Goal Digger 03: 4 strategies to stay motivated

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It’s a new month so that means a new addition to my series “Goal Digger.” Today’s post is going to help you learn the strategies you need to stay motivated in the journey towards your goal. I have always been very passionate about reaching the goals I set for myself which is why I wanted to start this series. This series is set up to help give you the tools to reach your goals. I hope it inspires you to set high goals for yourself because you can and will reach anything you put your mind to. If you missed my first two post, I talk about how to stay organized and manage your time here and how to surpass your goals here.

What characteristics does it take to stay motivated?

I am driven and do not give up. While I am very motivated myself, sometimes I even get off track or I feel like giving up if things are not always going “my way.” Let’s be real we have all set goals for ourselves and some days have just gotten the feeling that we did not want to try anymore. It takes a whole lot of patience to not give up. Some days we will feel like we are so close to the top of the mountain and other days we will feel like we are walking up a steep hill. It is the days that we are walking up a steep hill that we must remind and encourage ourselves that we can do it. You must have courage and believe in yourself.

So what are the strategies that will keep you motivated?

These strategies to help you stay motivated are here to give you guidance, but the rest is on you! You must apply these to your own life and be patient with them. We are forming habits here and habits take a long time to form so you must give yourself time.

1. Define your why: In order to stay motivated, you must know why you are trying to keep yourself motivated in the first place. Maybe your goal is to lose 10 pounds. Well why are you trying to lose 10 pounds? Is it for your health? If it is for your health, that should give you a lot of motivation to lose 10 pounds. So make sure you remind yourself why you are exercising everyday and why you are eating healthy. Can you lose 10 pounds overnight? Absolutely not. So it all goes back to patience.
2. Write down what your end goal will do for you: You set this goal for yourself, defined why you are trying to reach that goal, now write down all the benefits of reaching that goal. For example, if you are trying to start your own company then what are all the benefits you will get from the long hours and sleepless nights? Just to name a few: you will be your own boss, you will get financial freedom, maybe your company is set out to make a difference in the world. Whatever it is, write these things down. It is like putting a treat in front of a dog but they have to go through a maze to get it. That may be a weird analogy but really it is the same thing. You want that those “benefits,” but you must do some work to get there.
3. Celebrate the milestones: I have touched on this subject in “Goal Digger 02” that you can read here. We are focusing on that one thing we want to accomplish that we forget to celebrate along the way. It is so important to celebrate the milestones do because it helps us develop confidence. Let’s say you are about to graduate from college and you are trying to find a job. You have sent out 20 applications and have had 5 interviews. You need to celebrate those 5 interviews (even if you didn’t get an offer). Why? Because each time you go through an interview, you are bettering yourself. You don’t realize it in the moment, but you are setting yourself up to do even better in the next interview because you have been exposed to more questions and have become more comfortable with the process. Now when your dream job comes along, you will be 100% prepared to get it.
4. Take Breaks: We are not machines; therefore, you should not treat yourself like you are a machine. It is so important to take some time for yourself some days. Are you the entrepreneur that is trying to start your own company? You probably have been working non stop. You need to take a day to just stop and let yourself do nothing. Because breaks can help us. When you are stuck on an idea, take a break and come back to it, you will gain a new perspective.

How does this apply to my life?

Let’s talk about a recent example in my life and how I stay motivated. I started this blog about two months ago. I wanted to do for the longest time and I finally found the courage to start. Learning how to make a blog and navigate the “blogging world” was a huge learning curve. I still am learning (a lot). I never realized how much work it was until I got into it, but I love doing it and have had so much fun with it! There are some days that I need a little extra push to keep myself going. So I go through my 4 strategies:

1. Why am I doing it? Because I love doing it and I want to share my love of fashion and beauty and advice with others. My goal for this blog is to leave people feeling more positive and optimistic everytime they visit The Styled Southerner.
2. My end goal is to create a platform that encompasses my values and gives me an outlet to share my love of fashion, beauty, health and fitness, and lifestyle with a community of like minded individuals who believe in what I am doing.
3. While it may seem small, a huge milestone for me was reaching 1k followers on Instagram. It gave me that extra boost of confidence I needed and reminded my that I can do this!
4. It is hard to find a stopping point when working on this blog. I feel like there is always something I can improve or something new I should be doing. Despite this, I make sure that I take time for myself to connect with friends and family, take part in other hobbies, and just relax!

You are ready to stay motivated!

I encourage you to try these strategies yourself. They are going to make a huge difference! I would love to hear what strategies you use to keep yourself motivated. Make sure you comment them down below!

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Staying styled, southern, and sweet –

Casey