Most people get motivated in the beginning.  They start off in the excited phase of the failure cycle. They have made up their mind to accomplish whatever it is they want to achieve and nothing is going to stop them.  Then they find themselves two months later avoiding the behavoiur they need to do in order to be successful, they make excuses and then start to blame everything and everyone around them for why its not working out.

Self-motivation is an essential part of excelling at life. You must learn to motivate yourself because you cannot depend on others to do it for you. You have to know how to encourage yourself regardless of how bad the situation.

There are several keys to building self-motivation.

• Work towards your vision, a cause with pulling power that gets you excited

• Write down your goals, your vision, and your action plan to succeed

• Do something every single day towards that cause and see your vision unfold

• Be consistent, stick to your plans and hold yourself accountable

• Don’t compare yourself to others, compete with the best version of yourself

• Make the conscious effort to not give up, challenge yourself daily

• Don’t live in your past failures or successes

• Utilise positive thinking and show gratitude for all you have in your life today

• Monitor your progress and write down your plan for improvement weekly 

• Be aware of your strengths and skills, know that you are capable of so much more

• Read books that promote self-motivation

• Ensure your body is well rested, nutritionally fed and physically excercised daily

• Find productive ways to manage your emotions and pay attention to your thoughts

• Take time to be mindful daily while also taking to time to visualise your future 

Andrew Carnegie said it best with his quote “People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.”

I know from experience when you motivate yourself and stretch yourself to extend outside of your comfort zone amazing things can happen.  I have also learned that you must have a passion or a drive for what it is you want to achieve.

I have worked with a client who was trying so hard to motivate herself in one area that it became to great a chore.  Together we realised that she was on the wrong path and trying to make something fit her life that did not fit.  If you want to be successful in an area but absolutely hate every minute of it then let it go.  Concentrate on what you enjoy and love, something that you could do for hours on end and gives you joy and excitement.  I believe we all have been given our gifts for a purpose and it is up to each of us to find that purpose and use these gifts well.

My client paid attention to her gifts and her passion. Once she stopped fighting it she ended up on the right path and has been extremely successful.  Opportunities came her way that she could have never imagined.

I hope you find these keys to self motivation helpful. That they encourage you to excel in life so that one day you can see your vision enfold in front of your eyes.

Cheers

Elaine

The post The key to building ‘Self Motivation’ appeared first on Make Today The Day.

Keeping a journal allows you to develop creativity and track your progress. People who fail in journaling often make the process too complicated. Keeping a journal should be a simple and personal process. There are different ways to keep journals, and you need to choose the one that fits your needs. You may choose from the traditional methods, keeping one on the computer, and there are even apps for journaling.

I started writing in my journal when I was fifteen years old. It gave me a place to share my dreams and goals without any input from friends or family.  Many times when I shared my goals I would get laughed at or discouraged so I would allow doubt to creep in and not act on my impulses.

Once I started  journaling I noticed that things started changing in my life. It gave me a place to be creative and upon reading it also gave me the opportunity to visualise my future.  There have been times over the years when I have read journals from five years previous and marvelled at what adventures I started and accomplished over these years.

My journal is like a friend in many ways. I write down my fears, my doubts, my dreams, my goals, the life I want to design for myself and these written words speak back to me with answers, encouragement and often gives me great clarity.

My journals have been a great way to measure my progress throughout my life.  They have made me accountable and shown me areas that work and do not work with my lifes choices.  I have found them a valuable tool in reflecting on my life.  There are some journals I read from many years past with words of what I expected in my future, having absolutely no idea how it was possible.  Today I am now living that real life experience.  So start a journal today and be amazed!

Keeping a Journal:

• Timing: Pick the time of day when you will have the time and motivation to journal.
• Environment: Find the place where you will feel comfortable and inspired.
• Relax and get comfy: Do not place too much stress on yourself. A journal does not have to be perfectly written and should address the topics that you find relevant.

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Your frog is the task that will have the greatest impact on achieving your goals, and the task that you are most likely to procrastinate starting.  We all have things we know we need to do but put them off consistently.

