Before you even attempt to apply any of the techniques listed below and learn about how to motivate yourself, you need to delve deep within yourself to understand the reason behind your need for motivation.
Obviously, there is some physical, mental or moral/emotional disturbance or imbalance within you. Something is wrong somewhere and you need to find out this reason first.
Physical disturbances:
Are you overweight? Do you think you are fat? Or are you really fat? Do you think you are ugly and not blessed with thick hair or lovely skin? Are you short and feel nobody notices you because of your height? Do you wish to be like that gorgeous looking model?
Now, think….seriously! You can overcome your obesity or overcome the problem of being overweight by following a fitness schedule. But you cannot change your complexion or your height. Again, by eating a sensible diet and exercising regularly you can improve the health of your hair and skin – but cannot drastically change it.
So, why fret over things that are beyond your control? Focus on what you can do and be happy with the physical features that you were born with. It is yours for ever and you just need to take care of it properly.
If you are looking for motivation to improve some aspect of your physical body – you need to understand that it is the easiest thing to do. Most physical problems can be dealt with by following a proper diet and exercise regimen.
Mental disturbances:
Are you stressed out? Do you have to work long hours to make ends meet? Is there some financial strain in the family? Are you facing some domestic/family problems at home? Are they any behavioral problems related to your children or senior members of the family? Do you feel respected at home and in your work place? Do you suffer from a low self-esteem? Are you happy with the job? Do you feel like quitting your job?
Once you analyze the cause of your mental disturbance, you can work towards finding solutions to improve the quality of your lives.
Emotional/moral disturbances:
Do you lose your temper often due to the stress you are facing? Do you feel guilty about it later on? Do you regret not making full use of some opportunity that you passed up a while back? Do you feel people love you only when you give them what they want? Do you feel no one loves you just the way you are? Nobody accepts you the way you are? Do you feel jealous of other successful people in your organization? Do you feel the organization was unfair to you? Do you feel that some people were born lucky?
Hmm….now you know where the real problem is don’t you? There should be a good balance between your thoughts, your feelings and your health. Your mind, heart and body need to be viewed holistically. Only then you will know how to motivate yourself.
How to motivate yourself physically:
Perhaps you never had time to exercise or have recently suffered from some health setback or simply want to focus on your physical body now. Whatever the reason, the key ways to get your body back into shape or remain in shape and to recover the balance between the body, mind and heart are listed below.
Understand the connection between the mind, body and heart:
The first step is to begin from outside and work inwards. You need to make a start by looking after your physical body first. Once you learn how to motivate yourself physically, you can go to the next step quickly.
Begin by simply going for a short walk:
Start with a five minute walk. Try to go for a morning walk. Spend time with nature if possible. Listen to the music created by the birds and insects. Even a short walk will refresh you because you are breathing in fresh air. All your cells are happy because they are getting additional oxygen.
Focus on a fitness regimen:
If you are overweight, stop over thinking. Don’t worry about what others are seeing or thinking. You just focus on getting your body in shape. Jog, skip, join a gym, go for brisk walks, get some fitness motivation etc. Follow some fitness regimen that suits your lifestyle. Don’t join a gym because it is the latest fad. Join one if it really helps you. Some people find it very stressful. They prefer to go out for long walks. Do whatever suits you. Only then you will be motivated to be consistent about it. You need to know how to motivate yourself by trying out different things before understanding what works best for you.
Accept your body just the way it is:
Whether you are short or tall, have thin hair or frizzy hair, cribbing about it is not going to help. Love your body just the way it. More importantly love you first. Stand in front of a mirror and focus on the positive aspects of your body. You will realize that you have lovely sparkling eyes and great legs that carry your slim structure well. Wear clothes that enhance your positive aspects and use some cosmetics to take care of the texture of your hair. Wear heels to make you look tall and wear clothes that suit you. These problems can be taken care of with the right accessories. Don’t fret and fume and wonder about it for your entire life!
