We all have moments where our motivation has gone on vacation and left us with an uninspiring to do list, right? In recent years I have noticed more people are asking me for help on how to get motivated. And in the warmer Michigan months I simply want to be at Lake Michigan all day long which can impact my motivation!!!!

We live in a stressful, distracted, information overloaded world all of which can smother our motivation. So if you struggle with motivation, you are not alone and I totally get it.

#MindsetShift: Did you know that motivation does not come from outside of you?  It comes from within you.

It comes from a thought that you created, which then creates a feeling and an action and a result. Maybe the thought was “I don’t know what step to take next,” which created the feeling of discouragement, defeat, or shame, which created the action of non-action, and the result was not taking any step toward your goal and declaring “I have no motivation.” 

I love to give my clients and students the example of listening to a motivational speaker. You get so ramped up with excited energy that you believe “I’m going to CRUSH THIS!!!!” You are totally on fire! And then the next day you are back to your normal life and habits, lacking motivation, and that goal you were going to achieve is sitting in a box called “Unmotivated.” So what happened?

Whether it’s a motivational speaker, a blog post, a podcast or a movie that motivates you, the motivating energy in that moment is coming from someone else. When that person is gone, it is difficult to sustain that motivated energy because it was not your energy. It is this energy that causes us to follow people on social media, listen to their podcasts or YouTube videos so that the person’s motivational energy is in our daily lives. But it’s not sustainable. Because if all you do is spend time listening to these motivational people, when do you have the time to work on your goal?

#MindsetShift: Motivation must be a fire that comes from within you.

This is why self-motivation is the goal. Otherwise you will not be able to sustain it.

So how can you self-motivate to achieve a goal?

Here are some tips that have worked for me over the years:

• Change your thought about being unmotivated. I learned this process of breaking down a block from one of my amazing coaches and it REALLY works! Instead of having the thought that you are unmotivated, what if you changed it to “I know one step I can take toward achieving my goal.” That creates a feeling of empowerment and focus to take action to do that one thing. And the result is that you feel good and joyful about what you did. And then you do it over and over again. We can change our thoughts at any time … we just have to be proactive about it and decide to do it.
• Make a decision and commit that you will take daily steps toward your goal. For any goal, there are usually just a few steps that must be taken daily which will compound. Write down those goals and put them in a place where you will see them daily. And then DO THEM! When you take steps based on how you are feeling or whether you have time in your schedule, it is easy to make excuses and not take the steps. When you decide and commit, you will take the steps even if you do not feel your best and have limited time. Commit to daily action! This will compound and you will find the momentum that invariably will excite you and keep the fire going. And that internal excitement of fire is motivating.
• Do not worry if you have not found your why. You may think that if you have a strong “why” it will motivate you into action. While it may be partially true, I can tell you that a “why” is not the be-all and end-all to achieving a goal. There have been many goals I have successfully achieved without even thinking about the why. 
• Focus on what brings you joy. When you enjoy the steps toward achieving a goal, that will light the fire in you and keep you motivated. It’s self-motivation lit from within even if you have not found your why! Find the joy in the steps toward your goal and do those every day!
• Change your words. Do you post about how unmotivated you are? Do you criticize and shame yourself for not being motivated? Stop that! You’re being really hard on yourself and that will throw water on your fire and zap your motivation. Speak life into your goal and into yourself. Stop yourself every time you say “I am not motivated” and change it to “I am taking a step toward my goal.” Encourage yourself with positive words because words have energy. Place your hand on your throat when you speak words and you will feel the vibrational energy. Be mindful of this. Put words and energy out of what you want, not what you don’t want.
• Smell calming & focusing essential oils. Citrus oils are amazing to calm the mind and focus it at the same time. If your mind is bouncing all over the place and cannot settle down to figure out the next step, that will impact your motivation. This is when essential oils like Orange, Tangerine, and Lemon can help to calm the monkey mind so you can focus. My Young Living favorite blends are Citrus Fresh and Peace & Calming to refocus my mind and get my thoughts back on tract. And then Abundance topically applied on the bottom of my feet (to motivate my steps with an abundant mindset) and Motivation topically applied over my solar plexus and in the diffuser while I work. They really work.
• Raise your frequency with self-motivating crystals like Carnelian, Citrine, and Stellar Beam Calcite are all amazing self-motivation crystals. When I am working on something and need to stay very motivated, I will sit on them. Seriously! I put them in between my legs in my office chair. Or put the crystals in your pockets or bra! Wowsa, it really works!
• Stop seeking motivation outside of yourself. When you are not motivated you do not need another book, another training program, or another pep talk. You do not need to waste time scrolling through social media looking for a motivational hit or another “you can do it” post. Those will give you short-term boosts in motivation. When you can focus on motivating yourself with the suggestions listed above, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.

So when you are feeling unmotivated, give these ideas a try to light that fire inside of you. And please post a comment to let me know what worked for you or if you have another suggestion of what helps you that may help someone else!

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