Here’s a hint: Do not include “I tend to be impatient,” or “I am somewhat of a perfectionist.” Those are the fluffy answers we hear during job interviews. What you need to list is what you know is hurting your personal and professional development. They are the starting point of personal and self-improvement.

If you’re a slow starter when it comes to projects and deadlines, learn to divide your projects into smaller chunks with realistic milestone dates.

No matter what your weakness, there is always a way that you can improve.

4. Choose Something You Love

Whether you’re starting out or hunting for a change, consider this: You will spend more time working than doing anything else, other than sleeping.

The most fortunate people are those who love their jobs and are amazed that someone would actually pay them to do what is not work, but their life’s purpose.

You can stay motivated while looking for a job if you clarify your values, capitalize on your strengths, and work on your weaknesses.

If you focus your job search on finding the work you love, you are on the path of personal and professional success.

How to Stay Motivated in School

Furthering your knowledge is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your career and your overall quality of life.

However, school is also quite stressful and requires a great deal of motivation to get through, especially if you have other priorities such as work or family that you must contend with on top of your education.

To help you out, here are six useful tips for how to stay motivated while you are in school.

1. Take Study Breaks

It’s hard to stay motivated if you are studying 24/7. Your mind can only process so much information in a given time, and after a while, it may be difficult to concentrate. It’s important, therefore, to take a few breaks every now and then.

Go outside for a walk, hang out with a few friends, or treat yourself to some ice cream – anything to give your mind a short refresh.

Just don’t let those study breaks extend on for too long; take a few minutes off then hit the books again.

2. Use a Planner

One great way to stay on top of all the assignments you have and things you need to study for is to write them down in a planner. Organize them based on their priority, and scratch them out when you finish them.

Not only will this help keep you from forgetting a task, but it will also make them seem a little more doable if you write them down on paper and mark them off one at a time.

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3. Change your Location

Staying in any location for too long can kill your motivation, especially if it’s a stuffy location such as inside a classroom. Switch things up every once and a while by taking your work to a coffee shop, a library, or some other relatively quiet location that is suited for studying.

Changing your environments may help spur your creativity a bit, and at the very least it should make your work seem a little less mundane and add some variety to your day.



4. Eliminate distractions from your Workspace

Distractions such as your smartphone or television can be a real motivation killer when it comes time for you to buckle down and get some studying done.

What starts as checking your messages or flipping through the TV guide to see what’s on later can quickly turn into a lengthy, unintended break from your work. If you can, you should clear your workspace from these distractions.

While your assignments may entail that you have a computer handy, you should also avoid having any tabs open to social media sites or anything else that does not pertain to your work and put the computer away entirely if you can.

5. Create Study Guides and Aids

Studying for an exam isn’t always easy, and you should use every tool at your disposal to make it more efficient. Some of the best of these tools include study guides, flashcards, and other study aids.

Rather than pouring over your textbook for hours on end with little direction, write down the topics you need to know on a study guide and study them one by one or create flashcards that have questions on one side and answers on the other.

These study aids not only make studying more efficient, but they also help add a little variety to your study routine, which can help with your motivation.

6. Ask for Help

Studying for an exam isn’t always easy, and you should use every tool at your disposal to make it more efficient. Some of the best of these tools include study guides, flashcards, and other study aids.

Rather than pouring over your textbook for hours on end with little direction, write down the topics you need to know on a study guide and study them one by one or create flashcards that have questions on one side and answers on the other.

These study aids not only make studying more efficient, but they also help add a little variety to your study routine, which can help with your motivation.

How to Stay Motivated When Trying to Lose Weight

According to the Boston Medical Center, 45 million Americans diet each year. However, going on a diet and staying on a diet are often two very different things, and motivation is a key element in making any weight-loss plan successful.

If you are determined to lose weight, here are a few tips you can use to stay motivated throughout your weight-loss journey.

1. Chart Your Progress

Nothing is more motivating than seeing results. While working out and dieting may not provide instant results, it does indeed eventually provide results and some very satisfying results at that. Once a week, step on the scales and write down your weight.

Keep up with your weekly progress by doing this each week and keeping a chart of your results.

If you stick to your diet and workout routine, you should see your weight steadily decrease each week, and seeing those decreasing numbers on paper can be incredibly motivating.

2. Don’t Go at it Alone.

Losing weight doesn’t have to be a solitary endeavor – if you find other people to join you on your weight-loss journey then you will likely find it much easier to stay motivated.

Find a workout partner who is willing to try and lose weight alongside you, or join a class full of people attempting to get in shape. Seeing others work hard toward your same goals can often motivate you to work even harder yourself, and you’ll be much less likely to stop working out or abandon your diet if other people are holding you accountable.

