Are You Having Problems Starting on Your Goals? Motivational Tips

By Ingrid Snellings

Have you ever set goals that you know will benefit you only to find that you lack the energy and motivation to begin?  Do you find yourself filling your day with activities, but not designating the time necessary to work on goals?  Do you feel disappointed, maybe even angry, with yourself for your lack of motivation?  Have you been frustrated wondering what is getting in the way of achieving your goals?

I have experienced this in the past and have recently struggled with it in starting my new business.  I have the education and the experience necessary to do the work, but I cannot seem to make myself take the steps to start it!  Why not?  I want to do it, so what is standing in my way? Am I lazy?  Am I afraid of failure?  Am I afraid of doing something new? Do I feel overwhelmed by my goals? My confidence level is not at its best and I am questioning my abilities.

When I think back at different times of my life, there were periods when I successfully achieved difficult goals, and juggled multiple tasks.  For example, I went to university, worked part-time, and was successful in my classes.  With a busy schedule I managed to exercise regularly, read voraciously for entertainment, and have a social life.  Past periods of success can be used as an anchor to remind yourself of your capabilities when you were at your best.  Use these successes to help boost your confidence and assure yourself that you have what it takes to achieve present goals!  Use past successes as a strategy when you feel discouraged. 

Experiencing a lack of motivation is a common issue for people and stands in the way of starting a new program or progressing forward as challenges and goals evolve.  Exploring why a new program or goal is important to you and how it will impact your life in a positive manner is the first step towards encouraging motivation and maintaining momentum throughout the process of change.

The first steps are to clearly define what your goals are, to ascertain whether your goals are in alignment with your values, vision, means, and abilities, and determining why they are important.  By asking myself questions, such as, am I lazy, or do I fear failure, it helped me to explore why I chose this goal and solidifying its worth in my mind.  Make your goals as clear and as concrete as possible.  Having a clear goal in mind will make the next steps easier. Write your goals down and the reasons why achieving them are important to you.  Solidifying why your goals are important will help provide the motivation. Put some time and thought in this initial stage.

The next process is to break up the goal into small steps.  It is great if you can achieve more than you think you can, but can feel like a setback if you make the steps large, as in length of time or in difficulty, and you do not achieve steps as planned.  Be realistic about how much time, effort, or money it may take to work through steps. Be flexible as you may need to make adjustments by adding new ones or dropping others. Do you need more education or skills to achieve your goal? I certainly discovered that I need to learn new skills with starting a business, such as, how to market my business, how to use social media as a marketing tool, and how to create social media content. It feels overwhelming at times as I have to add more steps to my already long list!

Think about any obstacles that may make achieving your goals more difficult.  What do you need to do to overcome them?  Are any of the obstacles your belief in yourself, your abilities, or perhaps feeling worthy of your goals?  If you have negative thoughts that are interfering with achieving your goals, you need to work on ridding yourself of them and replacing them with more realistic, productive thoughts.  See my blog on how to restructure negative thoughts: https://www.betterlivinggoals.com/post/breaking-the-cycle-overcoming-negative-thoughts-and-beliefs.

If these negative beliefs or thoughts are overwhelming or too strong to work through on your own, perhaps you need to talk with a professional counsellor, therapist, or social worker who can help you to restructure negative thoughts and replace them with more productive ones.  Our own thoughts can be a burden and an obstacle that can sometimes be difficult to overcome.  Everyone deserves to work on improving their lives, be successful in achieving goals, and to feel fulfilled. 

Be prepared and flexible in encountering unexpected setbacks as well.  If you are trying to lose weight or become more physically active, for example, you might experience days when your plans do not go as expected.  That is okay.  Tomorrow is another day and you can begin again!  Do not let setbacks or unexpected events sabotage your goals.  Just begin again the next day and accept that the past is the past.  Be kind to yourself.  Doing something new takes time, practice, and patience as you develop new habits and ways of thinking, and getting used to changes in your daily routine.

Next is determining how you will be accountable for working towards your goals.  You are responsible for your progress.  Here are some suggestions on how to be accountable:

• Keep a journal and write down what you do daily to work towards your goals and your progress through the steps.

• Share your goals, progress, and difficulties with a trusted, supportive friend or spouse. 

• Join a support group either in person or on social media that is pursuing similar goals. You may find new ideas and strategies.  I have a friend who joined a Facebook group on eating healthier and she has gotten new recipes, support, and encouragement.

• If you cannot find the type of group that is working on a similar goal, perhaps you can start a group of your own!  Being the creator of a group can be motivating and help you to be accountable as you will have others who are depending on you for ideas and support.

It is also important to celebrate your successes.  What will be a meaningful way in which to celebrate your progress?  Include others in celebrating your progress.

Most important is to just start! Sometimes one can be looking for the "right" feeling before beginning on goals, the feeling of being motivated, but often that feeling does not come until one begins their journey.  Getting started and seeing that you are working through the steps you have outlined for yourself can help you develop motivation and momentum. 

In Summary:

1. Clearly define your goal, determine if it is in alignment with your values, and why it is important to achieve.

2. Break your goal up into small steps.

3. Plan how to navigate obstacles.

4. Expect setbacks - forget about them and move on.

5. Set up how you will be accountable for your progress.

6. Celebrate successes!

7. Just start.

Explore resources on motivation.  I found that helpful.  There are lots of videos and articles online that have useful information and tips on how to get started and stay motivated throughout your journey on improving your life and achieving important goals.

As a Health & Wellness Coach, my role is to be a support person that collaborates with you on setting goals, defining steps, recognizing obstacles, providing motivation, and encouraging you to become more independent and accountable on your journey towards better living. Contact me for more information or for personalized support

References:

Brehm, B. A., Colberg, S. R., Fassbender, J. E., Finn, L., Fogg-Phillips, L., Franklin, B. A., Jo, S., Matthews, J. A., Muth, N. D., Pagoto, S., Pettitt, C. D., Read, B., Skinner, J. S., Zize, M. (2019). The Professional's Guide to Health and Wellness Coaching. American Council on Exercise.