Motivation is the key to accomplishing your goals. Sometimes it is hard to find the silver lining and you need to reroute your mind. This article will help you understand different ways to stay motivated even through tough times. It is always possible to be healthy and happy. 

What Is Motivation?

According to dictionary.com motivation is “the state or condition of being motivated or having a strong reason to act or accomplish something”. Motivation is wanting to change your behavior or something around you. When you set a goal, it does not just happen. You have to stay motivated to reach your goal. 

There are multiple types of motivation. The two main motivation types are intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the motivation of internal ambitions. So if someone's goal is to be more fit for health and self-esteem, that would be intrinsic. If you want to change something in your inner desire, it is an intrinsic motivation. So if you want to do something to learn new things, that would be intrinsic.

Extrinsic motivation is when you feel the need to change your appearance because of other people. So if you want to be more fit because of peer pressure, that would be an extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is also doing something to get something else. For example if you are working for the money that is your extrinsic motivation. The motivation is money. If you are doing your job for the money and you do not get the money, you no longer have motivation.

How To Provoke Motivation

• Understand why you set a certain goal - Ask yourself why you chose your goal. Where will it get you? Why do you want to get there?

• Set a big goal for yourself - Setting a goal that is not in arm's length will make you work harder to achieve it.

• Give yourself rewards at milestones of your goals - Treating yourself is important. This will make you want to reach your goal. It is like a pig with a carrot on a stick, they will chase it until they can finally reach it.

• Forget about negativity and be positive - Negativity helps no one. Stay positive and remember that you are awesome no matter what. 

• Visualize your biggest achievements and use it as inspiration - Be proud of your past achievements and use them to remember that you have reached your goals before and you can reach this goal as well. 

• Surround yourself in a good environment - Being in a good habitat is important because it makes you feel happy and inspires you to be the best version of you. 

• Look at the bigger picture - Try to see what your life will be like after you reached your goal. How did your life change for the better? 

• Be organized - Cleanliness is important. Imagine sitting at a desk for hours and having a bunch of trash scattered all over it. Now imagine a neat and tidy desk. Which one would make you feel more motivated?

Using Motivation In The Right Way

Motivation is used to achieve something greater. Using it the wrong way like downgrading yourself is not how you use it. Instead of saying “I need to be more fit.” say “I want to be more fit to be happy with myself.” Try not to compare yourself to other people and find the motivation within yourself and not others. Everyone is different. Find out what makes you happy and pursue that. Set one goal for you to focus on. Multitasking is hard when you are trying to accomplish many things at once. Once you have gotten to one goal, set another one. Make sure when you use constructive criticism that it is constructive, not just criticism. 

In conclusion, motivation helps you achieve your set goals. You can stay motivated by being positive, rewarding yourself, and putting yourself in a good place. Do not use motivation in a bad way. Find your motivation sentence. An example of that is “She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.” Ask yourself what you want your motivation sentence to be. You can accomplish your goals, all you have to do is stay motivated. 

Sources:

Penguin Books USA, “Drive, Daniel Pink-” YouTube, 19 Jan. 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWWl4eXXvBE

“How to Spark Intrinsic Motivation in Your Students.” Teach, 9 Mar. 2017, www.teach.com/blog/how-to-spark-intrinsic-motivation-in-your-students/

Buckley, Dylan. “9 Types of Motivation That Make It Possible to Reach Your Dreams.” Lifehack, Lifehack, 22 Apr. 2020, www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/6-types-of-motivation-explained.html

James Clear. “Motivation: The Scientific Guide on How to Get and Stay Motivated.” James Clear, 11 June 2018, www.jamesclear.com/motivation

Cherry, Kendra. “The Psychology of What Motivates Us.” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind, 27 Apr. 2020, www.verywellmind.com/what-is-motivation-2795378