Finding It Hard to Get Motivated? You Have the Power to Make It Easy!

It’s July, and not only do we have a new theme for the month – “You Have the Power to Grow” – but we’re also “off and running” with our first-ever nationwide virtual fundraising event, Move With Courage. Maybe our challenge to encourage movement of ANY kind, to help you improve your physical and mental health, will give you some extra motivation and self-discipline, which happens to be our topic for this week.

We know that most people want to become better versions of themselves, but we also know it’s not easy. Having a growth mindset requires a willingness to work at it, to take on some risk, and to persist. It also requires a great amount of motivation and self-discipline, two traits that can be hard to sustain when the responsibilities of our daily lives get in the way of self-growth.

But it can be easy, too! One of the best ways I know to get motivated is to discover your “why” and set goals that you want to achieve. Ask yourself: How do I want to grow? What do I want to be different? Why do I want to do this? Once you’ve identified your reasons for setting a goal and made a plan to achieve it, your motivation to stick with that plan becomes much easier.

And when you’re motivated, you’re willing to do hard things to achieve your goal. That’s where self-discipline comes in – making yourself do the things you know you should do, even when you don’t want to do them. Motivation and self-discipline go hand in hand. Once you know your “why,” you may find a self-discipline, willingness, and empowerment for growth that you didn’t know you had.

It’s also important for your plan to be a smart one, based on YOUR strengths, YOUR past successes, and YOUR likelihood to stick with your plan. It’s OK to start small – baby steps can lead to giant steps. But sometimes it can help to try something new, as well. Some of the best ideas come from a willingness to explore, and trying something new can revive your motivation if it starts to wane.

For some ideas if movement is your goal, check out our Micro-Challenges calendar, which we set up for our Move With Courage challenge, to help keep you moving through July.

Whatever your goals are, it’s important to just get started. Taking action by itself can be a boost to your motivation to accomplish new things. And with each new accomplishment, YOU become that much stronger.