I’ve been blown away with how many amazing people there are in the blogosphere.  From other bloggers to those who just peruse their favorite sites and comment now and again, I have had the pleasure to meet some of the kindest, most friendly people.  Many have offered help to get “Motivate Thyself” off the ground and their assistance has been duly noted.  The response I have received so far has really been exciting.  From the number of subscribers to those taking part in discussing my posts, I have been very happy with the feedback thus far.

I have grown a lot just in the last month alone.  I have gone through times of questioning myself and realizing just how hard it can be to put out good content on a consistent basis.  I now have a much greater respect for those other bloggers out there who keep the content coming, month after month.  Each week that has gone by I feel that I have gained more confidence and really started to enjoy the opportunity to not only lay out my own advice and opinions, but have a chance to communicate with you guys and hear your own thoughts.

You may have read my post “NOT Just Another Productivity Blog” (if not you might want to read it before continuing this post).  In this post I expressed my deep desire to take this blog well beyond the common ‘daily feel good’ blog.  I want to make this a place where people REALLY DO reach their goals and dreams.  I want this to be a place of action and not just words.  So in light of this I will be adding some new features tomorrow morning that will bring some structure to the concept.

One of my main goals for this blog is to build a strong community full of people who are either desiring to change their life or already in the process of doing so.  I want this to be a place where you can come and know that encouragement is right around the corner and where settling is not an option.  But I can’t do this alone. I need YOUR HELP to start building this community.  I need you to subscribe if you haven’t already (this let’s me know you exist) as well as post your comments any time you can.  I can only start the conversation, it takes you guys to make it a good one.  And the more WE communicate, the more likely new visitors will do the same.  Sometimes it just takes a few to get the ball rolling.

Stay tuned for tomorrow morning so you will know my goals for this blog and our growing community.  I look forward to the coming months and can’t wait to be a part of the positive changes to come.

“My suggestion would be to walk away from the 90% who don’t and join the 10% who do.”
Jim Rohn

If you’ve read my post “A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Carrots” then you may have already heard me talk about carrots.  But if not, I’ll explain.  One of the keys to consistent motivation is placing specific images of things that inspire you or represent milestones on your journey to reaching your goals and dreams.  These images can be anything from a beautiful sunset, time spent with your loved ones or even a vision of you buying your first house.  Then, when you get bogged down with life’s struggles, you can just glance over at these images and remind yourself why it’s so important that you push ahead.  These are images that should re-energize you and re-fuel your desires for a better life.  I call these carrots because they are like the carrots on the end of the stick.  The reward that you’ve set in front of you to keep you focused forward and your drive strong.

The purpose of this post is for all of us to share some of the carrots that motivate us to keep moving forward.  I will list some of mine and I would then love to see you list a few of your.  Not only will this help you by making you really think about and put into words those things that drive you but it will give you an idea of what others use to do the same.

One side note before I go on.  It’s very important for you to understand that I am never interested in getting people to be unhappy with their lives.  I am a big proponent of appreciating what you have and enjoying those around you at all times.  Life is too short to be chasing “dreams” while you miss out on those things that truly matter.  Now, for me to say this may seem like a contradiction but I think if you can see exactly what I’m referring to when I mention dreams and goals you will understand that this is not the case.  We can all agree that life is changing.  Change is the only constant.  So the question isn’t about whether or not you make changes in your life.  The question is what will those changes be when you make them?  Will you be upgrading your life, downgrading it or just sitting stagnant?  So chasing “dreams” as if you were searching for buried treasure is not the goal here at MotivateThyself.com.  But making sure you are moving closer and closer to those things that bring you joy and peace and true satisfaction are what it’s all about.  So keep that in mind when you list you carrots.  Make sure they are truly in line with the desires of your heart.

So here are a few things that make my heart soar.

-Sitting on the beach, early in the morning, watching the sunrise.

-Spending quality time with my wife.

-Taking a long bike ride through the mountains.

-Being there for those special events in my loved one’s lives.

-Watching a hawk ride a thermal higher and higher into the deep blue sky while imagining it is me.

-Laying in the grass while watching the clouds float by.

-Surprising my wife with something special and then watching her blush as she’s reminded of how much I love her.

So what are some of your carrots?  Please share, we will all benefit!

1: Take a nap.

(This assumes that being tired is part of your bad day.  If it’s not, just disregard it.)

