3 Actionable Steps to increase your Motivation and Achieve Your Goals
Motivation is the fuel that propels us toward our goals, yet it can be elusive at times.
Whether you're aiming to advance your career, adopt a healthier lifestyle, or pursue a personal passion, maintaining motivation is key to success.
Let's explore 3 actionable steps to reignite your drive and propel you towards achieving your goals.
#1 CELEBRATE THE SMALL WINS
This is a very powerful strategy since you are making your body and mind work with you and
not against you. I will not bore you with too much science but I will share 2 things:
1. Cortisol Regulation:
Role: Cortisol is a hormone associated with stress and the body's "fight or flight" response.
Effect: Success and positive experiences can help regulate cortisol levels, reducing stress.
A sense of accomplishment can contribute to a more balanced and less stress-prone physiological state.
2. Neural Pathway Strengthening:
Process: Success and the associated positive emotions help strengthen neural pathways in the brain.
Effect: Over time, repeated success can lead to the formation of habits and positive associations with specific activities. This reinforces a positive mindset and increases the likelihood of pursuing future successes.
Here is what I mean:
Big Win #1
Achieving financial freedom
Small Wins:
Creating and sticking to a budget for a specified period.
Saving a specific amount of money, no matter how small, towards a financial goal.
Paying off a small debt or credit card balance.
Big Win #2
Finish an 800 page textbook on Valuation.
Small Wins:
Read 10 pages a day.
Read 1 chapter per week.
Goal Details:
Goal: [Example - Health and Fitness]
Objective: Achieve a regular exercise routine and improve overall fitness.
Key Milestones:
Establish a workout routine. (Do Yoga for 15 mins at 6am everyday. Take a walk for 30 minutes a day. Dance/swim for cardio for 30 mins atleast 3x/week)
Eat healthier (Thanks to inflation I am mostly vegetarian now so that's pretty easy. Air fried veggies taste pretty good.
Progress Summary:
Goal 1: [Example - Health and Fitness]
Start Date: [Start Date]
Current Date: [Current Date]
Progress:
[Month 1]: Established a workout routine.
[Month 2]: Established a healthier diet
Achievements and Challenges:
Achievements:
Completed all planned workouts for the past month.
Gained muscle and lost fat.
Challenges with Solutions:
Experienced difficulty in balancing work and exercise routines.
Create a time-boxed schedule on your calendar for your exercise routines and work routines.
Mark yourself as busy during these sessions.
Next Steps:
Goal 1: [Example - Health and Fitness]
Increase the intensity of workouts.
Explore new forms of physical activity to maintain interest.
Recommendations:
Consider seeking a fitness trainer for personalized guidance.
Make exercise a group activity by creating a workout group with friends.
Meal prep
This progress report serves as a comprehensive snapshot of your journey towards your goals.
By tracking and visualizing progress, it becomes easier to celebrate achievements, address challenges, and plan for continued success in the future.
Customize this template based on specific goals, objectives, and milestones relevant to the progress you are tracking. Achieving your goals requires dedication, perseverance, and sustained motivation. By implementing these 3 easy & actionable steps, you can cultivate a mindset that fuels your ambition and propels you toward success. Remember, motivation is not a one-time achievement but a continuous process that requires nurturing. Stay focused, be patient, and celebrate each step forward on your journey to realizing your goals.
Let me know in the comments how you stay motivated. Do you use these techniques or do you have something better? If so, please share them here with others!
Whether you're aiming to advance your career, adopt a healthier lifestyle, or pursue a personal passion, maintaining motivation is key to success.
Let's explore 3 actionable steps to reignite your drive and propel you towards achieving your goals.
#1 CELEBRATE THE SMALL WINS
This is a very powerful strategy since you are making your body and mind work with you and
not against you. I will not bore you with too much science but I will share 2 things:
1. Cortisol Regulation:
Role: Cortisol is a hormone associated with stress and the body's "fight or flight" response.
Effect: Success and positive experiences can help regulate cortisol levels, reducing stress.
A sense of accomplishment can contribute to a more balanced and less stress-prone physiological state.
2. Neural Pathway Strengthening:
Process: Success and the associated positive emotions help strengthen neural pathways in the brain.
Effect: Over time, repeated success can lead to the formation of habits and positive associations with specific activities. This reinforces a positive mindset and increases the likelihood of pursuing future successes.
Here is what I mean:
Big Win #1
Achieving financial freedom
Small Wins:
Creating and sticking to a budget for a specified period.
Saving a specific amount of money, no matter how small, towards a financial goal.
Paying off a small debt or credit card balance.
Big Win #2
Finish an 800 page textbook on Valuation.
Small Wins:
Read 10 pages a day.
Read 1 chapter per week.
#2 Set New Goals
After celebrating a small win, set new, slightly more challenging goals. This helps maintain a sense of purpose and keeps you engaged and motivated to reach the next level.
Practice writing down your goals not just yearly, but also quarterly, monthly, and daily.
I find that writing down my goals before going to bed creates a successful mindset for the next day. Put them on your calendar. When you can’t visualize your goals, it’s more difficult to achieve them.
Use the SMART template:
The more specific the goal, the clearer the picture. It's difficult to attain a vague goal as you won't be able to focus on it accurately if you can't even define what it is. For example, my goal is to build passive income that will completely replace my current earned income.
It's very important to take your goals measurable. If you can't measure your goals, you won't know if you're making progress or how far you've come. Every month I will put 50% of my paycheck in diversified investments that will build my passive income portfolio. If I make more money then I will put more than 50%. I check my progress monthly, quarterly, and yearly. During these periods I evaluate my progress to see where I can improve on my strategy.
