Certain days, it’s easy to motivate yourself to do the right thing. You hop out of bed and you feel like you are ready to take on the world. Other days however, you feel the exact opposite. You’d rather crawl back into your bed, roll into a ball, and not talk to anyone.

With all the craziness that’s been going on in the world lately, it is likely that the second scenario has been playing out more often than usual. While unfortunate to note, many people have allowed external forces to dictate how they live their lives.

If you are in the same boat, below are some ways you can renew your commitment to living your best life, refuel your passion, and give yourself the motivation you need to thrive in these trying times.

22 Tips to Motivate Yourself

1: No Motivation to Work

If you have no motivation to work, I would recommend using Nike’s slogan. Just do it. If you allow yourself to dwell on all the negativity, you will have an infinite list of seemingly logical excuses to just stay in bed and not do anything.

That said, get moving before your brain will conspire against you. And don’t think twice about starting small. Even if it would seem trivial.

Write one sentence. Read one paragraph. The whole idea is to take action.

Then repeat.

Bask and congratulate yourself for even the smallest wins.

After all, these small wins can create the momentum you need to take massive leaps as you go along.

2: Inspire and Motivate Yourself

Never allow a day to go by without inspiring yourself in one way or another.

Often, the reason you feel low is because you have been receiving the wrong input.

You can combat this by finding something motivational to help you get a better perspective of the big picture.

Fortunately, nowadays, you can motivate yourself through the following:

• Motivational/inspirational quotes
• Books
• Podcasts
• Vision boards
• Music

3: Stay Focused on your Goals

Dave Ramsey has a very successful debt payment model.

The success of the model can be attributed to one thing: momentum building.

His strategy teaches that you pay the smallest debts first regardless of the interest rate.

Ultimately, you will be able to build a “snowball” towards the big ones.

This principle can be applied to life as well.

For instance, start by setting small goals that can help you realize bigger and more audacious ones. 

Want to run a full marathon?

Start by running a mile.

Then two.

And take it from there.

As you hit those small and realistic targets, you will be able to motivate yourself to get going.

4: Track Your Progress

Progress can help motivate you to reach new heights.

It will also give you incredible drive.

So take note of the results you are seeing.

Write down Xs in your calendar.

The idea is to do something that will mark the hard work you have been putting in and the results you are slowly seeing.

You won’t believe how much tracking your progress can help you to move forward!

5: Start a Gratitude Journal

It would be almost impossible to motivate yourself if you are in a negative place.

So practice finding the good on a regular basis.

One effective way to find the good is by writing down the things you are grateful for.

A gratitude journal would be a great way to be aware of your blessings and focus on the good that is happening in your life.

6: Use Positive Affirmations

Need a little pick me up?

Remind yourself of how amazing and awesome you are!

You are welcome to use our powerful affirmations and loving affirmations to get you going until you feel better about yourself and life again.

7: Subliminal Music for Procrastination

According to some studies, you tend to procrastinate more when you are in a bad mood.

While gratitude can make a world of difference, listening to subliminal music can help release any tensions as well.

8: How to Increase energy and Motivation

Motivation is not constant. It can ebb and flow.

Often, habit is one of the most consistent things you can count on. What your daily routine is matters enormously!

So set a rule that you will never miss more than a day at a time. Be kind and gentle with yourself if you need to.

However, jump right back as soon as you can to continue building momentum.

Tip 9: Self Discipline

At times, you find yourself seeking meaningless activities as a means of escape when things get hard.

So you end up checking Instagram rather than doing yoga.

Or you watch countless episodes of your favorite show as opposed to spending time working on a meaningful project.

Thankfully, there’s no shortage of ways to combat distractions. to increase your self discipline you can do the following:

Delete distracting apps.

Go on a digital detox.

Put the TV remote in another room.

Tip 10: Make Use of Your Routines

Figure out what gets you all fired up.

How can you motivate yourself more effectively?

A picture of the body you want to achieve?

Whatever it may be, ensure you see it daily and it is a part of your daily routine.

11: Never Compare Yourself to Others

Today’s technological world makes it very easy to compare yourself to others.

Often, you won’t even realise you are doing it.

Unfortunately, comparison will do nothing but sabotage your motivation.

So be cautious about what you focus on, especially on social media.