If the first thing you have to do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long!”

“If you have to eat a live frog, it does not pay to sit and look at it for a very long time!”

The key to reaching high levels of performance and productivity is for you to develop the lifelong habit of tackling your major task first thing each morning. Don’t spend excessive time planning what you will do. You must develop the routine of “eating your frog” before you do anything else and without taking too much time to think about it.

Successful, effective people are those who launch directly into their major tasks and then discipline themselves to work steadily and single-mindedly until those tasks are complete.

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I was to realise that each of us have happiness barometers. You know that gut feeling in the pit of your stomach you feel when something is just not quite right? Well I noticed instead of paying attention to it, we as humans tend to numb it, numb it with alcohol, numb it with drugs and numb it with food!

I also noticed with some amazement that there were people who drank every night to numb their life then woke up to that very same life every day to restart the cycle over again.

I asked myself what possible reason humans would have for not living their ONE LIFE ON EARTH in happiness. So I asked my parents. They said that it’s hard to get jobs, especially council jobs so if you get one you keep it for life! There was no divorce in Ireland back then so when you get married you get married for life. Life is not a bed of roses Elaine “you do what you have to do to get by!”

Get by? Ok? I tried it for a while but my happiness barometer kept me in check. I paid attention to my happiness levels! I paid attention to the happiness levels of the people around me and it scared the crap out of me!

I realised that happiness is a choice!  What keeps people from living a life of happiness is fear and doubts! Fear of failure, fear of being different, fear of the unknown, fear of rejection, fear for survival, fear of being criticised.  And doubting your ability, your strength, your survival skills, you’re BELIEF IN YOURSELF!!!!!

If you don’t like something in your life! Change it! Pay attention to your happiness levels.

You may say that bad things happen. You cannot control your circumstances. Yes bad things happen to people every day. What you can control is How YOU REACT to your circumstances!

As humans we have 40 to 60,000 thoughts a day. Pay attention to what you are thinking!
How are these thoughts controlling your life? And take action!

If your happiness levels are low!!!!! Do something about it!
Now there is something important to remember. The road to happiness can be scary, uncomfortable, hard work, painful, you will most likely have to step out of your comfort zone, take risks, be daring, be brave, be different but I guarantee you, that feeling of happiness when the barometer is in the green zone is worth every second of that journey!

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Make today the day to organise your life

Many times my clients have said this to me when they are on their personal development journey.  They have to discipline themselves and complete their daily action plan as well as do their normal daily activities. There will likely come a time when you feel like you just can’t get your head above water. When this happens, follow these five easy steps to get things back under control.

1. First, take a deep breath. Make sure that your mind is calm and clear before you begin.
2. Next, make a list of all the tasks that are outstanding. If there is a due date, mark it beside each item.
3. Identify the three most important items. Make those a priority for today.
4. Look at your calendar. Create a plan for the most important items. Transfer these items to your tracking system (Outlook, productivity journal, day timer, etc.).
5. Start work on the most critical item first.
6. Tick items off as you have completed them and realise that you can do this one little step at a time.

Like other plans, you will probably need to revisit your to-do items and priorities once you have completed a few tasks. This plan, however, should help you get your head above water and get back on track.

The post Top 6 tips to help you cope! appeared first on Make Today The Day.

People ask me all the time.  Why would someone need you to come along and coach them every month? Dont people already know what they have to do?

The truth is that most of us know what to do, we know how to do it and what is missing is the fact that we dont do it.  As humans we get into the habit of procrastinating and not taking action. The thinking that tomorrow is another day and I will get to it,  leads to inaction and no progress.

This is where I come in.  I motivate people to ensure they become accountable.  When I arrive to each session we discuss their progress, I support and guide them to ensure that they are meeting set standards and getting results.

I always find that most people have self doubt and negative talk that we deal with over time.  My clients make a commitment to stay focused and take responsibility to complete their action plan.

Constantly I see people change and grow while turning dreams into reality. It can be a challenging confronting journey but the rewards and life lessons learnt are invaluable.

The road can be much less scary when you have someone to hold your hand.

Cheers

Elaine

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