Make sure your goal is achievable or realistic. Your goals should be relevant to your overall long-term trajectory. My lifestyle is very simple and minimalistic that I can invest 50% of my income and still cover my basic needs and still save cash for other things.
Lastly, put a deadline on it, otherwise you end up not taking it too seriously. I plan to keep at it for 5 years. Unless something out of the ordinary happens. This timeline should be plenty of time to build my passive income enough to replace my current income.
According to Brian Tracy, "There's no unrealistic goals, just unrealistic deadlines." Stay real to your situation but challenge yourself. If by the end of 5 years I don't meet this goal, I simply tweak it a bit and extend my deadline. Sometimes, s**t happens, just gotta roll with punches.
#3 Chart Your Progress
In school, they give you a report card to track your progress. At work you get a yearly evaluation which replaces the report card you used to get from school. They do this, because tracking your progress on paper creates a tangibility and makes the progress more of a reality instead of an abstraction. Therefore, you should make a progress report for your personal goals. Write down a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly progress report. Get back to it on routine intervals and check off
what you accomplished. If you missed a deadline, just move it to a new deadline. Maybe that initial deadline was unrealistic to begin with.
Here is a template you can use and edit to suit your purpose:
After celebrating a small win, set new, slightly more challenging goals. This helps maintain a sense of purpose and keeps you engaged and motivated to reach the next level.
Practice writing down your goals not just yearly, but also quarterly, monthly, and daily.
I find that writing down my goals before going to bed creates a successful mindset for the next day. Put them on your calendar. When you can’t visualize your goals, it’s more difficult to achieve them.
Use the SMART template:
The more specific the goal, the clearer the picture. It's difficult to attain a vague goal as you won't be able to focus on it accurately if you can't even define what it is. For example, my goal is to build passive income that will completely replace my current earned income.
It's very important to take your goals measurable. If you can't measure your goals, you won't know if you're making progress or how far you've come. Every month I will put 50% of my paycheck in diversified investments that will build my passive income portfolio. If I make more money then I will put more than 50%. I check my progress monthly, quarterly, and yearly. During these periods I evaluate my progress to see where I can improve on my strategy.
Make sure your goal is achievable or realistic. Your goals should be relevant to your overall long-term trajectory. My lifestyle is very simple and minimalistic that I can invest 50% of my income and still cover my basic needs and still save cash for other things.
Lastly, put a deadline on it, otherwise you end up not taking it too seriously. I plan to keep at it for 5 years. Unless something out of the ordinary happens. This timeline should be plenty of time to build my passive income enough to replace my current income.
According to Brian Tracy, "There's no unrealistic goals, just unrealistic deadlines." Stay real to your situation but challenge yourself. If by the end of 5 years I don't meet this goal, I simply tweak it a bit and extend my deadline. Sometimes, s**t happens, just gotta roll with punches.
#3 Chart Your Progress
In school, they give you a report card to track your progress. At work you get a yearly evaluation which replaces the report card you used to get from school. They do this, because tracking your progress on paper creates a tangibility and makes the progress more of a reality instead of an abstraction. Therefore, you should make a progress report for your personal goals. Write down a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly progress report. Get back to it on routine intervals and check off
what you accomplished. If you missed a deadline, just move it to a new deadline. Maybe that initial deadline was unrealistic to begin with.
Here is a template you can use and edit to suit your purpose:
Goal Details:
Goal: [Example - Health and Fitness]
Objective: Achieve a regular exercise routine and improve overall fitness.
Key Milestones:
Establish a workout routine. (Do Yoga for 15 mins at 6am everyday. Take a walk for 30 minutes a day. Dance/swim for cardio for 30 mins atleast 3x/week)
Eat healthier (Thanks to inflation I am mostly vegetarian now so that's pretty easy. Air fried veggies taste pretty good.
Progress Summary:
Goal 1: [Example - Health and Fitness]
Start Date: [Start Date]
Current Date: [Current Date]
Progress:
[Month 1]: Established a workout routine.
[Month 2]: Established a healthier diet
Achievements and Challenges:
Achievements:
Completed all planned workouts for the past month.
Gained muscle and lost fat.
Challenges with Solutions:
Experienced difficulty in balancing work and exercise routines.
Create a time-boxed schedule on your calendar for your exercise routines and work routines.
Mark yourself as busy during these sessions.
Next Steps:
Goal 1: [Example - Health and Fitness]
Increase the intensity of workouts.
Explore new forms of physical activity to maintain interest.
Recommendations:
Consider seeking a fitness trainer for personalized guidance.
Make exercise a group activity by creating a workout group with friends.
Meal prep
This progress report serves as a comprehensive snapshot of your journey towards your goals.
By tracking and visualizing progress, it becomes easier to celebrate achievements, address challenges, and plan for continued success in the future.
Customize this template based on specific goals, objectives, and milestones relevant to the progress you are tracking. Achieving your goals requires dedication, perseverance, and sustained motivation. By implementing these 3 easy & actionable steps, you can cultivate a mindset that fuels your ambition and propels you toward success. Remember, motivation is not a one-time achievement but a continuous process that requires nurturing. Stay focused, be patient, and celebrate each step forward on your journey to realizing your goals.
Let me know in the comments how you stay motivated. Do you use these techniques or do you have something better? If so, please share them here with others!
That is all for now.
See you on the next one!
-Pam
As a reminder, I created this blog to share information and to increase everyone's financial literacy. This serves as my notebook that I willingly share publicly to help others increase their curiosity and knowledge in wealth building and money management. I am not an official financial advisor, lawyer, or accountant. You will not find legal advice in this blog. Read the full terms and conditions here.
