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Are you looking for ways to get motivated to accomplish your goals? Have you found yourself in a rut lately?
This past week I saw a post in a bloggers group on Facebook where one blogger announced that he was shutting down all his blogs.
When I saw this I felt compelled to jump in and stop him from taking such drastic action.
It appears that his decision was financially motivated but I cannot conclude for sure since I did not have a direct conversation with him.
Have you ever felt like throwing in the towel and giving up on your blogging dreams? Maybe you questioned if it is even worth it in the end.
Many bloggers struggle with finding ways to get motivated to start a blog in the first place.
Others struggle with coming up with ideas to stay motivated so that they can continue blogging on a regular basis.
I was shocked this week to learn that having a fear of success is a real thing for many people but I will cover that in another post.
Finding and staying motivated is such a struggle for so many people that I want to share what I do to win on both fronts as well as a few secret hacks.
Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you buy one of my recommended products I get paid a commission for sharing the link at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I have tried myself and have experienced success.
Well, I never thought that I would need to define the term motivation. However, I think it is necessary after seeing the phrase, “where can I buy motivation” in a Google result.
According to Wikipedia, motivation is “the reason for people’s actions, willingness and goals”.
So, in simple terms, it is the reason why you or I do what we do every single day of our lives.
I never really saw motivation in such a simplistic way so I was at first really surprised at the simplicity of the definition.
The reason why you need motivation is that it helps you to get stuff done like waking up at a certain time every day.
Without it, you will not set goals for you or your loved ones. In fact, it is the only reason why you will lift a finger to do anything at all.
It is not possible to go into a shop to purchase motivation but you can certainly hire a coach to help you work on your mindset.
There are so many factors that motivate anyone to take action or achieve a goal so let’s spend some time looking at motivators.
Depending on your age, your situation, resources you will take certain actions. I have always been so self-motivated that I find it strange explaining this concept.
In order to fully understand motivation, we need to spend time looking at Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs.
In 1943, Abraham Maslow wrote a paper entitled, A Theory of Human Motivation in which he classified the universal needs of society.
The study shows how humans intrinsically partake in behavioural motivation. He coined five categories as follows:
I still remember seeing this for the first time in school. As well as having that ‘aha’ moment because it was then when I understood why people behaved the way they did.
It is safe to break these down further and see them as internally motivated as well as externally motivated factors.
This planner is great for you even if…
There is a reason why physiological is at the bottom of the pyramid. As you can see it covers the most basic of needs in humans.
For example, a newborn baby has no clue about self-actualisation so it cries whenever it is hungry or uncomfortable.
As adults, we eat our meals on a regular basis, at least in the western world, that we forget how painful it is to be hungry.
This is the reason why it makes no sense to try and sell a designer bag or other luxury item to anyone that is hungry.
That person’s first motivation is to get rid of their hunger pains. Followed by all their other needs for clothing shelter and warmth before telling them about other things.
It is also the big reason why someone with basic needs has no interest in love or Valentine’s day.
Meet their physiological needs first before trying to help them with other aspects of their lives.
At this point, I need to pause and ask you if you desire to achieve your goals are as strong as hunger pains?
If they are then your motivation to achieve your goals will be relentless.
The other four levels on the pyramid have a heavy reliance on external factors. Let’s take a closer look at them.
Depending on your age it would take different things to make you feel safe. For example, before turning 18 children look to their parents for safety.
However, after becoming an adult a person would look to other things. For example, college, a job, an apartment, money in the bank or spirituality to feel safe.
When it comes to love and a sense of belonging, children look to their parents for this need to be satisfied.
However, as adults, it is so different and complex. Yes, you have parents at home but when you move out on your own you have friends that you depend on to feel accepted.
I constantly feel sorry for teenagers and young adults who constantly depend on friends to satisfy this need.
We live in an age of social media where people pretend to be something else online compared to reality. Who can they trust?
This planner is great for you even if…
Everyone goes through a period of wanting to find themselves or taking their rightful place in this world.
To feel respected as a human being is normal as well as demanding the freedom to be who you want to be.
You can probably relate to this feeling of wanting to be recognised for your accomplishments and achievements.
No one likes living in the shadow of another human being which is a great way to look at self-esteem.
As a human, once you get a taste of freedom and recognition then comes this need to fulfil your purpose.
Abraham Maslow describes this level as not only success but the ability to be a master at something.
It is the reason I encourage you as my reader to find your passion. It is difficult to master something without being passionate about it.
