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4 Steps to Finding Motivation

By Daryl H. Bryant (827 words)
Posted in Living with MS on April 19, 2012

There are (1) comments permalink

It is very easy to want to do something, but it can become very difficult to have the motivation to actually achieve such a goal. Goals can be made for all sorts of reasons, but for the reasons of my book’s website I want to focus motivation on being used for improving Multiple Sclerosis symptoms. Activities to improve MS conditions can include improving eating habits and exercising regularly.

Motivate Yourself!
Think One Goal

There is no room for multiple goals if you really plan on succeeding in the goal’s fullest potential. Many times, you can get distracted if there are too many items on your plate. The key to making a goal is starting small. If you want to improve your eating habits, it will be very tough to completely revamp your nutrition over night. Instead, try eating one fruit a day. Then, after a few days to a week of adding one fruit, try adding a vegetable or substitute a candy bar for an additional fruit. Slowly progress until all the unhealthy habits are eliminated from your diet. There is no reason to make a goal that is difficult to attain before any effort even begins.

A confident attitude is extremely important to have before starting anything. Many times people are worried about being out of shape or gaining weight in the present moment, but the mindset must completely change towards not what attributes one currently has, but towards what they want to have. This positive mindset will set the right path for your goal rather than being worried about the present. Negative thoughts have to be turned into positive actions.

Create Anticipation

I know there are a lot of things that I get really excited about, but to truly prepare for the journey to meeting a goal, I will set my start date in the future. It will get the competitive juices flowing that much more, which increases the likelihood that you stay on course for the long haul.

This seems counterproductive but the truth is, making a future date lets you prepare and strike a plan for reaching the top. For the next week or month, regardless of when you set the date, make the starting day the most important thing in your life. Setting the date for a week in advance gives time to think about all possible distractions in order to address them before time comes to really push for success. Distractions may include daily obligations that can be changed to a different time in order to make that yoga class or buying healthy ingredients ahead of starting your diet. Once the day comes, there will be no excuses.

Share your Goal with Others

You will be surprised how effective it is to know that you will be held accountable to your peers for achieving your goal. There have been studies that show criminals are less likely to commit crimes if their mug shots will be posted in the local newspaper rather than getting fined an exorbitant amount.

The point here is that if you make your intentions public you will feel motivated knowing you will let yourself down if you fail to complete a goal you had shared with people you are close with.

This eventually comes down to whether or not you are focused on the task at hand. If you can’t publically share to others what you want to accomplish then you probably don’t want to reach your goal as much as you initially thought.

Accomplish Your Goal!
Never Give Up

No matter how much you want to give up or how long you have been on the road towards achieving success, there has to be a point when you envision yourself at the finish line. Think about the benefits that this journey has given you and what additional benefits will be had when you finish what you have started.

You have to expect bumps in your journey to success, but rest assured that there is more road ahead that will bring you to a completed goal. Having mentioned that, there has to be a sense of direction to achieve what you want. If you don’t know what you want at the finish line then how can you possibly get excited during the journey in order to combat the bumps in the road?

You can visit my website to order MS Living Symptom Free and read my story and the strategies I use to stay motivated throughout my journey with MS.

Comments (1)

Mary Muhlenkamp posted on: May 15, 2012

Thanks. Great post. I never thought about "creating anticipation." I have secondary progressive relapsing MS. I recently "created anticipation" with a goal I set, even though I didn't realize I was doing that at the time. It worked. I plan on using that strategy cognitively in the future. Thanks for the tool.

"Never give up" is another important part of the motivation process and just what I needed to hear today. Thanks again.

I bought your book and was really inspired by it. I like the way you gave your website in the book; that's what brought me here.

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