Staying Motivated and Working Towards Your Goal(s)
Most People I notice , go through life in a state of stagnation. For some reason they become non performers even when they have the capacity to better themselves in life. They go through life in a trance doing the same things each day without actually giving it a thought. Even if and when an opportunity presents itself they fail to grab it so that they could change the direction and course of their life towards something more positive.
One wonders why this happens ? could it be because of mental conditioning or laziness or something else that is far more serious ?
Some typical excuses or reasons for non performance
1, Economically unstable - This seems to be a very common reason for non performance, that their job is no good nor paying so they have no other alternative but to carry on doing what is already available since they have no other resources available to them.
2, Responsibility of children and parents - Family commitments and children are a big excuse for most non performers. It is either having ailing parents or small children, that seems to stop them from achieving better things in life.
3,Time constraint - Another one of those ready excuses, when time becomes the villain, not helping the person do what he or she wants and work towards their goal. Even if a person has a none to five job he or she still finds no time for anything else.
4, Non co-operation from spouse - This is another reason which stops people from performing to the best of their ability. Many married people cite this reason for non performance.
Overcoming Negative feelings
All these above reasons coupled with a negative outlook towards life makes a person depressed and this commonly leads to failure. When such a state of affair continues it leads to a negative outlook towards life. Such negative feelings can ruin ones happiness at all levels.
So, it is very essential for such non performing people to change their attitude towards life . Once they become determined it is not difficult to motivate ourselves, set some realistic goals and go forward to make the necessary preparations to achieve these goals. The first step towards achievement and success is overcoming negative feelings and setting some short term and long term goals.
When people dispassionately analyse all their excuses and reasons for not being able to reach their goals, they would be able to find ways to overcome them one by one as I have listed down below.
1, Economic- Give me a single middle income group average person who is able to say that he or she is economically secure at any stage of life. It is not possible because at every stage of life we have commitments and responsibilities which require funding. It is precisely because of this reason that an individual wants to better his or her status in life . So in effect your economic status should be motivating you rather than deter you to perform better in life.Once this fact becomes clear it is not difficult to motivate oneself to set goals and achieve..
2, Responsibility of Parents and children - This is another thing that is common to all. We all have to shoulder responsibility , which is an essential part of life. Parents, ailing or otherwise are an asset and with some planning, they should be able to help you reach your goals.Similarly small children don't remain small forever, they grow up and you are bound to get more free time, so all that needs to be doe is postpone but do not give up on your plans. Instead keep making plans and goals and ways to achieve it and when the time comes to execute it, you will find yourself better prepared.
3, Time Constraint - This is the lamest excuse there is ! All of us have the same number of hours and minutes given to us in a day and when we distribute it depending on the essentials we see that there are quite a few hours left that can be utilised for either planning or executing your goals.If you have not already done so, it is a good idea to take a second look at your day's activities and how best to streamline it and make time for other activities.
4, Non Co operation from Spouse - There are many households where the wife is not aware of husbands job,the nature of his work and his salary. One can only put this down to poor communication. When that is the case it is but natural that you cannot expect any ind of co operation from your spouse since he or she doesn't have any idea what you are up to. This can easily be changed through better communication and understanding, and once that is done, things are bound to change and you can expect better co operation from your spouse.
A few Essential Changes that help you reach your goal(s)
Change of personality - Chances are that if you are perpetually sad and depressed , you tend to attract only such people, who in turn make you more depressed – thus begins a vicious circle! So make sure that you surround yourself with positive people who are able to communicate in an intelligent manner rather than add on to your woes.
On the other hand when you are motivated , confident and have a positive outlook towards life, chances are that you attract people with similar bent of mind and this again benefits you.
Never have a low opinion of yourself - Never show or mentally accept that you are a failure. This can be very stressful to you and your family . Most people who have a low opinion, never give themselves a chance to see what they are capable of. As a parent too you are setting a bad example to your children by not being a good role model for your children, one they can look up to and emulate.