Maslow goes on to state that it is at this level that the person has a need for strength, competence, self-confidence, mastery, independence and freedom.
The first thing that is needed to help anyone get motivated is for them to look at Maslow’s pyramid and determine where they are right now.
In other words, there is no point trying to get motivated to achieve your purpose when your physiological needs are not met.
It does involve a lot of introspection and self-seeking to decide what needs to happen for you to become motivated at each level.
A man with a wife and children will work very hard to put food on the table and a roof over their heads.
Once there is excess money he would save for a home, for college education and for retirement.
It is only after these things are ‘secure’ then he may seek to buy a boat or a holiday home or even freedom and independence.
Yes, there are some people who will have their priorities mixed up. They want to buy a fancy pair of shoes while their children go hungry but that is not humane.
This planner is great for you even if…
Many years ago my ability to get motivated was not focused on one area. I was all over the place because I wanted to do so much.
One day I realised that it would be better to put all of my energy into a single project. As well as to see it to completion before moving on to something else.
I also realised that my ‘why’ needed to be big enough to stay the course of any project.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s quote goes like this, “if your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough” it is the one phrase that made me realise that my ‘why’ was not big enough.
“If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough”
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Prior to seeing this quote my why were my children and my family. However, their needs were not big or scary enough to scare me.
After seeing this motivational quote for work my ‘why’ became so big and scary I don’t know how I can accomplish it. You can read my story here.
I’m awake every day excited to get stuff done, do you believe that? I am so motivated and I have been like this for the last 3-4 years.
When my mother died in 2015 I lost my interest in blogging. This went on for about a year because I wanted to do so much for her but she was no more.
Here are some practical things that you can do to wake up excited every single day no matter what happens in life.
My quote of the century whenever I face challenges is this one by Albert E.N. Gray, The common denominator of success.
“The secret of success of every man who has ever been successful lies in the fact that he formed a habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do”.
If you and I form a habit of doing those things that nobody else wants to do. There is a great chance that we will become successful.
This planner is great for you even if…
If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I encourage my readers to stop watching TV. I admonish them instead to do something creative.
One thing I discovered over the years is that I am unable to watch tutorial videos that are an hour-long without getting sleepy.
As a blogger, you will know that investing in your education is essential to your success. That education can be in the form of long videos.
Any time I am attending a webinar or tutorial that is an hour-long this is what I do. I head over to the kitchen and grab a bowl of warm freshly popped popcorn.
Years ago when I watched TV or movies my brain associated popcorn with a pleasurable experience.
For me, popcorn is associated with tutorials, webinars and studying for an exam. Yes, each time I need to study for an exam I get me some popcorn.
Before, in my subconscious, I think of those things as a chore. Now the moment I add popcorn I totally enjoy the experience.
For you, it could be potato chips, tortillas, M&Ms, chocolates, etc. You just need to be aware that sweet items will give you a sugar rush as well as a crash.
I have noticed that I absolutely enjoy my day and journey more when I schedule everything. It helps me to achieve goals.
Every evening before heading off to bed I do a reflection of my day and here are the three reasons why I do it.
When you decide to become a blogger or start your own business. There will not be anyone breathing down your neck doing micromanagement.
You will be 100% accountable for your goals and progress over a 12 month period. So, how will you keep track of your goals?
I personally prefer to manage my goals daily and sometimes hourly if my list for the day is full.
It is the reason why I absolutely enjoyed Gary’s book called The One Thing where he encourages his readers to ask the following:
“What is the one thing I can do today for my business such that by doing it everything else would be easier or even unnecessary.”
Gary Keller
Rather than having a big long to-do list I have a list of big things. It contains the stuff that I need to accomplish that will make everything else easier or unnecessary.
This planner is great for you even if…
Now that you understand the different levels of human motivation based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs let’s look at 9 steps to get motivated.
I cannot explain how much reading great books can help put life into perspective and boost your desire to succeed in life.
I was so concerned about writing about the topic of motivation. As I don’t see myself as an expert but as someone on a mission to do things every single day.
The inspiration also came after reading about that guy who just decided to give up all his hard work of blogging.
You may be wondering why I did not send him a direct message or comment on the Facebook group so let me tell you why.
He needed to be motivated enough to continue that big dream. I did not want him to keep coming to me for motivation to stay in the game.
For me, to get motivated to start a blog and to stay motivated to continue came from a deep place. A place that is so deep that I am virtually unshakeable.
What about you, why did you get motivated to start a blog and what are you doing to stay motivated along the way?
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