3. Change Up Your Routine

Monotony is the enemy of motivation. If you stick with the exact same workout routine for too long, you may find that it becomes monotonous and boring, and it’s much easier to stick with your goals when you’re enjoying the process of reaching them at least a little.

To keep your workout routine fresh and exciting, mix it up from time to time. Throw in some new exercises and rotate some old ones out. So long as you are burning calories, most any good workout routine will get the job done, and it’s beneficial to switch it up from time to time.



4. Workout in the Morning

Most health and fitness professionals will tell you that the morning hours are the best time to work out. For most people, the morning hours are when motivation is at its highest.

After a long day of work, your energy and motivation may be diminished, and it will be much more difficult to drag yourself into the gym. Exercise will get your blood flowing and give you a little boost of endorphins to get you through the day.

5. Kick Bad Eating Habits

Bad eating habits can ruin all of your hard work in the gym. There’s a reason they say, Abs are made in the kitchen.

Eating well can be difficult if you start by eliminating food groups and creating “no” lists. Making foods off-limits will only lead to binge eating down the line so finding balance with healthy eating is key to success.

Losing weight can be very difficult at first, but after you implement the above you’ll be extremely motivated to keep going and reach your goals.

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How to Stay Motivated When Stressed

For many people, stress is a familiar foe. At some point or another, almost all of us get stressed out. However, if stress builds it can become a real problem, not only killing our motivation but also leading to some real health consequences. To combat stress and stay motivated to consider the following tips.

1. Take Deep Breaths

The phrase “take a deep breath” isn’t just an expression, it’s legitimate advice. Deep breathing exercises are a proven way to help reduce stress and can sometimes serve as a sort of reset button whenever you are becoming too worked up over something.

If you feel your stress starting to spiral out of control, pause, close your eyes, and breathe in and out deeply a few times. A welcome wave of calm relaxation should follow.

2. Write Down Your Worries

If your stress is due to specific circumstances in your life – as stress most often is – write down those circumstances one at a time on a piece of paper and address them one by one, crossing them off as you do.

Sometimes you may be able to fix what is worrying you, such as completing a project that has been stressing you out, and other times addressing what is worrying you may entail simply coming to grips with it and realizing there is no benefit to stressing out over it.

Either way, writing down your worries and addressing them however you can is a great way to cut straight to the root of what is stressing you out.

3. Take Some Time Off

It seems these days that fewer and fewer people are truly taking the weekends off. In our busy, hectic lives, using Saturday and Sunday as days to get even more work done can be tempting.

However, being overworked is one of the main causes of stress, and if you get burned out by being overworked it’s hard to be productive no matter how much you try.

If at all possible, you should take the weekends off. Do an activity you enjoy, or connect with an old friend. Days spent doing things such as this are a great way to ease stress and boost your motivation when Monday rolls around.



4. Do Something That Brings You Joy

Joy is the antidote to stress, and if you can take even a few minutes to do something that brings you joy then you will find that it’s an excellent stress reliever. Activities that bring you joy differ from person to person, but whatever they are, take the time to pause and enjoy them whenever you get the chance.

As with taking the weekends off, even if it feels like you can’t afford taking the time to do something you enjoy, the benefits outweigh the lost time.

5. Go for a Walk or Run

A little bit of light exercise is a great stress-reliever since it triggers the release of endorphins. Endorphins are commonly referred to as the “happy hormone” for the way they give you a little boost of happiness.

In addition to releasing these happiness-inducing hormones, going for a walk or a run is a great way to get your blood flowing and release a little of the nervous energy that stress sometimes builds up. As an added bonus, walking and running are healthy exercises in their own right that are great for you regardless of whether or not you are stressed out.

6. Wake up a Little Earlier

Waking up an hour early may not seem like much, but if you use those minutes wisely then they can be incredibly beneficial. This is especially true since the morning hours set the tone for the rest of your day.

If you start the day relaxed and at-ease, chances are you will go through the rest of the day that way as well. Before you leave for work, take the time to de-stress. One excellent way to do this is with meditation, but you may also wish to spend your extra time doing some light reading or spending time with your family.

Stress is never an easy thing to face, but hopefully, these tips will keep you motivated.

How to Stay Motivated at Work

If you’re like most people, there are probably plenty of days where you show up to work feeling a little unmotivated and uninspired. If you hope to excel in your career, though, it’s important to muster as much motivation as possible each time you clock in. With that in mind, here are a few proven tips that you can use to help you stay more motivated at work.

1. Focus on What Matters

Feeling lost or spread thin is not the recipe for being motivated and inspired to do your best work.

Rather than trying to tackle a dozen projects at once, focus your full effort and attention on one task at a time, starting with the most important task that you need to complete that day and working your way down the list.

If you approach your workday thinking of everything that needs to be done that day, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and discouraged. If you focus only on what matters, though, and tackle one task at a time then you are sure to find staying motivated a lot easier.

