You want to be a success, of course, but what does it take to make it to the top? A lucky break and some good connections are always good to have, but nothing can move without motivation – including your career. You may be studying hard ahead of important exams, learning a new trade, or maybe just starting your career at work. The one thing that will make you stand out and get you ahead better than anything else is effort. Or, to be more precise, without effort you won’t get anywhere. Plenty of talented people have wasted their skills by not trying, but effort takes motivation, and that can be hard to find – especially when things don’t seem to be going your way.
The secret to motivation lies within you, and only you can really make it happen. No amount of punishment for failed deadlines will make you motivated. Motivation is the key to success and it needs you to think positively and see past your current situation. It is all about being able to see the bigger picture, therefore, the first step to motivation success is…
This may sound a little odd, but being able to picture your goal will help you to keep going when things get tough. Whatever it is you want to achieve take a moment to imagine what it will feel like when you succeed. Imagine it in as much detail as you can – what will you be wearing, how will you feel? Athletes use this technique to win, it is all about positive reinforcement. Of course, to do this you will need to have a decent goal to aim for so you may need some extra help with picking a career, for example. The clearer the goal the better for the next step…
Whatever it is that you want to achieve, you will need to keep an eye on exactly why you want it. This is part of your ‘homework’ for motivation and will help you keep on track when times get tough. Write down why you want to achieve your goal – money, security, happiness, job-satisfaction, to build a better future? Make sure to use a pen and physically write this down – it will help it lodge in your brain better than if you type. Keep this somewhere safe where you can find it if you ever need reminding what you are working for.
As it stands, your ultimate goal may be quite large and seem unachievable. However, if you break your journey down into smaller stages you can see what steps you need to make to get there. Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by your goal, but instead break it down into more manageable parts. The smaller the better – and make sure to only focus on one at a time. As you achieve them you can tick them off your to-do list, which is not just getting you demonstrably closer to your goal, but is also great for motivation!
All plans need to be adaptable in the real world. Don’t be afraid of changing your plans part way through or even throwing them out and starting again from scratch if you need to. This is your plan to do with as you like. If you don’t like something, or change your mind, change it. It is about knowing when to keep going or when to change direction.
You may need to try a few different routes. No ‘overnight success’ was actually sudden, but probably involved plenty of hard work and dedication. As Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,” as well as, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up,” and “The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
No person is an island, and so you shouldn’t be expected to do everything on your own. Every success story involves a whole cast of others. You may want to keep your goal under wraps, but you will still need to find people who can help and advise you. Some look for a mentor, while others will talk things through with someone they trust. If you share your goals it can help keep you from giving up.
Let’s not pretend that everything will always be easy. There will be times when you will wonder what you are doing or feel like you are working hard and getting nowhere. So what will you do then? Don’t start feeling sorry for yourself, but instead find some outside motivation. Look at the example of others who struggled against adversity – it will help put things into perspective for you. It is only when the going gets tough that you will truly show your mettle. Besides, these tough times will surely be offset by easier moments… just don’t give up, ever!
