The beauty about seeing or having a Life or Executive Coach is that you have someone who is totally focused on helping and supporting you to keep up the motivation and assist with decision making.
But you are the one responsible for taking the steps, doing the actions, and making it all happen so keeping up your own motivation is key long term.
Here we look at how you can enhance and keep up your motivation as maintaining it may not always be easy but often simple steps can make it more possible and the outcomes so rewarding
Seeking A Professional Life or Executive Coach For Motivation
Two of the biggest reasons I have found that people come for coaching is to make healthier decisions and to keep up their motivation.
Here a professional coach is suitably trained in how to ask questions and aims to keep you the client at ease during dialogue and during all communication and help create a safe place to discuss the issues.
The best part about hiring a coach is that you have someone there who truly and totally is there and who listens to what you are saying and they do not have any ulterior motives and are here to help keep you motivated
During a session it is important to understand why you may be being asked many questions as motivation is the drive to achieve your goals or needs and they are trying to established how you are being influenced by:
how much you want the goal
what you will gain
what you will lose from not achieving your goal
your personal expectations
Most people do not ask themselves these questions and fail to get the things that would have made them happy or satisfied in life and run out of 'steam'.
Often, we may want to change things in our lives and it doesn't always have to be at the exclusion of something else but it can be challenging to find the motivation just to make a start, let alone to keep going.
It helps if you understand what motivation means to you so you can find your own ways to get motivated and stay on track to get the results you want.
Why is ongoing motivation so important?
Obviously you can make a decision or choice to do something but without ongoing motivation it is impossible for you to achieve the results that you want.
It is important to maintain what's keeping you motivated and the purpose and direction to assist you as it;
provides you with goals to work towards
helps you solve problems
helps you change habits that are unwanted
helps you cope with overcoming the challenges and creating the healthiest opportunities
Stay on track to achieve your goal
The Coach is here to help keep you on track but there are several steps you can take to keep you feeling motivated which include to;
Make your goal a part of your daily routine by using a diary or app for reminders.
Use post it stamp notes near your mirror, your desk, or your car with prompts like, 'the car is coming', 'I will get great marks', 'I am saving money everyday'.
Use mindfulness techniques to keep you present, relaxed and focused
Start a class or join a support group if you enjoy the company of others than this can be amazing
Keep playing motivating music to keep you on track
Read books or articles on motivation or successful people
When you have completed a goal or task - Reward yourself with something that makes you feel good about yourself as well healthy
What a positive U-tube video daily
Listen to up-lifting pod casts if you feeling a bit deflated
How can you simply stay motivated?
Simple things like utilising positive self-talk such as – ‘I can do it,’ I am doing it,’ and remind yourself daily at different times or whenever you need to and say them
Keeping up the momentum is the key to making progress and eventually achieving a goal or to continuously keep the motivation to keep yourself healthy and motivated and to keep up your interest.
You are much more likely to stay motivated towards a goal you are interested in attaining but making decision based on both feelings and thinking can be key to you attaining them. It will help for you to be;
Regularly reviewing your goals and progress to see your progress.
Keeping your self-esteem in check and not allowing people to deter you from keeping up your focus and motivation
Keeping the momentum and routine helps it feel more automatic over time such as getting up and exercising daily before work or play
Continuing to set new goals but complete them as you go along
Thinking about what you want to achieve next week, next month and next year and learn to tackle things one step at a time
If feeling overwhelmed – allow yourself to make some mistakes – it is only normal
Be patient with yourself as a new habit may take a little longer
Find mentors, for example, someone you look up to who is experienced in the habit you want to change. Finding social or support groups with the same interest can help you find a mentor.
Surround yourself with positive people - friends and family
Put up photographs of what you are wanting to achieve and look at them often
Surround yourself with positive images to enhance your mood
Exercise daily as it will help enhance all areas of your life including mental health
How can I get motivated when I don't feel like it?
Most people struggle with motivation from time to time, especially ongoing motivation in a goal which may take years to attain, but it is even more challenging if you have a mental health issues or depression or suffer from anxiety.
If this is the case, we strongly suggest that you get greater assistance from a counsellor or Coach and learning to ask for help is usually the first step.
Some ways to support yourself to maintain motivation can include to;
Set yourself one specific, achievable goal and complete it
Think about how to include that goal in your life, what you need to do to make it happen.
Put a timeframe on it (such as one week or one month or year).
Break your goal into small, easy tasks and set regular reminders to complete each step.
Ask and utilise the support of family or friends and even tell them about your goals and encourage them to support you
What you can do if you lose motivation?
Setbacks are a normal part of life and you can develop greater resilience in time by sticking to the task at hand and continue to complete the goal and maintain the motivation.
We don't want to go from extremes as neither extreme procrastination or being a perfectionist is healthy and you want to be able to take time off and not feel guilty.
Realising that it may take more time than you allowed yourself to complete a particular task or achieve a goal and that you can always go back to completing at a future time can be healthy.
Strategies for staying motivated
A strategy is how you are going to get there, and what things you need to focus on to attain your goal and get your results.
Here are some simple strategies that can help us everyday to stay or feel motivated which include;
Remaining focused on the goal (outcome)
Eliminating procrastination and just doing it regardless of whether you are tired
Cutting out distractions
Changing your location
Going for a short run
Meditating
Stretching or dancing to change your energy
Dispelling your fears by looking at motivation quote
Seeing how famous people became successful
Watching a positive YouTube video
Having a plan and sticking to it
Having a detailed plan can help with staying motivated and keep you in track whereby you can refer to it often and noticed the steps you are taking to keep staying motivated.
Being able to refer back to a plan will also help you to identify when or where things went astray and how you can motivate yourself to get back on track.
Where to get help?
• If you are struggling to get or to stay motivated, talk to someone you trust, and a counsellor or Coach who can provide useful strategies.
• If you have a mental illness, you may be eligible for a mental health care plan, which can help with the cost of counselling. Ask your medical practitioner for help and greater support if need be