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Posts Tagged ‘self motivation’

Motivation And Momentum: The Keys To Reaching your Goals

Posted on: December 10th, 2010 by Beth Heilman

One of the most difficult parts of goal achievement is simply getting started.  It’s easy enough to dream and plan, but many people get stuck in this phase indefinitely and avoid taking action.  Planning and dreaming might make you feel like you’re doing something about your goals, but if you never actually take a step forward you’ll never achieve them.  In order to see measurable progress, you have to step out of your comfort zones and take action.

Keep Moving Forward

When you finally do gather your courage and begin moving forward, what usually happens?  You realize it’s WAY harder than you thought it would be, right?  It feels like you’re trying to run uphill.  You keep tripping over obstacles, facing setbacks and delays, dealing with fear and anxiety, and fighting a daily battle to stay motivated.

It’s during this difficult phase that most people give up.  They decide that “it isn’t meant to be” right now, so they set their dream aside and vow to try again later.  Or worse, they resign themselves to a mediocre life because they don’t believe they have what it takes to succeed.  They’ve “failed,” so they’re not going to try any more.

Have you done this?  Most people have!

However, this doesn’t have to be the end of the story.  You can pick up your dreams, dust them off and try again.  But this time you should know about a little something called Momentum.

You see, the difficult phase I just described is what happens at the beginning when you’re trying to gain momentum.  Most people quit during this phase because they think it’s ALWAYS going to be this hard.  What they don’t realize is that every effort they put toward the achievement of their goals will build on the previous efforts.  With every step forward the process gets easier and easier.  Finally, they’ve put so much energy and effort into the process that momentum begins to take over.  Suddenly they realize that they don’t have to push so hard to keep moving forward.  It becomes fun . . . even easy to achieve their goal.

This same experience can be yours!  All you have to do is keep moving forward.  Keep working toward your dreams and never quit.  Momentum WILL take over eventually!

If you want to get momentum working even more quickly for you there are a few ways to do it, but they can be summed up in one sentence:

Be willing to work harder, faster and take bigger risks than you have in the past.

The reason why momentum can be delayed sometimes is because many people take very tentative steps toward their goals.  They’re afraid to really give it their all, so they hold back much of the energy and power they could be devoting toward their goal.  Even if they’re not aware of it, they may feel more comfortable working at a slower pace, so they avoid taking big risks and instead take baby steps.

There’s not a thing wrong with this approach if it suits you!  However, if you want to make faster progress and build momentum quickly, think about taking bigger steps and giving your full energy and focus toward making it happen.  By doing so, you’ll push through the difficult beginning and find yourself coasting before you know it.

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The Ultimate Empowerment?…Action!!

Posted on: October 6th, 2010 by Beth Heilman

Have you ever been stuck in a rut of inertia before? Then you probably know the sense of helplessness that takes over your life. You want your life to change, you want your situation to improve…big time, but you feel powerless to do anything about it. You may find yourself constantly making plans to improve your life, but never quite get around to taking action because it seems so overwhelming and intimidating.

Take Action Now

Although taking action can be intimidating and even a little frightening, it can also empower you! If you learn to take action effectively, it can provide the fuel to keep you moving forward toward a more fulfilling and much happier life. Do this and you’ll realize that there was never anything to fear in the first place. By taking positive action you’ll never feel stuck again!

Here are three simple steps that show you how to get started:

1) First, understand that your life is the way it is right now because of your hesitation to take action! This is important, because you’ll understand the importance of moving forward no matter how anxious it makes you feel at first.

Then, decide on one action to take to get the ball rolling. Think about your life right now, and ask yourself which situations you want to change first. You might choose your career, relationships, health, financial situation, or anything else that makes you feel powerless and stuck. Then think about one simple action you can take to inspire some positive change. It doesn’t have to be a huge action, just SOMETHING to start building momentum.

2) Once you’ve decided on your action step, take that step no matter what! This may seem incredibly difficult or even scary, but remember that most often the things you fear are not going to happen. In fact, you may not even have a clear reason for feeling scared – you’re just afraid of the “unknown”. Give yourself a pep talk or push yourself in any way you have to in order to move forward at least a little bit. After you take that first step, be sure to let go of any expectations of the things that may happen because of it, and allow yourself to feel great simply because you did something about it!

3) Lather, rinse and repeat 🙂 Seriously…repeat with the same step, and/or others. Once you’ve taken one step forward, keep pushing yourself to take more and more. Consider this: Even if you take a hundred small steps in a month, you’ll be putting forth positive effort to make changes in your life. You can’t help but bring about better circumstances!

The good news is that taking action quickly begins to build momentum. Just as chronic non-action can create a cycle of negativity and stagnation over time, being proactive can create a positive cycle that continues to grow! The more you do it, the easier it gets! Eventually it seems almost effortless – and you continue to empower and strengthen yourself with every step you take.

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