The 7 Ultimate Steps to Motivate Yourself

The year has gone far ahead and it's still running...

Where are you now in your list from your new year resolutions?

What more can you do?

Are you consciously investing in your body and mind?

There is no dignity in begging or lacking behind.

You have come to this world, and your future is being determined by what you are presently doing today (your survival skills).

It's either you get something going or they get you going. You plan for something or they plan for you. 

Choose...

The choices we make and the things we choose to retain in our brain each day can either motivate us or slow us down.

And although clear visualisation is a good first step, a joyful motivated life demands more.

My friend Henry puts it this way: "if you truly love to live your dream life, you need a change of mind." And he goes further to say: "a goal without an action plan is a day dream."

I agreed with Henry. Your mind is a powerful tool. Out of it comes, self-doubts and motivating thoughts.

This article is about simple (a.b.c) motivating ideas you can apply in your day to day living that will help to transform your life as you desired.

You will be learning simple, efficient and effective ways of thinking that will energise your mind and mood so that you can get going again, and continue the race even when you feel like giving up.
So, are you ready?

This article is quite long as it goes in depth on simple (abc) motivational thoughts, tricks, and tips that we can apply on a daily basis (an exception from my upcoming book).

But you can bookmark it, or save it (Ctrl+S) to read later.

If your time is currently green, please stay with me and read on.

First, you will need to:

1. Create A Vision
2. Fake It Till You Make It
3. Be Positive
4. Know Your Body System
5. Set Small Goals and Finish Them
6. Watch Your Associates
7. Withdraw From The Noise

1. Create A Vision

To begin, let me ask you the same question an old dear friend asked me 8 years ago "where do you belong?"

There are two kinds of people living in our midst. Those who wait until they receive a vision and those who creates their own vision.
Where do you belong?

I will give you sometime to think about it...

. 
.

Now, let me tell you a 'popular secret'...
It is 'popular' because most people knew about what I'm about to tell you right now, but a 'secret' because few people are actually practising it and also aware of it's motivating power.

To begin, ask yourself: What can I stay hungry for?

A major part of living a life of self motivation is having something to wake up for, in the morning (tomorrow).

Something that you are up-to in life so that you will stay hungry.

It is called a vision...

Some people are willing to fight, or die just for their vision to come to reality. That is the power of a vision.

How to create a vision

You have been unknowingly spending a better part of your life simply helping others to make their dreams come true.

Now, lets create yours. Are you ready?

Good,

Now, go into your room, and shut the door behind you.

No other person should be there. And make sure you are with PEN and PAPER.

Shut the world outside, then sit down and remain calm. Be C-A-L-M (like a quiet water)

Now create a vision of who you want to be. Create a vision of how you want your life to be. Feel it, really feel it, and then live into that picture as if it were already true...

Now write it down in your note, with a clear description of who you want to be and how you want your life to be.

That's all. It's ridiculously simple; right? Yeah it is.

You can always change your vision if you want, but don't live a moment longer without having one.

2. Fake It Till You Make It

At age 20, I was being fed, and still living at home with my parents (how sad was that!!).

In the night, I would lie down on my back, on my bed, placing my two hands under my head and I will close my eyes, not to sleep, but to play a game I called 'time travel'.

The name of the game (time travel) is self-explanatory, and the purpose of the game is also, very clear from the name. Right?

So in the game, among other events, I would see my (future) self living in my own house with unimaginable freedom at my disposal, to use as I willed.

This game is what has helped me to plan my life cause from the beginning with a motivated energy to succeed even when the road contains gravel at times.

The thing about this game is, your subconscious mind doesn't know you're fantasising (it either receives the picture or doesn't).

Without a picture of your highest self, you can't live into that self...

So repeat this after me: Fake it till you make it!!!

Yes.. The lie will become the truth in the end.

3. Be Positive 

I learned to be positive the hard way very long ago, that who we are, or how we feel is what we actually see.

Prior to writing this article, I looked back and watched my activities for the past years, and this is what I discovered.

When I am happy, I see the happiness in others.
When I am compassionate I see the compassion in other people.
And when I am full of energy and hope, I see opportunities all around me.

Re-wind back...

Now see what happens when I'm angry. I see other people as unnecessary testy.

When I am depressed, I noticed that people's eyes look sad.
When I am weary, I see the world as boring and unattractive.

