Motivation is an essential part of everything we do … it governs whether or not we will successfully achieve our goals and dreams throughout life.

Motivation is our desire or level of energy to do something. Our motivation comes from within us, it is our drive based on our desire to achieve something, to do something, or to become something. Motivation also comes from outside us e.g. other people, events, actions of others.

Motivation isn’t a constant — it’s normal to experience fluctuations in our motivation level at different times… sometimes our motivation is strong and at other times it’s hard to find!

When our motivation is strong, we complete tasks easily, successfully achieve our goals… we feel more positive about ourselves and what we are doing. Everything feels good.

When we struggle to find our motivation, things become more difficult… tasks take longer to complete, we find ourselves easily procrastinating, our confidence and self belief takes a hammering… our energy and vibration levels are low!

Although we can be motivated by others or external events, it is the motivation that comes with in us that really makes the difference in being successful.

There are many things we can do to keep our motivation going… to give ourselves a much-needed boost… to keep our motivational fire from going out:

set a goal that’s important and meaningful for you… a goal that will improve your life… a goal that excites you just thinking about it. Outline the necessary steps you need to take to achieve your goal and keep on that path! The more detailed your goal, the easier it is to keep motivated and on track if your motivation has taken a vacation, you feel lethargic and unable to get anything done, you are aware you’re procrastinating… set yourself a time limit to achieve something, to do something and stick with it until you have it completed. Make this a short time period e.g. 10 minutes, and stick with that task for the entire time. It’s important to set small time periods for yourself when experiencing low motivation read motivating books — read autobiographies of people you admire, look up to, people who have succeeded in some area of life. There are many motivational writers and motivational books are easily found on the net, library or bookshops listen to motivating audios — Some of my favourites include: Bob Proctor, Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield… download your favourites onto your IPod or burn a CD… and listen to them in the car while you’re driving, doing exercises, while you’re waiting on queues or for appointments… any time you have spare, play your motivational audio! write out a whole lot of motivational quotes… and put them throughout your home, workplace, and on your computer. When you find your motivation is low, read the quotes mix and socialise with people who themselves are motivated. It’s important to surround yourself with people you find motivating… when you do, your energy and vibrational level increases and this gives you the extra charge you need to achieve what you desire learn more information or new skills on subjects that inspire you — when you learn more about subjects you find enjoyable and inspiring, your motivation increases and you become more confident and self-reliant

Do you have difficulties at times getting motivated?

Obesity plays a big role in our society today. Exercise and eating right are a way to fight obesity. But how do you motivate yourself to exercise? Let’s face it; it isn’t one of the most enjoyable things do to with our time.

And time is very important to us today. There never seems to be enough of it. So how do we get exercise motivation? Setting goals is the key to this process.

The first step in achieving exercise motivation is to decide what goals you want from yourself. Do you want to lose 10 pounds? 20 pounds? Or do you just want to tone your body?

The next question to ask yourself is what are you going to gain from these goals? If you like the answers you’re getting from these questions, then you are half way to exercise motivation!

When setting goals for exercise motivation, try not to set them to high. Don’t set a goal to lose 50 pounds, unless you can afford to lose 50 pounds! Don’t set a goal to run 5 miles a day, if you have never run a mile before.

Be realistic in your goal setting. This is so important in this process. The goals have to be both possible and realistic for you to be able to achieve them.

After the goals are set, write down what steps you are going to have to take to reach these goals. For instance, do you need to stop eating dessert every night after dinner? Do you need to give up that second cappuccino in the mornings? Can you walk to work or lunch, instead of driving? Once you come up with a plan to change the way you do things, it will be easier to lose weight.

The next step is to be creative with your exercise routine. Getting on a treadmill in a lonely room isn’t going to keep us motivated for very long. Maybe you need to put a television in the room with the treadmill. Or maybe find a route outdoors for your walk or run.

Commitment is the last and final stage to achieving exercise motivation. You have lost ten pounds and are starting to eat a healthier diet, now you have to commit to doing it. Make time every day and don’t let temptations get in the way. It is all in the will power.

That is not to say that you can’t reward yourself with a day off of exercise once in a while, or a piece of cake now and then. That is important also, but being consistent with your exercise routine is priority. It will soon become habitual to exercise. You have just replaced your bad habits with a good habit!