“If you don’t sacrifice for what you want, what you want becomes the sacrifice”

Motivation.  The new year rings in and everyone is geared up with their new resolutions.  We’ve all heard them, we’ve all had them.  This year I’m going to stick to this or that.  You have great intentions and even take a step in the right direction.  But then something better comes along, something that doesn’t take as much effort and the excuses start rolling in. “I’ll start again tomorrow” is often used and before you know it tomorrow turns into next week, then next month and eventually you just give up.  Sound familiar?

How do you keep that initial drive that you started so vigorously? You define why you want to do it, make it a priority in your life and get emotionally invested.  Sounds simple right.

It’s easy to say “I want to do this because I want _________  (insert your desire)”.  And I’m sure you’ve done that, but what you probably didn’t do is really analyze the driving force behind WHY you want it.  That driving force is an emotional connection.  Making your plan is easy but unless you add an emotional attachment it will end up falling flat.  Here are some easy tips to help guide you on your journey.

Find Your Why

You may already have started thinking about your WHY and what emotional attachment it holds for you.  But to help you discover it, here are a few questions.

1. What is it that you really want, what is your goal?
2. Why do you want that?
3. How will you feel when you reach it?
4. How will you feel if you don’t reach that goal?
5. What is your timeline for reaching that goal? Is it realistic?

Now think about your answers to those questions.  Is your success feeling one that is important to you?  One that you are willing to embrace and invest yourself in?  Is the feeling about not reaching that goal one that will really push you to move forward and keep trying?  If not, re-evaluate what it is you really want.  Sometimes going back to the why and asking further questions will help you clarify.  Are you doing this for you?  For others?

Now think about what is holding you back or getting in the way of your goal.  Many times its fears, excuses, and just non-action.  Change is hard. Change is scary.  We all are too busy, too tired and overwhelmed – if you really want it, you can make the time.  So think about what is really getting in your way, list them out and then list next to each one a way to overcome whatever it is.  Be reasonable.  Be honest with yourself.

Get Positive

Being positive and surrounding yourself with positive people will make your progress 1000 times easier.  Think about it, when you’re in a negative mood how much gets done?  Not much, right.  By being positive you’re allowing positive information to process through your brain and into your subconscious and it makes you feel good.  We are emotional creatures and what we do is based on what emotional response we will get from it.  So fire yourself up.  It’s okay to feel good about yourself.  It’s okay to say positive things to and about yourself.  And you should.  Every single day.

Start your day saying something positive to yourself and to someone else.  Say it with a smile and with real feeling and repeat.  Soon you will notice you aren’t just saying these things, you are feeling them too.  Being positive helps increase productivity and increased productivity helps you reach your goals.

Find Support

Have you ever heard the saying “You are the company you keep”?  You need to surround yourself with people who will support you during your progress.  People who will give you positive support.  Find people with similar goals, online or offline, who will help you stay on track. Join groups, be involved.

Make a commitment to yourself to not let people who no longer serve your best interests control anymore of your time or energy.  It’s okay to allow yourself to want to be around people who only have your best interests in mind.

Reward Yourself

Progress is one of the best motivating factors towards staying the course.  Even small milestones are progress.  Go back to your goal and set rewards for yourself at certain points, rewards that have an emotional response, that mean something important to you.  When you reach these points, follow through with the reward – allow yourself to be happy with the progress you’ve made and keep pushing on until you’ve met your goal.

If you find your progress is not where you expect it to be, perhaps reward yourself with hypnosis. Hypnosis allows you to find a different prospective, release internal factors and emotional blocks that may be holding you back and help you to develop your own personal growth.  Hypnosis can awaken the motivation required to successful complete your goals.

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