The first thing I did was take a nap.  I had just finished breakfast and I was good for nothing.  So I plopped down on the bed and slept for about an hour.  I woke up a little less tired but more than anything I just felt like I had given my mind some time to get itself together.  That set the foundation for my “Bad Day” recovery.

2: Bite your tongue.

For the rest of the morning I was feeling easily frustrated and had a short fuse.  But, in light of my experiment, I put forth the extra effort to just keep calm and try to be pleasant to my wife.  One of the best ways to stay in a rut is to try to pull others down with you.  But if you hang on to their sanity you find will yourself coming up to their level.  And that’s just what happened.  The more I acted like things were going OK the more I felt that way.  Don’t expect to feel great when your struggling through the day.  But make it a goal to be OK with things.  You will find yourself making progress instead of falling into the trap of your own frustration.

3: Do what you had planned to do.

Often times we let a bad day change our plans for us.  We decide that without our regular energy and enthusiasm we would just be wasting our time.  But this is the worst thing you can do.  You may not be as efficient or even as effective as you would be otherwise but you will still get things done.  And you will feel much better at the end of the day.  You will not only know that you made progress on a day that you thought you would not, but you would know that you are not at the mercy of your circumstances.  This can be a great confidence builder.  Then, the next time you hit a bump in the road you will know that you can still make progress on an otherwise wash of a day.

Also, what I found to be a pleasant surprise was the fact that the more I acted like it was a good day the more it felt like one.  As I forced myself to stay on task with my regular plans the less I needed to.

4: Don’t give into temptation.

It is often times on your bad days that you “fall of the wagon”, so to speak, with whatever disciplines you are working on.  So if you are on a certain diet you may be tempted to give into your cravings and binge.  Or if you have been exercising every day you may feel that “today just is not a good day to…”  Don’t listen to this voice in your head.  This is the weak part of your mind trying to take over.  Tell it where it can stick it’s whining self and stick to your guns.  This is SO important.  Once again, at the end of the day you will be glad you didn’t give into your feelings but you instead pushed through it and stayed the course.

5: Stick to your routine.

This might sound redundant but I am particularly referring to those little details that make up your day.  If you eat a certain thing for lunch everyday, make sure to do just that.  If you take your dogs for a walk at a particular time everyday, make sure it happens.  These are the little things in your day that make you feel that everything is going as planned.  And if you change things up just because you are feeling off, you will just make things worse for yourself.  You want to do everything you can to keep your day feeling normal so you can more easily fight any of the negative emotions you may be struggling with.

6: Look forward to a new tomorrow.

Sometimes the only motivation you have on a bad day is the knowledge that it will eventually end.  This is not a bad thing; use it!  Every time you start to feel like you just want to go crash somewhere, can push through it by focusing on the finish line.  Remind yourself that tomorrow is a new day and that this day will be over soon.  It’s like you’re at the end of a long race and getting tired.  You see the finish line and you get a second wind.  You know that if you can just push yourself a little longer you will finish the race in the way you had set out to.

7: Get a good night’s sleep

I know this is a given but it’s still important to point out none the less.  When your normal bed time approaches, get ready for bed and do some reading.  Find a book that is light and easy.  I like reading Calvin and Hobbes comic strips.  They carry no tension or stress and take me away from my situation for a few minutes.  Now it’s just a matter of getting to bed on time.  Hopefully, you’ll wake up the next day refreshed and ready to go.  But either way, you will have proved to yourself that you can not only survive a bad day but make progress as well.

Now that you’ve taken the test (from the previous post) it’s time to do a little chewing on the results.  To start, I’ll talk about my experience with The Test.  I scored an 83 for my current situation.  I found this to be quite accurate to where I stand.  The word association stated for that score, “Excellent!  Other than a little fine tuning you’re mostly there.”  This is where I feel my current situation lies.  I feel very blessed to be able to pursue my passions in life, enjoy a loving wife and have a bright future in view.  There is still a lot of tweaking to be done but I can clearly see my destination and feel it getting closer everyday.  This is not to say that there is really any “Arrival” place during our lives as much as a lifestyle that is most accurately in line with our desires.  So, for me, I am not there yet but am happily on my way.

Now for the comparison (a crucial step).  Then I took The Test over but with my situation of 5 years ago in mind.  My score was a 45!  Once again, I felt that this was quite accurate.  As described for that score, “You could be in a worse situation but you need to re-think what and how you’re doing things.”  At the, time I was still very blessed  and had a good life.  I had a loving wife and a roof over my head.  I enjoyed my hobbies and was OK with things.  But that was the problem.  I was just OK with things.  You can’t truly LIVE and just be OK with things.