Eat sensibly:
Don’t torture your body by going on crash diets. Eat small frequent healthy meals. Cut out the refined food and the aerated drinks. Try some plain drinking water. Eat a lot of salads and fruits. They are simple recipes that are highly nutritious and they can be cooked in minutes. Download some healthy recipes and see how yummy they are. Essentially you are just changing your habits and nourishing your body properly for the first time.
Once your physical body starts getting into shape, you will automatically start feeling better emotionally. You will feel you have some control over your mind.
How to motivate yourself mentally:
Too much of mental stress can lead to a heart attack. We all know that – and now understand the connection between the mind and the heart better.
Physical exercises reduce stress levels to a great extent:
Follow all the points listed above to improve the state of your mind and heart.
Meditate:
Hundreds of thoughts flit about in your mind every minute. Meditating for as little as 10 minutes a day reduces the speed of these thoughts, helps you get rid of all the negative thoughts, and helps curb anxiety and tension. The quality of your sleep is superb if you practise meditation regularly. It is one of the best stress reducing techniques with no side effects at all.
Socialize:
Interacting with other likeminded people will refresh your perspectives. Choose your friends wisely and select the company that you keep at all times. If you are surrounded by negative people, find ways and means of dealing with such people. Let their negativity not affect you.
Never compare:
If you keep comparing yourself to other people, you are going to get frustrated very soon. Know that you are a unique human being. Understand that all of us are blessed with different talents. Pursue your talents with zeal so that you can channelize all your potential properly.
Don’t let criticism affect you:
Often, the people whom you love the most will pass the most hurtful remarks. Don’t take such remarks personally. Know that you are a good human being. Don’t retaliate in anger and worsen the situation. Agree to disagree. Apologize if necessary and move on with life. Don’t let past disagreements affect you. Keep a journal or make notes in your phone. Soon, you will realize how immature you were in your behavior last week or yesterday. Detaching yourself from the situation helps. Recording the happenings of each day – will automatically help you focus on the good things in life.
It is your life. You are unique. Understand this. It is your business to motivate yourself. Don’t seek outside help for motivation. Most problems begin and end in your mind.
How to motivate you emotionally:
Pride, jealousy, anger, hurt, ego is all skewed aspects of love. Love means honesty and transparency. When people don’t get the love, attention and care that they are looking for – all these negative aspects of love will enter your life.
Express yourself emotionally:
Share your emotions with a loved one. Cry; express your anger or your hurt or your angst to them. Vent out all your frustration by discussing things freely with them. You will feel much better after crying your heart out. You will be able to sleep well when you have expressed yourself emotionally.
Forget and forgive:
Don’t nurse grudges against others. Forget and forgive them. Yes, I know it is difficult but it is not really impossible. It just needs to be practiced consciously. And venting out our fury or frustration helps us to forget and forgive.
Love unconditionally:
Know that love cannot happen when you place umpteen conditions on it. Your children will grow up with minds and hearts of their own. They will make their own decisions and ignore your advice totally. If you want others to accept you with your flaws, learn to accept others with their flaws.
Pursue your passions:
You have to work to sustain yourself. You may not really be thrilled by your job but the pay is decent so you stick on. Create time to nurture your hobbies and your talents. When you spend some time everyday doing something you love, you will automatically feel happy. Don’t simply plunk yourself in front of the TV or the computer and watch crazy TV shows or browse mindlessly. Be careful about what you are feeding to your mind and heart.
Spend time with your loved ones:
Make it a rule that dinner time is gadget less time. No TV, no checking mails or talking over the phone or Facebook etc. Add quality to your life by discussing your feelings, ideas and opinions with your loved ones. Relationships turn sour and bitter because they are starved of love. And love needs a lot of time and open discussion. Go out for long drives with your wife and kids. Go out for a day trip or a hike on a long weekend. Spend some of your hard earned money by taking a well-deserved break regularly every year. Twice in a year is better!
Once you recover your health and your body is back in shape half your problems will get over. Exercising fills you up with energy and make you mentally and emotionally stronger. Following these simple and achievable steps will enhance the quality of your lives to a great extent. You don’t really need a manual to learn how to motivate yourself. You just need to follow your instincts and allow them to guide you.
