How to stay motivated

Hi sweethearts!

Today a blogpost on how I (try to) stay motivated. My life is always on and on and it's not easy to me not to stress about everything. Sometimes I feel like I'm drowning in work and then I don't know where to start. I've tried so many things that I think that I'm able to tell you a lot about this matter. So I thought that it could be helpful to share with you guys all the things that I have tried myself.

1. Set goals.

First of all: Set goals. If you don't have a specific goal to work to or if the goal is too vague, it will be super hard to work on things. Choosing a goal isn't easy and it will take some time to find out what you actually want to work on. Choose these goals wisely. Make sure that they are realistic and that they will work out for you personally. For example: I wanted to look fitter because I never liked the way my legs looked. I hate fitness and it was hard for me to stay motivated to work on my body. I chose to work on my body because I wanted to have a better self-image. So working on how I look at myself was my main goal.

2. Don't set goals too far away.

If the goal is too hard for you, you probably will find enough reasons on why you should NOT work on it. Choose for realistic goals that you actually see yourself working on. Don't let anyone else choose the goal for you.

3. Remind yourself of these goals.

A tip here is to use checkpoints to check how you're keeping up with the goals. You can note this in your journal, your cellphone,. Maybe you can use post-its on your mirror? Whatever that works out for you. I found it very hard not to stop working out, because my professional work was getting in the way and I thought that my job was a lot more important than the way my body looks. This is actually not true because when I don't like what I'm seeing in the mirror, my self-esteem in't good. And: when your self-esteem is bad, you can't work much on things. So a low self-esteem helps me to start procrastinating. Procrastination is your worst enemy!

4. Reward yourself when you're doing good.

If you have worked for reaching for your goal (for me: when I was working out), then it's important to be proud of that. Reward yourself for the hard work. This will help you to stay motivated during the whole process. It takes time to reach goals so if you'd only reward yourself when reaching the actual goal, you can get depressed really fast. It might seem that you're working towards nothing.

5. Don't be too hard on yourself, life's hard enough.

If you're at a point where you can't find the motivation any longer, then let it be. Sometimes overthinking about why you're not working on things will make you feel bad. You can use this time to reflect on things. Selfreflection is really hard, this is also a process where you're working on things to get further in life. It's also a part of working towards your goal.

If you believe in yourself, it will be a lot easier to allow yourself to be proud of the actual steps thet you already took.

6. Stop procrastinating!

This is the hardest one. Procrastination to me, shows that you're afraid. It means that you're finding excuses why you shouldn't work on things. Mostly this is because you are insecure about first of all yourself and the question if your work is enough and second of all it's about being afraid of not getting to reach that goal. Then it's important to note all the hard work. Maybe write down a checklist with all the things that you've tried out before. it will be a proof to yourself that you're trying. Trying is a good thing!

7. Set one main goal with some partial goals to reach that big goal.

This tip will help you not to quit early. Reaching the bigger goals might take a lot of time and might seem too far away, to work on things NOW. So what I do is to set smaller goals, to reach that bigger goal. For the working out for example, my main goal is to loose the cellulite in my legs that make me insecure. A part goal can be: Work out each two days. If I've worked out every week, each two days, I can reward myself.

8. Don't quit!

The hardest one... but as Miley Cyrus said in the movie: Life's a climb but the view is great. This is so true! Also the path towards reaching the goal should be as important as the goal itself. Remind yourself that you're working to something and that it takes some time. Plus, when you fail, don't quit. It's okay to fail sometimes. You just have to get over yourself and try again.

For example: I failed the first time to get over my fears of driving a car. I gave up a couple of years ago. Currently, okay at age 25, I am learning it again. I'm still super afraid but I'm trying to hang on. I never skipped any lesson. Each time, I wanted to run away right before getting in the car. Then I reminded myself that I don't have another chance. I want to have my license now! I should get over myself. I'm holding myself back, that's not a good thing you know.

9. Find something or someone that inspires you.

For me there are a couple of youtubers and famous people who inspire me because the went on the same path as me. Also, make sure that you have friends who can inspire you. I believe that friends who inspire you can even have a stronger effect than famous people. Here's why: your friends are close to you. You know them well and you know their limits too. This will help you to give a realistic image for yourself.

10. Don't limit yourself.

I've already talked about this matter. Don't stop when you're not feeling it anymore. On that exact point, you have to continue working on your goal. Afterwards, you'll be so proud of yourself. You'll be proud of not quitting when it was getting harder.

I have nothing more to say: You can do it! Always!

Was this blogpost helpful for you guys? Thank you so much for reading it! Everyting that I've mentioned before is from my own life and experience. I hope that you guys can find your goal and that you'll love working towards it.

X Steph