So what was so different 5 years ago that made for such a low score?  Why was I just OK with things.  Well, for starters, I was working in a low paying job that was WAY too easy and therefore not challenging at all.  I was told when and how I had to work and when I could have time off to spend with my family.  I wished my weeks away just so I could get to my days off.  I wasn’t pursuing anything more than just being able to  “unwind” from the work that I didn’t enjoy.  And I was hindered by the stifling affects of being controlled by someone else.  This made it hard to even dream about a brighter future, let alone plan for one.

It wasn’t until I stated my own business and pulled away from the situation that my true hunger for life began.  It was then that I started seeing the possibilities that lay before me.  As the years have gone by I have been able to build a strong foundation for success in which I am now building off of.  And as a result, I am doing more than just “getting by”.  I am pursuing my dreams and enjoying each day to the fullest.  So in comparison to my situation 5 years ago, I can clearly see that I am moving in the right direction.  But as I stated earlier, the journey is ongoing and I still have many goals to meet and dreams to realize.

Please don’t take this as a brag session on my part.  The fact of the matter is, I struggle  quite often.  Sometimes money is tight and I am occasionally stricken with fear and anxiety about the future.  I can be easily distracted and waste much valuable time.  And, even though my business has been a great stepping stone for future success, it can be one of the most stressful aspects of my life.  So I am not trying to paint a rosy picture of “My Perfect Life”.  I am, instead, trying to communicate the fact that, though I often struggle, it is a struggle in the right direction.

So what did you find?  Are you struggling in the right direction?  Have you made progress from years past?  Were you able to more clearly see the problem areas that are keeping you from moving forward?  Let me hear your comments about where you are and where you want to be.

Having a daily routine is very important for anyone trying to stay motivated and on task. I know, for myself, without a routine I would be at the mercy of my easily distracted mind. I have many interests and therefore many temptations to get off the path to productivity at any moment. This is not to say that you should never do anything on a whim or have time to just play around. This is very important for keeping a healthy balance in your life. But concerning the time that you choose to “get things done” I find that routine is king.

Keys to an effective routine:

• Sleep patterns.

This should on the top of your list. Going to bed and getting up at the same time everyday is very important. Not only does it clearly set your internal clock, which allows for deeper sleep, but it gives your mindset a clear starting and stopping point each day. Think about like this. If you work 9-5 everyday than you eventually train yourself to be in work mode during those times which can really help your productivity. But if you’ve ever worked a job that had constantly changing hours you probably know the struggle that occurs to get yourself in work mode. One week you’ve got the day shift and the next the night shift. Toward the end of the week you may start to get used to the current shift only to be shaken up again the following week.

• Meals.

It is also important to eat your meals around the same time every day. Not only does it give you a sense of consistency but it also helps keep your blood sugar steady throughout the day (assuming your eating when your body needs the fuel and food that aids in it’s health and well being). I would also suggest eating the same or similar type of food for each meal. So if you find that eggs, toast and milk is a good breakfast for you than make that your breakfast everyday. Not only will you know for sure that it will work day after day but it will be one less decision to distract you from the more important things in your day. (I know that some people need to mix it to enjoy the meal and that is fine. Just try to keep it similar it type so you can rely on the same kind of fuel everyday.)

• Getting ready for the day.

I would suggest that you get ready for your day as soon as you can. I do so right after breakfast. Depending on what you do everyday you may have no choice but to do this already. In my situation, I often have the choice to stay in my PJ’s until late morning. But I have found that until I brush my teeth and get dressed for the day I am not quite in full “work” mode. And I’ve also found that if I am not dressed and ready to go when I get an unexpected call from a client, I will feel more caught off guard. So, if you can, try to do whatever needs to be done to be ready to walk out the door. Then, even if you just end up going back to your computer (or whatever you do in the mornings) you’ll be more prepared for whatever comes your way.

• Lay out the things that have to get done.

Make sure that by the time you are into the flow of your day, you have a clear idea of the things that have to get done. Then, as you make decisions and take action, you will do it with these tasks in mind. There’s nothing more frustrating than laying in bed at the end of the day knowing that you didn’t accomplish the “Must Do’s” on your to-do list.

