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Staying motivated to reach your goals and follow through with your plans has got to be one of the easiest, yet hardest tasks to do. At the beginning of the year, I had a few things that I wanted to stay on top of at least for a few months…. I was halfway in January and that plan had already gone to shhh…. Well, why even say!

I even bought myself a new bullet journal to draw and scribble out my thoughts and ideas of my road to success. I stayed on it for a few days… Which was a really good thing, Even that surprised me! However, I really thought I could have kept up for at least the full month of January.

Now, Let’s be honest…. It’s super easy to say to one another that in order to reach your goals you have to be consistent and want to achieve this. But it is quite possible to want to achieve your goals, and get knocked off track due to the high demands of life. I get it, boy do I get it! I haven’t written a blog in a month, so trust me when I say, I GET IT!

So, I thought of what I changed this time around that has helped me stay motivated. It’s simply about BEING INTENTIONAL!

Write it out step by step
Yes, writing things out actually does help your process in anything! Feeling down, write it down. Feeling stressed, write it down. Have too much on your mind that you need to get done, write it down. Have a journal ready or even write it down in your calendar. Check it off each day after completing the task. In my bullet journal, I have my days of the month written out and each day one of my many tasks is to read Four books to my son before bed time. Everyday, I open up my bullet journal and check each of my tasks off. It helps, but you have to keep up with the other 3 steps below to stay persistent with this. Everyday tasks are what lead up to your reached goals. It’s a process that does take time, but everyday you accomplish that task is what makes anything achievable. Be intentional in writing things out and staying persistent with it.

Time blocks every day
Schedule time blocks into your day, DAILY! Without this you will find yourself too busy to carry out these tasks. This is the reason why we don’t stay consistent, because we don’t MAKE time. We typically make goals, write out our plans, and land to this point where most goals/plans fall through. Life will always be too busy and will still throw challenges your way to further distract you. Our excuse is ALWAYS, “I don’t have time”. “I couldn’t do it today, but tomorrow I’ll get to it”. “I was too busy today….” We have all used these phrases and they suck! Time isn’t going to fall on your lap to help you get these things done. You have to take it upon yourself to block time for you. Whether it is to make time for meditation for 15 mins. or to workout for 30 mins or even to just kick your feet up and destress for 10 mins, this all has to be done by you making the time for it. Time blocks are 100% effective! Be intentional about it to make it happen.

Just do it
No one wakes up at 5am and is excited to jump out of bed and start their HIIT workout. But the one thing you have to train your mind to do is to – Just Do It! You are never going to want to do what is challenging in life. The easy road- Oh, how we love it! Though, where does it lead us really? To the same spot that we are already in. If you want changes in your life, you’ve got to start changing that part of your mind. That doesn’t only go for the HIIT work out aspect of your life, but going to work, getting started on your own business and dealing with all kinds of dead-ends and headaches. It also goes for changing your mind from thinking the usual negative thoughts you think of on the daily to positive ones that will push you to keep moving forward in confidence. It goes for anything and everything. Hear me when I tell you, JUST DO IT! Don’t even give yourself the chance to change your own mind about going after something. Just go and do it, get it, accomplish it, own it! You are the only one stopping you from doing what needs to be done to stay motivated enough to get to where you truly want to be.

Sit with that feeling of accomplishment afterward
Lastly, this is the one step that will motivate you enough to want to do it again tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after, and so on. This one step is the one that makes all the difference! We all enjoy that sense of accomplishment. Even as kids it made us feel good about ourselves. Remember counting to 10 without skipping any numbers and giving your mom a high five because you did it! You knew you accomplished something! It’s no different now. It’s human nature to live for that feeling again, that feeling of, “WE DID IT!”. No matter how big or how small, that feeling is the best and perhaps the one feeling that will keep you pushing forward toward your tasks. Enjoy that feeling when you feel your muscles burning after your 1 hour long workout. Enjoy that feeling when you mark that goal off your list. Enjoy that feeling when you finally made the decision to stick with your plans for the day and were intentional about it. Sit with it so you can want it even more the next day.

Intentionally Motivated

Being intentional about staying motivated is a certain way to reach your many goals without getting side tracked by everything else that is going on in your life. Being intentional helps you stay focused on the prize- the prize of feeling better about your self-worth, the prize of finally accomplishing what you have been accomplishing for the past 3 years, etc. Be intentional about staying motivated and just see the difference and how far it gets you. You’ll wonder why you never thought of this concept before. As I said in the beginning of this article, staying on track is one of the easiest, yet hardest things to do. It all depends on you.

Goals are part of everyone’s lives whether they know it or not. Some goals are for fun while others are necessary to improve the quality of life. Many common goals that we often hear about are weight loss goals. However, there are different needs for everyone. Someone’s goal may be to cut back on their pain killers, because its affecting their life negatively. Meanwhile, someone else’s goal is to save money to go to Disney World. No matter what the goal is that you are trying to reach, know that it is reachable and it can be done. This particular goal has already been achieved by someone else perhaps in a different way, none the less, you too can achieve this in your own way.

Achieving goals have a way of making us feel accomplished. It gives us the inspiration that is essential to aim for things we never thought possible. It pushes us to live our best lives. Reaching our goals give us even more reason to get up everyday and be the best that we can be. Here are a few steps that I think will help you reach your goal no matter what it is.

1. Choose one goal at a time:
Working towards multiple goals can have you feeling unfocused. You must choose one goal to accomplish at a time to avoid becoming overwhelmed and quitting before you even begin. This is where patience and prioritizing plays an integral part in your goal planning.

2. Live everyday toward that goal:
You have to constantly push yourself higher and harder everyday until you reach your goal. This formula is your key to success. You can’t skip one day. It gets hard, it gets tiring, but if you stop now you risk taking another break tomorrow and so on, causing you to eventually give up on your goal.

3. Have a strong desire and will to achieve that goal:
You have to want to reach your goal in order for you to reach your goal. You must be disciplined enough to work toward it even when it feels impossible to keep going. There will be long days, but you must have the burning desire needed to pull it off.

4. Envision your goal already being reached:
To reach your dreams you have to picture it in your mind daily. Create your vision. Hold it in your mind. Write it out or draw a picture. This allows you to feel it, hear it, and want it so much that you become unstoppable.

5. Remind yourself why you want to reach that goal:
There is a reason why this goal is on your list. Whether it is for self-improvement or a life or death situation, you must remind yourself the importance of achieving this. This is the one thing that will keep you hanging on when you feel like giving up.

6. Do not stray from your plan to reach that goal:
You have a plan, now you have to stick with it. Yes, there may be changes here and there and there will certainly be hurdles you have to jump over, but this process is totally worth it. Stick to your plan regardless of the changes that will be made throughout the entire time.

Don’t wait until you have reached your goal to be proud of yourself. Every step you take everyday toward reaching your goal is progress and that in itself is something to be proud of. You can’t do it all today, but you can do it. Remember: Rome wasn’t built in one day. Your goals can be reached with persistence, patience, and actions toward their direction every single day. Now, are you ready to reach your goals?