How to Get and Stay Motivated

Motivation is what drives success in all areas of life, including academics.

Whatever your goals are socially, physically, academically, or with anything else, you won’t come up short because you are not capable of succeeding. Most often, it is because you lost sight of your motivation. We all do this. It’s human nature to want to give up, procrastinate, or quit.

Motivation is often based on your current emotional state – which is why one day you feel you can do anything and before you know it, you can’t seem to motivate yourself to think about your goal, let alone work toward it.

If you are focusing on your fears and limitations or why you can’t do something, then that’s what’s going to show up more for you in your life. The little decisions you make each day are what change your life and move you toward success.

Get Motivated

Motivation is not an abstract thought, or some kind of wish. Motivation is tangible. It requires a goal to achieve. ways to get motivated include:

Writing down your plans and what you want

Identify your academic and other goals. It sounds obvious but listing real reasons will make it easier to keep track of progress. Be specific and clear. Seeing progress will help keep you motivated and keep you from worrying about unfinished work that still needs to be completed.

Creating a Vision Board

Take time to create a vision board of your goals that you can see every day. It can be words, pictures or anything that will help you visualize your goals. There are apps specifically designed for creating vision boards.

Knowing your purpose

Motivation is more than just a goal that exists in the future. It’s a desire to achieve that goal. Ask yourself the question, “Why do I want to achieve this goal?” and make sure you are following the right purpose for the goals you have set.

Beginning now

Once you set your goal, there is no reason to wait. There will always be a reason or excuse not to begin. That’s just what they are: excuses. Be aware of them and move past them.

Stay Motivated

When you first set a goal, it’s easy to get motivated. You’re excited about what you can do and accomplish. But somewhere along the line, you might lose your enthusiasm or hit obstacles. The trick, then, is to learn ways to keep the motivation going.

Reinforce your goals

Get your mind on board to find ways to help you succeed. Remind yourself (daily) of your goals. If you keep your goals fresh in your mind, your desire for those goals will remain strong. Don’t lose sight of the finish line.

Affirmations

One of the biggest problems is how we talk to our self or react in negative situations. Repeating positive affirmations affects your subconscious mind, which can influence behavior, habits, actions and reactions you do each day. They should be repeated often and can help keep your mind focused on what you want, help you feel more positive and energetic, and even reframe negative thoughts into positive ones.

For affirmations to be effective, they need to be in the present tense, include only positive words and be said or thought of as a fact. Regularly repeating them forces your mind to begin believing the thought is true and will begin doing everything it can to make it true.

Positive affirmations don’t use the words, “I will,” “I used to” or “I’m going to.” Instead, they use present tense statements like “I am,” “I have” or “I feel.” They avoid the words “don’t,” “can’t,” and “won’t.” and lastly, they contain words like “am” and “do.”

Here are a few examples:

• I am fully motivated to look for opportunities and take action.
• I feel motivated, energized, and happy to handle any task.
• I have the ability to master anything.
• I have the determination and strength to turn my dreams into reality.
• My motivation helps me to achieve and succeed at everything that I do.
• I have the energy needed to live life to the fullest.

These kinds of statements – even when you aren’t exactly feeling it – can help your mind remain focused on the goal to keep you motivated and follow through.

Milestones

Staying motivated can affect how (or how fast) we reach our goals. When you are motivated, you take action every day, but when you begin to lose your motivation, it’s easier to have setbacks. Setting mini goals (or milestones) can be a way to get re-motivated. By breaking your large goal into smaller ones, you create (easier) milestones to reach for. Your milestones should be challenging yet realistically achievable.

Be clear on why you want a specific goal

The reason or “why” you are pursuing a specific goal is emotional. When you set your goal, ask yourself what you will get out of reaching it. Then fine another reason why you want to achieve it. Continue until you have 3 to 5 reasons or more reasons why.

Do it anyway

We typically procrastinate because we’re bored, frustrated, the task seems too hard, we don’t have a structure in place to follow, or we don’t have a clear reason why we care about it.

Tips for when motivation doesn’t seem to be there

• Just do something. Do anything that will move you one small step until you get your motivation back.
• Look at your excuses and realize they are just that: excuses (are you simply too tired to go to the gym or did you stay up too late last night?) and go from there.
• Block it in on your daily calendar. Having a set time to do the task, do your homework, study for a test, or go to the gym, helps you to see it like your other important tasks.
• Schedule weekly check-ins. Weekly check-ins help you see the progress you’ve made that week. Do these with the help of someone else or just hold yourself accountable with these appointments.
• Read a book or listen to an inspirational speaker on YouTube on your goal subject.
• Challenge yourself. For example, if your goal is to get your room completely organized, but you don’t have the motivation to clean out your closet, challenge yourself to organize one shelf every day or so. Then reward yourself.

Reaching your goal doesn’t happen by accident. It happens with consistent, motivated action every day.

At the Arise Society, we help young adults that are struggling with anxiety, depression, gaming and other motivational issues. We provide personalized academic, therapeutic, and social support in a real-world setting, which gives our students the skills to reach their fullest potential. Academic success, fueled by motivation, is our best measure of how well a young adult is adapting to real-world circumstances within our program.

Also see: Motivation and Mental Health