• Exercise.

If you don’t already, try to incorporate regular exercise into your daily routine. It gives you a way to escape from the stresses of the day as well as builds your strength and endurance to take on more challenges. And did I mention the fact that it makes you feel really good too? If you already do exercise every day I would just make sure that you do it around the same time if you can. This, like the other steps of the day, will give your mind something to count on.

• Family and friends.

Try not to ever miss this daily task. It is greatly important that you clearly incorporate your family and friends into your daily routine. If you don’t they will most certainly become something that you do “if you still have time”. So make sure to not only have a set time to enjoy their company but feel free to spend time with them whenever you can.

• You time.

Everyday you should have a time when you can sit back and just BE. Kind of like a mini vacation, this is a time when you don’t have to answer the phone, reply to emails or even talk to anyone if you don’t want to. Try to make it a time and location that allows for the most relaxation for the best affect. Without this kind of time you will not only get less done throughout the day but you will eventually burnout from stress and frustration. For me, this time is in the morning when I first get up. Since I wake up at about 4:30am I have the world to myself and everything is peaceful and quiet. I look forward to this time at the end of each day and when I have a particularly stressful one I absolutely crave it!

The common theme you see in the above information is that of consistency. I talk a lot about doing the same things at the same times and in the same way. You may think to yourself that this is counterproductive. That this will stifle the imagination and put you in a rut. But the opposite is most often the case. By having these things laid out for you each day you are freeing your mind from having to make all of these decisions and allowing it to focus more intensely on the decisions that matter most. Think of a soldier in combat. Does that person have to think about where their weapon is or how to use it? Of course not! Does this hinder the soldier in their ability to meet the goals set before them? Absolutely not! Because using their weapon feels like breathing to them, they are able to put 100% of their focus on their objectives with no distractions whatsoever. In addition to the already stated benefits, by doing what you know works, everyday, you are avoiding the things that may not. All it takes to knock you off track is ONE BAD DAY. And what better way to avoid a bad day than to repeat a good one over and over?

So what things work for you and how do you stay on task to meet the goals of the day?

About halfway through this whole ordeal I got this gut feeling that I was really sliding backwards.  After weeks of really making some progress and feeling great because of it, I realized that I had let myself become distracted.  And that this distraction was starting to undo the progress I had made.  In the past I may have continued with the mess and tried to “resolve” it but I instead decided to go with my gut, backtrack to the point that I had started to go off course, and continue with my journey in a positive direction.

I returned the software and just looked at the wasted time as a lesson learned and hopefully one that will keep me from making the same mistake in the future.  The big realization that I came to was the fact that forward progress brings on a sense of hope in reaching your goals which feeds your motivation and aids your success in life.  But getting sidetracked by something that is not helping you reach your goals is a sure fire way of becoming discouraged and loosing site of what you had set out to do.  Because once you stop making progress, you will most definitely start to backslide into the mediocrity that you see all around you.  This journey isn’t about moving forward or standing still.  It’s more like being on a treadmill.  It takes some effort to just keep from falling back, let alone making progress.

So here are 5 tips that I came away with yesterday in my struggle for forward progress.

1: Wear blinders if you have to.

My mistake yesterday was not keeping my eyes on the prize.  I had a set goal when I was in the store but I let myself go off track to “play with some ideas.”  This was when I went off course.  Try not to let yourself become distracted by all that is around you.  You will always be bombarded with advertising of every kind.  There will always be something you “have to have” or that will most certainly “enhance your life”.  But most of the time these are just things that will pull you away from what’s really important.  So be very diligent in keeping your eyes on the prize.

2: Be aware of the time.

This is just a simple, yet very important, tip.  All too often, even when working on something important, we loose track of time and get less accomplished because of it.  Be careful not to let yourself become too engrossed in any one task or you will run the risk of neglecting another.  Progress is made by getting things done.  If you get lost in what you do you will most certainly get less done overall.

3: Do it and be done with it.

In light of tip #2, this one will help you get the job done.  When working toward a goal it is important not to be too picky.  Let’s say you are working on a new logo for a website.  Yes, it’s important that it looks good but you shouldn’t spend all day working on it.  Anything can be tweaked “just a little bit more”.  I have a tendency to be the one who keeps on tweaking.  But all that “finalizing” can really take away from the progress you could have made on other tasks.  Just realize this fact; most things need a rough and final draft.  The rough draft gets the task done while the final draft cleans it up.  These two steps are necessary to accomplishing the task.  Beyond that you are just treading water.

