I recently just finished reading Brendon Burchard’s most recent book, The Motivation Manifesto: 9 Declarations to Claim Your Personal Power. I’m fascinated with Positive Psychology and love to learn about the way we, as humans, think and tick and how I can apply it to my own life. I do read for pleasure, but my main goal while reading is to read for knowledge. So, I guess you can say I’m a little different when it comes to reading and perhaps you can relate to me. I love digging in and really marking the book up. If you’re like me, you can’t just read through the book, you have to highlight, write in the margins and take notes. With any book I read, I like to type up notes after, as well–kind of like my own version of Cliff Notes. I thought I’d share with you my takeaways and how you can apply them to your own life and goals, whether they are fitness related, professional or personal. This is, after all, what The Strong Movement™ is all about—building a Strong Mind, Strong Body & Strong Life!

WHAT IS MOTIVATION?

Let’s start off defining what motivation is. I believe Motivation to be the underlying desire, motive or impetus that drives you to work towards actualizing a goal. Ultimately, motivation comes down to a conscious choice to act or not to act. Everyone has free will. That free will is what allows us to choose. Motivation is not a thought nor is it an empty hope or wish. Your level of motivation is determined by how clear and committed you are to reaching your goal. That being said, the first step in getting motivated is identifying and clearly defining what you want and why you want it.

  1. Identify & Clearly Define What You Want & Why

Think about when you’ve been motivated to do something. You had a clear reason in your head why you wanted to do it and what the outcome would be if you achieved it. You valued the hard work it was going to take in order to get the reward. Without a clear and definite path, it’s very easy to get lost.

It’s important to also think about why you want something. Are you intrinsically or extrinsically motivated to achieve it? How much control do you have over the outcome? Is your goal performance based or outcome based? Remember that you have a lot more control over a performance goal than an outcome goal with other factors that could affect it. If you aren’t as committed to the goal, you won’t be willing to work as hard for it, which is why it’s crucial to identify exactly what you want. Once you are clear and committed, you have a reason to choose to act on it.

  1. Believe it is Possible & That You Can Make it Happen

It’s hard to accomplish something if you don’t believe you can do it. Even if you are unsure, you must “fake it ‘till you make it” or tell yourself you can do it until you actually believe it to be true. You must have the mentality and expect that it will happen. If you don’t believe you can make it happen, then it is just a wish. You will never work hard enough for it to begin with because you don’t believe you can do it.

Believing in yourself gives you the “umph in triumph” and that extra pep in your step to be ambitious in your goals. Sure, we go through periods of time where we may doubt ourselves and question our abilities—this is normal. But, the difference is that these are periods—small lapses in time, while deep down you still know you can do it.  This is why regardless of your period of doubt or uncertainty, you don’t quit and continue working hard and battling through.

  1. Commit Yourself to Act Accordingly, Focus & Hold Yourself Accountable

Everything comes down to what you choose to focus on day in and day out. Even if you don’t think you are ready, you must begin to focus in and start acting on your goals now. What are you making a priority in your life? Your actions and focus every day must be in line and aligned with your clearly defined path and goal. This doesn’t mean to be closed-minded to opportunities that may pop up.

Focusing is about eliminating distractions that do not help you get to the next step. When you act and take the necessary steps, you improve and progress. This progress is what helps sustain your motivation and keeps you going. Constantly learning and improving with hard work not only keep your fire and drive alive, but they will also contribute to your attitude and happiness. With progression, growing pains may also come along. It is your ability to “fight on” (ahem, USC!) and continue on your path despite hardship and challenges. Ultimately, it will always come down to you and your choices on what to act on and how to act in response to your situation.  Thus, you must “act” and work through the challenges.

  1. Choose to Have a Positive Attitude & Environment

You must be positive and enthusiastic! Hello- this is your life! You must choose to wake up and show up every day with a positive attitude. It means being open and energetic to all the positive vibes you attract. Your environment is just as important. It’s a lot easier to be cheerful and happy with a group of friends who have the same attitude and mindset. It doesn’t mean you cannot stand apart from the Negative Nancy’s in your life or those that are not working hard to reach their dreams like you are.  It’s just a lot harder and takes a lot of mental strength.  You have no time for pessimism in your life and you must choose to not let it affect you if you are surrounded by it.

So many people are doing “detox’s” these days, but how many people are detoxing their environment? Get rid and cleanse yourself of all the negative things surrounding you. Clean up your room, positively shape your physical environment and distance yourself from people with bad attitudes and negative energy. If you’re on a mission to the top, you don’t have time for people that are holding you back (even if they are subconsciously hindering you.) This may be a tough one to swallow, but you have to let go of those people.

  1. Reflect on Your Progress Through Success and Struggle

Do not think about how far you have left to go, but reflect on how far you have come. This will help you maintain your motivation and belief that if you’ve made it this far, you can certainly make it to the top. You must be grateful for your progress, while still fueling your desire to continue going. Struggle is hard, but think about all the times you faced challenges—coming out of them was that much sweeter because of everything you had to go through. Do not let struggle or fear paralyze you. You must know it is part of the journey towards success!

 

This is a simple 5-step formula to help you on your way and path towards actualizing your desires and goals. It is not enough to just wish for something, to think about doing something, or to hope something will happen. You must focus all of your attention and give all of your effort to work hard towards it. Without hard work and struggle there is no progress and without progress there is no happiness or success! If you find yourself lacking motivation, take time to revisit these steps to identify where you may need to shift your thoughts and actions to align together on your path towards achieving your goals!

For more Motivation Tips, Steps on Reaching Your Goals and How to Build a Strong Mind, check out The Strong Movement™: Lifestyle Guide.  I wrote it just for you, Strong Girl!