Motivation Made Simple

Motivation is literally the desire we have to do things. It is the difference between waking up before dawn to get started on a particular project and lazing around the house all day watching TV. It's the crucial element in setting and attaining goals. Research shows you can influence your own levels of motivation, but far too often, we fail to do so. Staying motivated can be a real struggle. When trying to maintain motivation, our drive is constantly assaulted by negative thoughts and anxieties about the future. Everyone faces doubt and depression at one time or another. What separates the highly successful from those who fail is the ability to stay motivated and keep moving forward. There are three major reasons people fail to maintain motivation.

• Lack of confidence—Simply put, if you don’t believe you can succeed, what’s the point in trying, right? When this happens, it’s usually because you’re focusing entirely on what you want and neglecting what you already have. Because of this, your mind creates explanations for why you aren’t getting it. This creates negative thoughts about how you feel about yourself. Your mind is dominated by past failures, bad breaks, and personal weaknesses. You can become jealous of your competitors, which causes you to start making excuses for why you can’t succeed. When you try to function under these conditions, you can make bad impressions, assume the worst about others, and lose self confidence.