6 Sure Fire Ways To Turbo Charge Your Motivation

Life is like a marathon not a sprint.  And accomplishing your goals often takes a lot of patience and consistent focus.  But often times our spirit lags a little as we may start to feel run down and/or just less passionate about our pursuits than we may have been a few days/weeks/months ago.  So here are 6 proven, by me at least, ways to give yourself a boost and re-ignite that passion that burns for a better tomorrow.

1: Again…Get some sleep!

I know I have said this in past posts but that doesn’t make it any less relevant here.  One of the common reasons for loosing you drive is lack of sleep and just being run down.  So take a day and do all the necessary things possible to sleep well that night.  Try to get some exercise as this will help clear your head and wear you out.  You will find it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep when you’ve exercised that day.  Try to get things done that need to get done.  One of the things that keeps people up at night is unfinished tasks.  You pop your head up in the middle of the night and remember that you “forgot to pay that bill” or whatever task you forgot to take care of.  Try to eat a light dinner at a reasonable hour.  Another thing that can keep us from sleeping well is a heavy dinner eaten late.  This causes us to digest while we sleep and that can promote tossing and turning and sometimes hot sweats/nightmares.  Also, a small glass of milk right before bed can help you fall asleep faster.  And finally, read a light book for 30 minutes to an hour right before bed.  This will help you get your mind off the stresses of the day and promote deeper sleep.

2: Get some exercise.

Again, a common thing I will talk about, exercise is one of the keys to success in many pursuits.  It may not give you the how-to’s in your daily drive to your goals but it sure as heck will give you the umph to get there.  When I find myself lagging in motivation or just loosing the desire to really push ahead I make myself go for a run or bike ride (or whatever will get my heart pumping for a sustained 20 to 30 minutes).  Do this and you will make your body produce endorphins which will not only make you feel good but it will rejuvenate your passion for life.  People who exercise regularly also tend to feel better about themselves and have more self confidence over those who don’t.  This is greatly important when it comes to reaching your goals.  More self confidence means less chance of believing you “can’t do it”.

3: Turn up the tunes!

Music has been proven to do many things; provide comfort, aid healing, boost you drive, etc…  So it should not surprise you that I’ve added to this list.  Do you have an MP3 player?  If you don’t, GET ONE!  There’s no better way to listen to music these day than this.  With an MP3 player you can quickly purchase and download particular songs online and then transfer them to the MP3 player.  Then you can easily listen to this music whenever you want.  I will often watch a movie and hear a new song on the soundtrack that is inspiring or energizing.  But I don’t want to buy the whole soundtrack so I just go online and purchase the one song that I liked.  I did this recently with Rob Thomas’s song Little Wonders which played at the end of the movie Meet the Robinsons.  I love this song and even play it every time I go for a run.  It gives me energy and lifts my spirits.  Music has a powerful way of giving you a boost when you’re feeling down, overwhelmed or just worn out.  So whether you like classical, country, rap or just whatever sounds good at the time, make sure you have an arsenal of music that lifts you up and make sure to play it often.

4: Read about or watch something that reminds you of the possibilities up ahead.

Most everyone has books or movies that have inspired them in one way or another.  These are the stories that you’ve experienced and come away from feeling like you could accomplish anything in life.  Then “reality hits” and you come crashing down.  Well, what’s happened is that you’ve been taken away from your life for a little while and shown the possibilities that may be out there.  We often use books and movies as a form of escape but the right ones can inspire and motivate us to strive for our dreams.  And reconnecting to these stories can be a great way to re-ignite that hunger for life.  One example for me is, again, Meet the Robinsons.  It’s a great story about a boy that has big dreams and the potential to obtain them but also has a lot of obstacles keeping him from pursuing those dreams.  In the end he realizes one of the keys to meeting his goals set before him; never give up and don’t look at failures as anything other than one more step closer to success.  You might be thinking that this is just a bunch of kid stuff but it’s the child like imagination that keeps our dreams big and our hunger for life strong.

5: Remind yourself of EXACTLY WHAT you are pursuing.

Sometimes our dwindling desire and drive comes from the simple fact that we’ve lost focus on what we are pursuing.  It is very important that we always have a clear picture of what we want out of life so we will know when we are making progress and so we will be reminded of what lies ahead.  If your dreams become vague you will most certainly hunger less for them.  If this is the case, set aside some time and write out what you are after in life.  Re-paint this picture of what your hard work is trying to accomplish.  As this picture becomes more clear you will most certainly become hungry again and ready to push ahead.

6: Take a step back and really enjoy what you already have.

This step is one of the most important.  I mention the word dreams, pursuits, goals, etc… a lot and I just wanted to point out one key factor.  The reason you are pursuing these things is for a better life for you and the ones you love.  But if you are not enjoying these loved ones than what’s the point of upgrading your life.  So don’t get lost in the pursuit but constantly remind yourself WHY you are doing what you are doing.  And make sure that these loved ones know that they are the number one desire in your life.  That they mean more to you than any “dreams”.  And if they are not the most important thing in your life, take a step back and ask yourself why.  The people in your life are always more important than the “stuff” in your life.  Your dreams and goals should be a way of enhancing your time with these people, not a way of replacing them.  The bottom line is this; there are great possibilities ahead and you a have the ability to obtain and enjoy them.  But if you loose what’s really important in your life along the way, you will loose everything.

So this is my list and I hope it has given you some things to chew on and try for greater energy and endurance on your journey.  But I know there are many more ways to give ourselves the boost we need to meet our goals.  So please comment and add to this list the things you might do to re-ignite your desire to push ahead.