Ever asked yourself how to feel inspired and motivated? Well, smashing your goals requires two important factors: motivation and action. The tricky thing about this is that many people self-sabotage themselves into waiting to feel inspired or motivated before taking action.
That’s completely backward! You must act your way into the feeling of motivation. And that’s what this article will help you to do. You’ll learn how to act now, whether or not you feel inspired and motivated.
And if you consistently follow the suggestions below, your results will be nothing short of outstanding!
1. Take Action Even if You Don’t Feel Motivated
People generally don’t take action until they feel an emotional inspiration that gets them all fired up.
However, there’s a fundamental problem with chasing your goals this way.
Most times, you feel lazy or sluggish about the things you know you should do, even if it is a goal you are particularly passionate about. Staying motivated and setting goals may prove difficult.
Your goals and dreams will remain on hold until you are motivated enough to act on them. It’s not difficult to see why operating under this framework will lead to a less-than-fulfilling life.
Realize that action is not only an effect of motivation; it also induces motivation.
You may not feel like hitting the gym, studying, or writing, but do them anyway! When you consistently take action before you feel like it, it creates momentum that triggers motivation and even positive thinking.
I recommend reading this article to learn how to get things done when you don’t want to.
2. Create a Daily Ritual
Setting schedules, planning goals, and staying organized are all great. But to stay inspired and motivated, you must develop routines and rituals and follow them religiously.
This means showing up at specific times daily or as often as necessary, putting in the required work, and repeating the process every day, no matter how you feel.
At first blush, following a routine ― repeating the same thing every day ― might seem incredibly boring. But research shows that’s the most effective way to develop habits.
Besides routines, you need rituals. Here’s what I mean by creating a daily ritual.
Decide on one or more behaviors to perform at exactly the same time and place that signals the start of working toward your goal.
Repeat those set of behaviors each time you set out to work on what you’re hoping to achieve. Before long, your ritual will take on a life of its own, making it easier to take action, regardless of your feelings.
I’ve said all of that to say this: if you have a goal you’re passionate about, create a ritual that puts you in auto-pilot mode. This way, your results are not dependent on feelings alone.
3. Remove Distractions
No matter how inspired and motivated you are, focusing on effective actions when surrounded by distractions is extremely difficult.
This is where setting your priorities straight comes into play.
What matters more to you, your goals or fleeting pleasures? Depending on your goal, you must remove yourself from situations that can get in your way of taking effective action.
Sheer willpower can only get you so far if you don’t manage distractions. Come to terms with the fact that you might have to cut back or completely give up certain activities.
Distractions might seem harmless, but they will eventually sap your motivation.
Indeed, you get a little burst of pleasure from things like social media, TV, and other sources. However, realize that these things are insignificant compared to what really matters in your life.
4. Break Big Goals Into Smaller Action Steps
If you’re like most people, you probably can’t remember how many times you lost your motivation just by contemplating a big goal.
That’s because your audacious goals can feel overwhelming or even intimidating.
You may have set this big goal in a moment of emotional inspiration. You felt highly motivated and invisible ― nothing could stop you!
However, motivation wanes over time. And when that happens, what previously seemed like a walk in the park will start to feel like a steep uphill climb.
One way to get over the feeling of overwhelm is to break your big goals into smaller action steps or smaller goals.
For example, split your big yearly goal into a series of monthly actionable steps and smaller goals that tie back to your year’s overall big goal. Even the most daunting task can be accomplished this way. Remember, eating an elephant happens a bite at a time.
Don’t forget to celebrate every small win, as this will keep your motivation level up.
5. Regularly Review Your Progress
Another profound way to stay inspired and motivated is to take stock of where you are on your journey.
Imagine traveling on a highway without mile markers. You can’t tell how far you’ve come and the distance remaining to reach your destination. In fact, you might be lost and won’t even know it!
Seeing measurable progress is a great motivator, so you should periodically review your goals and progress.
In addition to helping you stay motivated, reviewing your progress can boost your self-esteem, especially if you have performed extremely well. And if you fall short of your expectations, regular reviews can help you get back on track.
6. Do Things That Excite You
If you’ve applied to previous suggestions and are still not inspired and motivated, perhaps it’s time to dig deep to figure out the real reason for your lack of motivation.
For example, you might feel inadequate at work, and that’s a different ball game entirely. But if you hate your line of work, it becomes extremely difficult to feel motivated to do anything productive on the job. You might need to switch jobs or careers if your current work is grossly uninspiring.
You can’t be genuinely happy if all you do is pretend to be excited about your work duties, fitness level, financial goals, relationship, or personal development goals.
Remember, you simply can’t fake inspiration or motivation ― no one can. You are either motivated or not.
