Keep yourself motivated and inspired to achieve Goals

                                         Keep yourself motivated and inspired to achieve Goals

Edited by Dr.P.Kolandasamy, State NSS Officer, Puducherry UT.

உள்ளுவது எல்லாம் உயர்வுள்ளல் மற்றது
தள்ளினும் தள்ளாமை நீர்த்து

 “Keep your thoughts higher and try to achieve them. Even they couldn't be achieved, do not lose hope”- ThirukuRaL 596.

 

Inspiration is a fleeting and powerful force. It can be the difference between feeling like anything is possible and feeling like nothing is. When you are working toward long-term goals, waiting for inspiration to strike can put a serious damper on things. Luckily, there are some techniques you can try to help foster a more welcoming environment for inspiration rather than just hoping it strikes spontaneously. Try building some of the following methods into your regular routine and you might find inspiration to be a more frequent visitor.

Please consider the following points to keep yourself inspired:

1.       De-Stress. Nothing stops inspiration in its tracks like stress. Take a proactive approach to reduce your stress by building ways to de-stress into your daily routine so that you are already managing it before it builds up into an overload. Some simple, daily de-stressing activities include meditation, journaling, going for a walk, taking a nap, gardening, taking a bath, having a leisurely cup of tea, reading, dancing, listening to music, laughing, making art, and spending time in nature.

2.       Care for Your Body. Similarly, to stress, not feeling well physically can also drain inspiration. Try to maintain simple and sustainable habits that keep your body functioning. When you are regularly getting enough sleep, eating enough, and eating things that make you feel good, drinking water, and moving your body a bit, you are more likely to have space, energy, and time for inspiration and achieving goals.

3.       Bite-Sized Pieces. Break big goals down into smaller, more manageable steps. This keeps you from feeling overwhelmed by the size of your goals. It also helps you visualize the path toward actually achieving them which is an important step on the road to doing so.

4.       Make a Motivation List. It can be easier to continue pursuing a big goal if you take the time to think through all the reasons you want to achieve that big goal. Bonus points if you write them down!

5.       Find Your Community. Seek out the stories of people who have achieved the same or similar goals to yours. Not only can reading their tales be inspiring, but it can also give you ideas for how to best approach your goal(s) and how to keep yourself going during the hard moments. Remind yourself that you aren’t alone!

6.       Create a Vision Board. Collage, write, paint, apply stickers, use string, get as crafty as you want, and create a piece of art that represents the vision you are working toward. Put it up somewhere that you will see it frequently and use it as a visual reminder of what you are working toward and the beauty that goal and the process of working toward it, bring to your life.

7.       Share Your Process. Talk about the steps you’ve achieved and the steps you are attempting next with your friends, your family, your therapist, on your social media profiles, in your journal, etc. This can help make them feel more real. It also gives others the chance to help you revel in your success and the importance of your dreams.

8.       Dwell on Previous Success. You have already achieved a great many things. Devote some time to remembering those successes, big and small. This will remind you that you can, in fact, achieve your goals. And just like you have succeeded in the past, you will succeed again.

9.       Jot Down Notes. You never know when inspiration will strike! Keep a notebook close by or just a note on your phone, and when you have a thought about your goal(s), write it down. Take yourself and your thoughts seriously. You are doing this!

10.    Immerse yourself. Find podcasts, movies, art exhibits, TED talks, poetry, books, social media profiles, etc. that center around the same topic as your goals. Engaging with content about your goals helps to keep you thinking about them and moving toward them.

11.    Make Time to Celebrate. When you complete a step toward your goal, stop and celebrate. It is often much easier to criticize, judge, or doubt your process and your abilities. It is crucial to balance out the negative impulses with positive inputs, a key one of which is celebrating your victories, no matter how small. Have a micro dance party, eat a celebratory meal, text a friend, release a sigh of contentment. Let the joy of accomplishing things wash over you, even for just a few moments.

12.    Don’t Forget Fun! It can seem counterintuitive to put down work to do something purely for pleasure. However, you benefit immensely from experiencing joy. Joy stimulates your imagination, it counterbalances stress, it helps you sleep better, the list goes on. Furthermore, putting things down and returning to them helps you gain a new perspective which often improves your work. Seeking joy is a necessary part of the process, not a distraction.

Clearing the Path

Think about the tools for nourishing inspiration as a part of the process of working toward your goals. This means building them into your plans for success and treating them with importance. If you take steps to create and maintain a welcoming environment for inspiration, you might just find that the path to your goals becomes a little clearer. It can take a little more time and effort, but the return may just be invaluable.

 

                   Courtesy : Google                          ***********