Avoid anything that provokes comparison and ensure you are only around people that lift you up and make you feel good.

12: Get Accountability

If you let go of the power of peer pressure and take full responsibility for your life and actions, your life can dramatically change for the better.

If there are areas in your life you are unhappy with, find out how you can change them rather than complaining and blaming others.

Your life is in your hands.

You can either complain about it all you want or do something about your circumstances.

At the end of the day, the choice is yours and yours alone.

13: Remember Your WHY

When excuses set in, it would be tricky to remember what your WHY is.

However, if you want to live a life by design and not a life by default, you have to know and remember your WHY.

Start by writing down your goals and find out your why.

It would be difficult for the excuses to get the better of you when you have a certain level of focus and targeted motivation.

And you can only have laser-like motivation when you know what your WHY is.

14: Reflect on the Outcomes

Think about what you want your life to be like in 5 years.

Where will you end up if you don’t change?

Where will you end up if you do?

Explore and get into the nitty-gritty of both scenarios so you can make it real for you.

15: Get Organised

This goes without saying, you will have a clearer and more focused mind if you are not surrounded by mountains of clutter daily.

That said, make it a point to always simplify your surroundings so you will have the clarity you need to reach your goals.

16: Know Your Priorities

Often you can end up losing motivation when you are feeling overwhelmed, when you feel like there is so much you need to accomplish.

Too much of anything, be it stimulation, goals, distractions can lead you to feeling overwhelmed and paralysed.

So you end up procrastinating and not being able to accomplish anything you have set out to do.

Know your priorities and work first on the most impactful thing that can make you move forward.

Then choose another.

And then another.

Focus on at least three things first.

Once you have accomplished them, move on and tackle the rest on your list.

17: Rest When Needed

You can’t accomplish great and lasting results when you forgo periods of relaxation.

Burnout is romanticised nowadays.

But there is nothing romantic about neglecting rest and self-care.

If anything, rest and self-care are critical to your success.

It is not optional.

If you are feeling all burnt out and your body screams for you to rest, do so.

Spend a day (or a week!) for rest and rejuvenation.

You will come back more inspired and motivated.

18: Celebrate Your Wins

Every win, no matter how small, is an integral part of your journey. 

As such, it deserves to be celebrated!

When you achieve something, no matter how small, give yourself a pat on the back. 

If you celebrate the small wins and appreciate your efforts, you will be motivated to take more inspired action towards the realisation of your goals, whatever they may be.

19: Change Your Physiology

Do you sometimes feel like you can’t seem to do things right?

Or you just find it hard to get things together?

We have all been there!

To change your momentum, do something different, if only for a moment.

For instance, you can stop doing what you want and go for a quick walk for 5 minutes.

Or you can meditate and sit in nature for a few minutes.

The idea is to get out of your head so you can change your mindset and state of being.

20: Write in Your Journal

If you want to learn more about your circumstances and make the needed changes, you need to gain awareness first.

One way you can achieve awareness would be to write in your journal.

Feeling particularly low?

Write your feelings down.

What do you think are the possible causes?

What do you think are the possible triggers?

What can you do to get yourself moving and move forward?

21: Mix Things Up

Motivating yourself can be done in various ways, so we have a list this long.

In other words, there will be times when one strategy won’t work anymore so you have to find other ways to pick yourself up and move forward.

Consider a change of scenery, routine, and time when you need a boost or a quick pick me up.

22: Schedule It In

Map your schedule weeks ahead of time.

Sundays would be the ideal time to figure this out.

Decide what you need to get done and when you should get it done.

Then go a step further by preparing all you need to do to accomplish what you have set out to do.

Case in point: if you want to do yoga, prepare what you will wear the night prior and get everything ready.

Basically, do anything necessary to make moving forward quick and straightforward.

Bonus Tip: Be Ready to Fail

No one is immune to failure.

However, failure is not always a bad thing.

Failure is in fact an integral part of your journey.

If you are taking risks and doing things that are new, failure is almost always inevitable.

But failure is crucial to your growth.

Rather than letting failure get to you, be prepared for it.

Anticipate that there will be trials and setbacks along the way but see it as it is: an essential part of your incredible life journey.

Over to You

Keep in mind that we are all unique. That said, different things can motivate different people. With that in mind, experiment with the ideas we have listed above and find out what works best for you.