2. Practice Positive Affirmations

Positive affirmations are a powerful tool that can be used to help you accomplish a wide range of life goals – including being more motivated and productive at work.

For example, simply repeating a positive affirmation such as “I am ready to tackle the day and do my best work” each morning before you leave your home can go a long way toward boosting your motivation.

The secret sauce behind positive affirmations such as this is the fact that the subconscious mind typically comes to believe the things that are repeatedly said by the conscious mind. In other words, if you tell yourself each morning that you are motivated and inspired, it won’t be long before you actually come to believe it.

To learn more about how you can use positive affirmations to help build a healthy, happy life, be sure to check out this helpful article.

3. Celebrate Wins

When you check a task off of your to-do list – no matter how small that task might be – it is a victory that pushes you one step closer to your goals and should be celebrated as such.

Far too often, it’s easy to have a negative attitude about work, and a negative attitude is like cancer to motivation. Rather than being down about the work that you have yet to complete, take the time to celebrate your accomplishments as you work.

This doesn’t mean you have to throw a party every time you complete a task; instead, simple “celebrations” such as taking the time to stretch, smile, and reflect on your good work is all that it takes to boost your motivation in a meaningful way.

4. Set Your Own Goals

Goal-setting and motivation go hand-in-hand, and research has shown that when you have autonomy over your own goals you are more likely to reach them. Of course, many employees have their goals determined for them and are not really in a position to set goals for themselves.

What you can do if you find yourself in this position, though, is to speak to your manager and request to be a part of the goal-setting process. Tell them that you would like to set goals for yourself as a means of motivation and they will likely be happy to oblige.

If you are given the green light to set your own goals, though, you will want to make sure that you are setting helpful, achievable goals that will actually push you to do your best work without pushing you beyond the limit of what’s possible.

If you need help setting beneficial goals, the SMART Goals Template can help. This template makes it easy to set goals that are challenging yet achievable, allowing you to create goals that will actually help motivate you to do your best work.



5. Consider the “Why”

There are probably plenty of times where you find yourself struggling to complete what may seem like a mundane and unimportant task. In these times, it’s important to consider the “why” and focus for a moment on the big picture. Chances are what may seem like a mundane, pointless task is really an important part of a big picture plan.

By taking the time to consider this big-picture plan and how your work is helping make it possible, you can refocus yourself and muster the motivation to get the job done.

In most cases, there really is no such thing as a task that is senseless and unimportant. We all have a “why” behind the work we do, and sometimes it can be very helpful to consider this “why”.

While these five tips are great for any industry, I know from experience that sales jobs take constant self-motivation in order to excel. So now, let’s take a deeper look at some specific motivation tips for sales jobs.

How to Stay Motivated When Working in Sales

Some people can sell anything! If you are not one of those people, you may find yourself feeling tired, overwhelmed, and maybe even a bit scared at the prospect of reaching out to new customers. So what’s the answer? Luckily for you, there are plenty of ways to get motivated to sell!

1. Know the Customer You’re Targeting

You could have the most winning personality and the best product in the industry, but if you are not reaching the right customers, your sales are going to falter.

Successful sales professionals know the importance of understanding who their buyer is so that they can tailor their efforts to each individual customer.

The key to successful sales is being able to connect with your customers on an emotional basis. When you are able to generate an emotional response from the buyer, the odds are good you can make the sale.

2. Offer Demonstrations

No matter what the product you are trying to sell, potential customers need to see how it works. Use plenty of demonstrations so the customer can get a feel for the product and how it can change their life.

Simply telling someone they cannot live without your product isn’t enough – they have to see how it can make their daily life easier.



3. Listen to Your Customer

Approach every customer with an open mind. Your job isn’t to try and sell them something they don’t need – it is to pair them with the product they need the most. This requires listening to needs and answering all of their questions and concerns as thoroughly as you can. Strike up a conversation and use clues from that dialogue to design a sales strategy.

4. Ask Questions

The best way to determine your customer’s real need is to ask lots of questions. One of the biggest mistakes many sales professionals make is making assumptions before asking enough questions. Be thorough in your approach; ask only open-ended questions. This will help you learn what’s needed to streamline your sales approach.

Use my 100 calls method to get motivated. Don’t let the fear of rejection get in the way of your sales success. Instead of dreading picking up the phone to make another cold call, turn the entire process into a game.

Here’s how it works: make a commitment to contact 100 prospective customers as quickly as you can. If you contact 10 a day, you will complete the assignment in about two weeks.

Take away the need for sale and watch as your sales actually grow. Yes, that’s right: the less pressure you put on yourself, the freer you are to develop your own unique sales strategy, and that will result in more contacts and more sales!

Now that we’ve broken down different stressful situations, I hope these tips, tricks, and scenarios will help you stay motivated in any situation.

Source: Brian Tracy Success