Staying Motivated Throughout the Year
Welcome to another blog post from Black Fox! This time, we’ll be focusing on a topic that I think we can all relate to staying motivated throughout the year. Let’s get right into it!
START WITH THE DESTINATION IN MIND
As the old saying goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and nothing could be truer in your quest for success than when times get tough. Before you take that first step, though, you have to decide where you want to end up in the first place. What, specifically, is your goal? What are you trying to accomplish? Let’s just say your New Year resolves to lose 20 pounds throughout the year while getting in better shape overall. If you try to lose 20 pounds in one month, you’re bound for disappointment when you step on the weight scale on February 1st. This is why gyms are packed to the brim in January, and slowly attendance tapers off by the time March comes along. Your journey is going to take a while, and that’s okay. Keep your eyes on the destination and don’t waver from it.
WRITE DOWN A LIST OF GOALS
While this might seem overly simple, it helps tremendously when kick-starting your journey toward accomplishing what you want. Sit down and write down what you want to accomplish. I don’t care how silly you think it sounds - write it down. It might be something as minor as hanging up curtains over your bedroom windows, but at least you’ll have it listed so you can hold yourself accountable later. Organize your list into two categories: big, expansive goals (these typically involve career, lifestyle changes, and family) and minor, personal goals (such as saving up for something you’d like to buy, like a nice pair of sunglasses). The big goals are going to take a while to accomplish. Most likely, they’ll take years. Let’s say you have a goal to start a small business; you need to be ready to put in five years of work before all that hard work pays off.
BREAK DOWN YOUR GOALS INTO SMALL, ACTIONABLE MILESTONES, THEN KEEP TRACK OF THEM
Using the example above, let’s say you want to lose 20 pounds this year. While it’s not realistic to lose 20 pounds in a month, it’s far more realistic to lose 2 pounds per month. Weight loss takes time, and many people quit their diets because progress isn’t quick and easy. True lifestyle change is extremely hard to accomplish, and those who succeed know that they are in it for the long haul. Someone with a successful mindset will say, “It’s going to take a while, but the result will be worth it.” The person who fails will quit when the going gets tough. Using the weight loss example, the person who chooses a sustainable, easy-to-keep diet will ultimately be the one who loses the weight. The key to success is finding small tasks that slowly bring you toward your goal and sticking to it daily. If you plan to meditate daily, there are apps you can download on your phone that will allow you to track how often you sit and breathe each day. In today’s modern world of smartphone apps, it’s easier than ever to keep track of your goals and stick to them.
YOU’LL INEVITABLY GET DISCOURAGED AT SOME POINT THIS YEAR
Discouragements are inevitable. There will be times when you feel you are treading water and not making an inch of progress. Not every day will be a win for you. There are bound to be setbacks that will knock you back a few steps. I’ve got some news for you: that’s all normal. Everyone goes through it. If you’ve been eating perfectly for a month based on your new diet, and you finally give in and eat a delicious hamburger and french fries for dinner, you’ll probably be kicking yourself for having a moment of weakness. You’ll feel guilty and think all of your hard work was for nothing. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You’ve made it this far - do you think one hamburger is going to ruin you? Who cares if you messed up just this once? All you’ve got to do is get back on the horse and try again tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is a new day.
LEARN TO ENJOY PAIN NOW, AND REAP THE REWARDS LATER
Doing something painful now in service of a better, more substantial reward later is something we’ve all been through. Let’s say you have an exam tomorrow morning. You could watch TV all night and not study for your test, or you could study for your test tonight, and watch TV tomorrow after your test is over and done with. There’s even a name for this in academic studies: delayed gratification. Basically, it’s the idea that we knowingly do something not-so-fun so we can have something more fun later down the road. For people trying to lose weight or start a small business, they understand this concept all too well. The journey is difficult and painful, but the destination will be worth it.
DON’T GIVE UP
This will be my parting advice when it comes to accomplishing your goals: don’t give up. There will be times when you want to throw in the towel, maybe more than anything. Work your way through the pain, and keep on pushing forward. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:
“Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” - Jack Ma
I hope this has been helpful to you in your quest to accomplish your goals! We’ll see you next time!
- Jack Moffet