4: Listen to your gut.

If I hadn’t done this yesterday I would have been continuing down the road to progress derailment.  The first thing you need to do though, is be aware of what the right situation feels like so you will know the wrong one when it comes.  How can you know if it’s dark out if you don’t know what light looks like?  Next time you are in a great place in life and making great strides in progress, take note of your gut feeling.  This will be your neutral spot.  Anything more positive than this is great.  But anything less is potentially a backslide.  I’m not saying you can’t have your bad days.  Just be aware of your situation so that you can maintain your forward heading.

5: Don’t be afraid to backtrack.

This final tip is greatly important.  All too often we find ourselves stuck in that place where the only way to move forward is to first move backward.  Just like hiking on a trail, if you were to get lost, you might find that you need to backtrack so you can return to making forward progress.  Often times though, we will just keep moving off course, hoping to eventually run back into the path.  This rarely works and usually ends up getting you more off course.  So don’t be afraid to turn around and go back way you came.  It may at first feel counter productive, but you will be glad you did it once you get back on course.  And while you are working your way back you can use the time to reflect on the importance of maintaining a positive heading.

I hope these tips are helpful to you as you seek your goals and pursue your dreams.  Feel free to add to them with your comments and let me know how YOU stay on track.

1: Get some sleep.

There’s a good chance that if you are loosing your drive you may just be experiencing some form of burn out.  If this is the case sleep is the best medicine.  You may be thinking, “I get sleep every night.  What are you talking about?”  But I am talking a full night’s sleep.  Deep sleep.  You may be getting SOME sleep but if you are not consistently getting the kind of sleep your body needs to function at it’s best you will eventually start to loose your edge.  Sleep is what your body needs to repair itself from the abuse of the day.  Not only that, your “feel good” hormones are replenished when you get a good night’s sleep.  This is why you may feel much more optimistic after a good night’s sleep.  So go to bed early, listen to some calming music and try to clear your mind of the stress of the day.  But whatever you do, just get it done.  You positive, optimistic, motivated mindset depends on it.

2: Get some exercise.

We all know that regular exercise is good for our bodies.  But it is also one of your greatest assets when it comes to staying motivated.  Just like a good night’s sleep, regular exercise keeps a steady stream of that “optimistic juice” flowing throughout your mind and body.  Chemicals like endorphins are produced when you exercise.  These kinds of chemicals help you feel good about yourself and your situation.

Exercise does much more, though.  It helps you feel like you are treating your body right.  You feel like you’ve accomplished something good and, over time, you gain strength and energy.  And besides all of that, exercising is a great way to clear your head when you are stressed.  So make sure to get as much as your mind and body needs to stay driven to your goals.

3: Get away.

When all else fails you might just be in need of a healthy escape.  Sleep and exercise can be a form of this but physically going somewhere, preferably a place that helps you relax, can be a great way of clearing your head and re-energizing your soul.  There may be a great place in the country that you like to go and have time to yourself.  Or maybe getting together with family and just hanging out.  Just give yourself a break so that when you get back into the swing of things you will have a fresh perspective and, hopefully, a revived spirit of optimism and focus.

4: Look at the alternatives.

I find that often times the best medicine is a little shock therapy.  In this case it’s a matter of seeing what lies in store for you if you decide to give up on your dreams.  It can be quite scary if you really take a look at the mediocrity that is in store for those who give up and take the easy road.  Look at the average on the street who is just “getting by” and see that this may be you in the near future.  Remind yourself that this may be living but it is certainly NOT being alive!

5: Go back to the beginning.

Sometimes the problem is just that you have lost the vision that you started with.  In the beginning our dreams are very enticing.  But then that feeling starts to fade.  We quickly forget what our dream looks like.  We can’t see it, smell it or touch it.  Without this picture of what we are striving for we will most certainly loose the drive to seek it out.  So it is important to go back to the beginning when you first started your journey.  Try to remember exactly WHAT you are after.  Try to re-paint the picture of your dream with the same brush, with the same thoughts and feelings that you had when you first created this work of art.  There’s a good chance that you will start to see things that you had forgotten and remember exactly WHY you are seeking these upgrades to your life.

So when you find yourself losing your drive, when you loose site of what you are after, try the 5 tips and see if you can’t re-ignite your fire and get back on the road to success!