Be sure of your goals - According to statistics , 96% of the people are not sure of their goals. When that is the case how does one go about motivating and working towards achieving goals? It is essential for a person to have concrete goals in life and work towards them, this is what keeps us motivated in life. One should dream and set goals with a deadline to motivate oneself. Then start targeting and fine tuning one’s dreams and then putting it into practice.
Evaluate yourself - This is one exercise that always helps. One has to be dispassionate and honest without being sympathetic or partial to oneself. This way, you come to know your weaknesses and your strength. No one is perfect in life and once you realise that there are certain areas where you can do well, all that need to be done is to to put yourself to test, so that you know your capacity and ability in that particular field and as you go along , you are bound to do better .
Try and break the monotony of your existence - Monotony can sometimes kill any ambition and motivation .Try to bring in some pleasant changes into your everyday life. We can think of many ways to make our life more interesting if we put our mind to it. Being perceptive and disciplined can help you in bringing some positive changes that keep you motivated. We need to remember that it is the mind that controls everything and we have to send the right signals to it.
Listing down your goals – Personally I have always felt that making a list helps. Once we list down all that needs to be done both short term and long term, all that remains is make plans on how to achieve these goals. The very fact that you have listed down your goals shows that you have taken the right first step and will start working on these plans . There is also the hope that better things would come our way with change however small the achievement may be, better things and bigger achievements and successes are bound to follow.
Put Your Dreams into action - Dreams can become realities only when we take action. It is imperative that we spend some quality time every day trying to put our dreams into action by planning various activities tht help us achieve our goals. But it is also important to remember that one should never compromise on some basic values while trying to achieve goals and fulfill our dreams. – No matter what, never go into unethical practices, it never pays nor does it make you happy !
Family comes first – All our activities are channelised to bring comfort and happiness to our families, so never compromise on happiness within your family . By being communicative and keeping them informed all the time about what your plans are you are bound to get support and acceptance. It also makes them realise that certain actions are necessary for the future happiness of the entire family thereby making them responsible.
Importance of Financial Freedom - Whether you are working or not , male or female , it is absolutely essential that every person has financial freedom, and he or she works towards it. How you do it is left to you since you are the best judge of it. There are enough opportunities to earn and if one has the imagination, sky is the limit, so go for it without any hesitation , taking all the above points into consideration.
Care for your and your family’s health - Eat healthy and stay healthy, there is nothing to beat a healthy body and healthy mind since nothing in life can be enjoyed if you are suffering from poor health and lack of proper nutrition. So take good care of your family’s health and even better care of yourself since you have a lot to achieve in life.
Self discipline and stress - Many people talk about self discipline as a helpful tool to achievements, which may be true to a certain extent. But on the other hand, when we talk about discipline, we see that it has its own limitations since discipline actually limits your imagination and self expression which is very essential while you work towards your goals.
Stress on the other hand has always been perceived as a negative feature but I personally feel that stress and pressure if used properly can actually be a good thing since it spurs you on to perform.
Enjoy what you are doing – To me this is a very important factor in goal achievement. One can remain motivated only when there is interest and a certain amount of enjoyment in what one is doing. Like for example, if a person wants to write articles to earn money but hates the idea of doing it and does it out of compulsion, his or her feelings are bound to show and come out in the articles written as well. So never do things out of compulsion but only do things that you like. Once you remain focused on what you are doing and see positive results you also enjoy what you are doing.
Conclusions
Life can be trying and it is not easy for us to remain motivated all the time. At times we tend to give up out of sheer frustration which is but natural, more so when we are faced with adverse situations . But we need to develop the quality to bounce back and get back to where we left and go on..
Most eminent Psychologists are of the opinion that keeping oneself motivated all the time by setting certain goals and working towards them is the best way to remain positive in life. When a person is positive he or she automatically is motivated and this becomes a continuous process , no matter how young or old you are . Also , finding the enjoyable part of any activity and focusing on that helps.
Instead of doing what A B or C does, concentrate on what you like doing and stick with it, that is all that is required to stay motivated and work towards your goal(s)
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