You see, who you are is what you see.

Our self motivation suffers most from how we choose to see the circumstances in our lives.

You may ask.. why?

Because we don't see things as they are. Who you are is what you see (You remember what happened in the movie where Matrix and the little Kongfu boy were trying to bend a spoon?). Okay, so who you are is what you see.
Be positive!

In every circumstance, you have the choice to look for the good side of the coin, the best picture or the wrong side of the coin. You choose...

And, what we look for, we find.
Your opportunities will multiply when you choose to see them.

4. Know Your Body System

If I should ask you to tell me, what is your strength?
Or what gives you inspiration?
Or what your action motivator is?
Could you tell me simply?
If you can, then you deserved a commendation.

You see, most of us live our lives without much knowledge of ourselves. For example, they wait until a certain song comes on the radio that picks up their spirit, to get to work.

Have you ever peek into the cockpit of a large airliner as you boarded a plane?
It's an impressive display of buttons, lever, dials, and switches under one big windshield.
What if, as you were boarding, you overhead the pilot say to the co-pilot, "Dave, remind me, what does this set of buttons do?

If I heard that, it would make it a rough flight for me.
But that is what most of us do.

We pilot our own lives that way, without much knowledge of the instruments. We don't take the time to learn were our own buttons (strength, weakness, inspiration, and motivators) are, or what they can do.

30 minutes a day of personal commitment is required.

Can you make it your personal commitment to notice everything that pushes your buttons each day?

30 minutes each day could be enough... or like me, you can decide to always go with a pocket sized diary for your daily record of thoughts, inspirations, and motivators.

Make note of everything that inspires you. I repeat, make a note of everything that inspires you! That's your control panel. Those buttons operates your whole system of personal motivation.

Motivation doesn't have to be accidental.

Now tell me if you remember, how many times do you leave a movie feeling inspired and ready to take on the world?

The next time that happens, just put the name of the movie down.

You don't have to wait for hours or days until a certain song comes on the radio that picks up your spirit.
If there are certain song that always lifts you up, then, why don't you make a tape or a CD of those songs and have it ready to play in your car?

You can control what songs you hear.

Continue with that practice and you will have much more control over your environment than you'll realised.
The more you know about how you operate, the easier it will be to motivate yourself.

5. Set Small Goals and Finish Them

Most people bits around the corner while the major task is waiting (on hold).

I don't know if you have experienced it before, but I have been there too. From what I've noticed in my life, it's not what we do that makes us tired - it's what we don't do.

The task we don't complete cause the most fatigue.

That was my challenge...

I never seem to finish anything.. I was always starting things - this project and that, but I never finish!! I will be off on to something else before anything is completed.

So I have become a good starter, but not a finisher!! 

Well, during this period, I searched for a particular magical word or phrase I could repeat to myself that could brainwash me into behaving different, but I find not one.

All night long, on my bed, I would repeat to myself some borrowed affirmations like " I know how to use my time wisely", "I am a good finisher".

But there was no positive result. Affirmation alone could not help me.
So I felt I was only deceiving my own self (imagine!) if I continue with that pattern.

That was when I realised a simple truth that, 'affirmation alone with no visible action, is time wasting'.

So I adopted a new practice called "talk and do". The goal was to be true to myself.

For example, to believe that I'm a good finisher, my brain needed what? Proof. To accomplish that, I must begin by building a track record of finished tasks for myself.

("Talk and Do" mode activated)

So I bought this book, a diary, and at the top of the first page, I wrote: "Things I've Finished." I made a point of setting five small goals each day and finishing them. Whereas in the past I would be mobbing my kitchen and leave it unfinished when the phone rang, now I'd let the phone ring so I could finish the job and record it in my diary.

The more things I wrote down, the more confident I became that I was truly becoming a finisher. And I had a diary to prove it.

Now, it's your turn... go free yourself.

Can you prove that you can motivate yourself to do whatever you want to do by setting smaller goals and finishing them?

6. Watch Your Associates

The people you spend time with will change your life in one way or another.

If you associate with cynics, they will pull you down with them.

"You want motivation to succeed in your life? Then watch your associates." that was an advice from a dear friend (Julius) to me 7 years ago.

But then I could not get the clear picture of what he meant. So I asked him... Why?

(Follow the dialogue below)
(Name changed) 

Me: Why?

