Motivated For Life

The power of the mind is amazing. Learn steps and techniques to keep you motivated. Set goals and be inspired by motivation and techniques of inspiration.

Motivation, inspiration and other techniques for your life.

            How are you feeling today?  Great!  I am doing awesome as well.  Are you ready for an exciting day where some wonderful things are going to happen to you?  Me too, I just can’t wait to get going and bask in this experience we call life.  You see, every moment of every day is a blessing and is an experience.  No matter where you are, that’s where you are, and there is positive energy everywhere.

            So I got your attention, right?  Maybe it sounds corny to some of you, maybe it is a little over the top, or maybe it’s just what you need to hear.  You see, “motivated for life” is a mindset.  We are all bombarded with stress, negative images and stories that are running all day on the news, in the papers and on the internet.  No wonder it is so difficult to have a great day, when it seems like nothing good is going on in the world.  That’s where the power of the mind, the power of positive thinking comes in.  It is truly all in your head and in your perception.  I could be standing right next to you, right now, and looking at this message and think, this is great, this person is taking the opportunity to learn a little bit more about themselves, while you may be thinking get on with it.

            Are you ready to get motivated for life?  I sure am.  That opening statement is how I greet my clients every day.  It sets the tone and the mood for there workout and the rest of their day.  You can’t help but feel great by the time your session is over.  I work and practice at staying positive all the time and I know it is not easy, but the more you practice the easier it gets.  Here are many tips that will help you on your way to staying motivated for life!  Try one, try them all, you’ll find something that works for you.

            First thing is to get focused.  What are your dreams?  What are you passionate about?  What do you desire?  The key here is to find something, anything that gives you purpose and gets you excited.  Visualize what you want, and think about how it makes you feel.  One way of doing this is creating a collage of all the things you are passionate about and desire.  I also call this a dream board.  I’ll give you example of my dream board.  I have a house on the beach, a yard with a dog in it, a yacht, a great body, a picture of Buddha to inspire my spirituality, a picture of the earth to remind me of the need to preserve our planet.  I also have words and phrases like, this is the year, get richer, family, vacation, get fit, save the world, own home, financial freedom, love, good health equals good business, etc.  I think you got the idea.  My dream board is the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night before I go to bed.  I have it hanging right next to my bed as a reminder to me of why I am here.  Put your dream board in a place that you will see it very often; this will serve as your reminder and be your motivation.

            Another thing you can do is post pictures or notes to yourself in the bathroom, on the fridge, on your computer, at your desk, etc.  The idea is to put positive, purposeful things in front of you frequently and in places that you pass by and are at most often.  These constant reminders will lead to new dendrite and synaptic nerve formations and start reprogramming your subconscious mind.

            Now that you can see the light at the end of the tunnel and have a crystal vision, it’s time to design a plan to get from here to there.  The first thing to do is set clear, realistic goals.  Make yourself short term goals and long term goals.  Short term goals could be I will not smoke a cigarette today or I will not cheat on my meal plan today.  I will exercise 4 days this week.  I will save $50 this month.  These are great examples of short term goals that are realistic, attainable and that have a timeline.  Long term goals could be I will save $1,000 this year, I will lose 20lbs this year, and I will buy a home in 5 years.  Take time out everyday to review your plan, this will help you stick to it and keep you motivated to perform those daily tasks necessary to reach your goals.  When you reach your goals reward yourself.  Rewards could be a night out at your favorite restaurant, a new outfit, a vacation or time off, a day of pampering at the spa or country club.  Whatever you enjoy, reward yourself according to the goals you reach.  The harder the goal is to reach, the greater the reward for yourself.

The second step in planning is to get organized.  It is so much easier to operate when you know where everything is at.  De-cluttering your environment is the first step in de-cluttering your mind. Cleaning up your work space and household helps regulate your life, so you can focus on the important things.   You are a product of your product, so practice, practice, practice.  Practice staying organized, practice keeping things efficient and practice planning.  Develop a schedule and plan out your day.  Having a game plan is a great way to get started.  Plan your meals, plan your workouts, plan for personal time, and stick to it. 

Make an agreement with yourself that you will stick to your plan.  Have a specific time for your activities and be committed to them.  I don’t feel like it and I’m tired is not an excuse, those are reasons for you to stick to your plan and keep your agreement to yourself.  To create even more efficiency in your life, make a task list for the following day and then rank the tasks according to priority.  Take care of priority number one first and then work your way down the list, checking each task off one by one.  When you do this, you find you have more time to get things done through out the day.

            Thirdly, be accountable.  Make a contract with yourself, write it down, print it out and sign and date it.  Now you have taken action and made a commitment and its right there in front of you.  Put this in a place where you will see it often as a reminder of commitment to yourself and your dreams. 

            If you have trouble with goals, with planning, with decision making or taking action, then hire a professional to help you out.  Professionals are there to help you reach your goals.  They are pro’s, because they know their business inside and out.  If you have trouble with finances, hire a financial planner, if you know you won’t workout or don’t know how, then hire a personal trainer.  You wouldn’t hire a mechanic to fix your broken leg, so why do you try to accomplish everything by yourself when you know that you don’t know it all.  Save time, headache and heartache by seeking out professional help in areas that are not your strengths.

            Another thing I do to stay the course is read motivational and inspirational books.  I am always trying to keep my life in balance…mind, body and spirit.  One of the most influential books I ever read is by Eckhart Tolle, “The Power of Now”.  In my opinion, this book lays it out, it is all about now.  Each moment in your life matters, and being in the moment and staying present is the key.  Being in the now you don’t take things for granitite, you take them for what they are, experiences.  Life is all about experiences, the more you have the more you can connect with others and the more you learn about yourself.  This book also helps in making you look at the positive side of things; you can learn something from every person, from every situation, no matter how bad it may seem at the time, the right thing will happen for you.

            Other things that have helped me out are meditation and yoga.  This allows me to relax and clear my mind of the daily clutter.  I just take 10 - 20 minutes a day to meditate, or sit outside in a quiet area, close my eyes and just focus on my breathing.  The easiest meditative technique is just to count your breathes, 1 - 10 and then back down again.  Don’t focus on anything but counting your breathes, let the thoughts that come into your head exit just as quickly.  I try the same technique when doing yoga.  Just breathe through each posture, relaxing the mind and stretching those tight muscles.  This also helps keep you in the moment, staying in the “Now”.

            One last tip for getting motivated is music.  I use music to ease into my meditation, to relax me in traffic, or to give me energy for my workouts.  Music can soothe the soul, or get your adrenaline going.  One song that gets me pumped up for a workout is “Eye of the Tiger”.  Every time I hear it my heart rate increases, the blood starts to flow, and my mindset changes into overdrive I am focused on my workout, and raring to go.  On the other side of the spectrum, when I need to relax and de-stress, I listen to classical, new age, or sounds of the earth music.  This helps me slow down my breathing, calm my nerves, and quiet my mind.  Find the music and the beats that move you.  Listen carefully and pay attention to how certain music makes you feel, and then you can create play lists and cd’s for particular moods.

            “Motivated for life” is about finding what works for you.  I hope all these tips and suggestions will guide you on your path to taking control of your life.  Enjoy, and bask in the energy of positive thinking and eliminate all negative self talk and energy from you days.  Remember, we only have this opportunity, this body, once, so make the best of it.  Live in the now, live in the moment, be where you are, be here now, be present in every second of your life, get in touch with yourself and your inner being.  Find your passion, your desire and focus on that, and you will be “motivated for life”.

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