How do you stay motivated?

At its core, motivation is rooted in escape or, said differently, the desire to change.

The two drivers for motivation are dissatisfaction with the current state and the hope or vision that things can get better. Without these drivers, there is no motivation.

Dissatisfaction with how things are doesn’t necessarily mean unhappiness, although it can. It can also come from a feeling or knowing that you can improve on your current circumstances.

Then there’s hope. You might have heard the Bible verse, “without vision, the people will perish.” Well, hope and vision are related. Hope is the thought, the idea of a better future. But for hope to help you stay motivated, your vision of your future must be transformative. It must be big enough to pull you towards it regardless of the challenges you’ll face along the way.

According to research, there are three components of motivation. They are activation, persistence, and intensity. Obviously, there’s no movement without activation, but the key, the linchpin, is persistence. Your intensity will wax and wane based on many factors, but you must maintain a level of consistency. Use your vision of your future to help you stay consistent.

So, the next time you find yourself in a situation where your motivation to accomplish a goal or task is fading, go back and revisit why you started down that path in the first place. Find the reasons that prompted you to want to make a change in your life and see if they’re still valid, and move you towards change. If they are, then re-ignite your motivation by refocusing on your vision and move consistently towards it.

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