Julius: Because I learned it in a hard way.

Me: Really? What happened?

Julius: It actually happened five years ago. I wanted to buy a piece of land that a trusted fellow had advertised to me at a cheaper price.

Me: Yes,

Julius: And out of love, I told a guy who was my best friend, about the piece of land. But in reply, he told me: "It's risky to invest in such a land because from the beginning that land had been acquired by the government, and the depicted owner, have no authority to the land. So investing your hard earned money in such a land, is money thrown away.. because one morning, you might wake up and find out that your property had been acquired by the government, tagging it as a G.R.A (Government Reserved Area).

Me: Wow! So what did you do next?

Julius: Well, I went back to the fellow with unnecessary excuses, and told him to find another buyer since I'm no longer interested.

Me: ee-Ya...

Julius: But something happened that got my spirit broken 9 months later.

Me: Yes, what's that?

Julius: On my way to a meeting, I drove past the place one afternoon and I saw construction going on, on that same piece of land I choose not to purchase! Filled with workers and their helpers all around. So, out of curiosity, I came down and went to inquired, who the owner(s) was, and it turns out to be my supposed dear friend. He had purchased the land from the fellow, that he had advised me not to buy!!

Me: Hhmm.. what a world!

Julius: He was actually confusing me, when I thought he was advising me.

Me: Sorry.

Julius: After that incident and
 the realisation of who he truly is, I politely walk away from him.

Me: Gbam! Now I fully understand why you encouraged me to watch my associates wisely. Thank you very much for your time.

*****************************

Hope you learned so much from the above dialogue?

Note this; Like it or not, there will be friends who will be jealous and afraid every time you make a change. They will see your new motivation as a condemnation of their own lack of it.

In subtle ways, they will bring you back down to who you used to be.
But when you discover this, like my friend Julius, politely walk away from the ones who do not support the positive changes in your life.

Beware of friends and family who do this, for they know not what they do.

It's okay to start being more careful about to whom we give our time. Don't just gravitate to the canteen or to the market and participate in the negative gossip because it's the only game in town.

It will drain your energy and stifle your own optimism.
If you associate with people who support you in being happy and successful, you will have a head start on being happy and successful.

We all knows who lift us up, and we all know who brings us down. So why not make a list of friends and acquaintance in whose company you feel more alive, happier, and optimistic.

In your list pick one among them whom you will spend some time with this week.
Truth is, being in a conversation with an optimist always opens us up to see more and more of life's possibilities.

7. Withdraw From The Noise

Sit quietly for a long time, all by yourself, absolutely alone, and completely relax.

Off the music, Television, and keep your phone away.

Be with yourself and remain in the moment.

Feel your sense of belonging to the silence.
Now watch for what happens...
Inspiration and insights starting to appear. Isn't it? You'll also observe your relationship with yourself starting to get better, softer, and more comfortable.

You see, most people worry they will die of boredom or fear if they are alone for any length of time.
Other people have become so distraction-addicted that they would consider sitting alone by themselves like being in a sensory-deprivation tank.

Truth is, in this information-rich, interactive, civilised life today, you are either living your dream or living someone else's. And unless you give your own dream the time and space it needs to formulate itself, you'll spend the better part of your life simply helping others make their dream come true.

The only real motivation we ever experience is self-motivation that comes from within. And being alone with ourselves will always give us motivation ideas if we stay with the process long enough...

Conclusion

At last you finally made it to the end (thumb-up).

Say Yay!

Now, remember all that you have learned about how to motivate yourself. This is all about you. Never lived a moment in your life without having a vision. And keep faking it till you make it!

Remember the time travel game and always be positive, because we don't see things as they are; we see them as we are.

Know your body system. 30 minutes each day to learn where your own buttons are, and what they can do, will do you a great deal.

Continue to set small goals and finishing them. Watch your associates.

Should I remind you that the people you spend time with will change your life in one way or another?
If you associate with cynics, they will do what? Pull you down with them!

Stop distracting yourself.

Only you can limit yourself. Withdraw from the noise!

The only real motivation we ever experience is self-motivation that comes from within.

And being alone with our self will always give us motivation ideas if we stay with the process long enough. enough.. enough...

---

Now you are helping others, just by inviting them here.
Our mission is to help people learn, and I really hope this article helped you.

Comment below to let me know you read this article.