This article was first published in Life Extraordinary Magazine.
It seems that every day we, as entrepreneurs, are pulled in a dozen different directions, and that makes staying motivated hard.
It’s the days that don’t go as planned that really test our desires and our belief in ourselves. We start questioning whether we have the time, knowledge, passion or even the people around us to help us succeed. These negative thoughts start to take over and we begin to doubt ourselves and our abilities. For some, the next step is to just give up. For others, it’s the kick in the pants needed to figure out the next step.
It’s a never-ending battle, until you go back to your vision.
Go back to your why
Believe it or not, your motivation to achieve your goals is fuelled by your desire to land that ideal client, or to have the life balance to take time off when you want. Success and motivation are interdependent; you can’t have one without the other. So go back to your WHY and you will again feel the excitement and enthusiasm that led you down your path of being a Lady Boss.
Here are three tips to help you find your motivation to succeed.
1. Say affirmations
Self-confidence comes from a belief in your worth and your abilities, and it’s a prerequisite for staying motivated and therefore for your success.
Don’t let your past dictate your future! You can design the future you want through positive conditioning, and creating affirmations is a great tool to help you become the person you want to be, because your imagination helps make your thoughts real.
Tips for creating affirmations that keep you motivated:
- Affirmations should always be positive.
- State them in the first person and the present tense.
- Write them as a “realistically high goal”.
- Relate them directly to your goals or the qualities you are trying to develop.
- Make them YOURS.
A few examples to help you create your own:
- “I am in charge of my life.”
- “I am responsible for my success.”
- “I am a good listener.”
2. Visualise your success
Visualising the success of your goal keeps what you want to achieve right in front of you. When it’s always top of mind, you focus on it and stay motivated. The purpose is to create the emotion of how it will feel when you succeed.
Live that elation and satisfaction when you “see” yourself achieving your goal. As you begin visualising your success, you’ll feel the excitement build and realise the distance between you and your goal is narrowing. Your attitude becomes a magnet, drawing your desired results into perfect view.
Tips to stay motivated by visualising your success:
- Pin pictures of your goal, or of how you’ll look achieving it, on a board. This is commonly known as a vision board.
- Visualise how you will feel when your goal is achieved.
- Grab a partner and act out how you will feel when you achieve your goal.
3. Acknowledge small wins
Sometimes we focus far too much on the end goal rather than the smaller steps that get us there. Even if mistakes are made along the way, it’s important to stay positive and focus on what you have learned.
Everything you learn from the experience is a small win and crucial to your success, and each small part of a larger task that you complete is movement and progress towards your goal.
Tips to help you start acknowledging small wins:
- Think about how your work is contributing to your goal.
- Break your large goal down into chunks, and then into specific tasks.
- Identify the tasks you’ve accomplished that move you towards overall success.
- Celebrate each task or action step you achieve; it will help you feel capable, empowered and successful.
These are just a few strategies to help increase your internal motivation. When you’re excited by each small step, it spreads through everything you do.
Good luck in seeing the many possibilities in your life!
About the author
Cassandra Austin, Casstronomy
Accomplished chef, consultant, recipe developer and food and wellness coach, branched into diet, nutrition and food psychology. I support women who want sustainable change with a healthy diet and an absolutely fabulous life. Success came at a cost to my mental and physical health; after years of ignoring it, I found ways to reverse the damage, and I know we all have unique requirements for wellness. Eat, drink, laugh, love and live your way to balance.
Read the original article: Life Extraordinary Magazine
