Motivation
Stay Motivated By Keeping A Journal
Stay Motivated By Keeping A Journal

Think back to the last time you had a surge of motivation. Try to remember how it made you feel. What was going through your mind then? If you can’t remember, that’s okay. Just be ready for it when it happens again. If you do remember or find it’s happening again, considering recording your thought processes in a journal.
Sometimes, when you can jar your memory on how you got motivated or stayed motivated, you can reproduce that again. If you record your feelings and actions in a journal, you can simply refer to the journal anytime you need to get that back.
Consider using an actual paper journal rather than recording online. Documents tend to get lost online, and people often forget. With a physical journal in front of you, it will show itself at every moment.
This way when you need that push, you can simply open up the journal and start reading. However, if you feel that you can make it work with an online journal, go for it.
You can also record motivational tips from others into your journal that you find. This gives you more to draw from when you have a need to motivate. Sometimes, these tips can happen in the strangest places, so make sure you have a way of capturing if you don’t have your journal with you for some reason.
Another benefit to keeping a journal about your motivations is you could eventually turn it into a book and sell it. Self-help and motivation is a huge topic for both eBooks and courses.
Also, the fact that you are drawing from true situations that you experience will go a long way when producing your book. People love true stories about motivation.
Don’t worry about what you write in your journal. The key is to keep consistent with it. If you write something that doesn’t make sense or is silly, either disregard it or remove it from your journal.
Are You More Motivated To Do Things For Others Than Yourself?

When you find a job, you try to do your best work for your employer. Assuming you work for a decent company, they will recognize you for performing well. If you’re lucky, you may even get a raise and a promotion. If you are good at your job, why don’t you start working for yourself and reap the rewards?
People who start their own business often find they are less motivated when the rubber meets the road. In theory, it sounds great to be your own boss. But, the reality sets in, and you now have to handle every aspect of your business. This is something you didn’t have to do when working for someone else.
It’s much easier to do what others say than it is to motivate yourself to run your business. First, we are not born with business acumen. We need to learn how to run a business, and we need to find people willing to pay us for our products and services. Even when we do learn these crucial concepts, there’s no guarantee that we’ll succeed with them.
The manager or boss took responsibility to know what needs to get done and hands out assignments accordingly. The manager is also taking on problems that you may run into and deals with other outside entities, so you don’t have to.
When you run things for yourself, you have none of those working for you. It’s all incumbent upon you to take care of everything. Even if you hire others, you are now the boss. There is no longer any buffer. You are it.
Hiring people can still be a great way to take some of the responsibilities off of your plate. For instance, if you don’t have time to bring in new business, hire a good salesperson or team. Pay them well and let them take on this task.
If you can’t deal with billing, hire someone for this task as well. There are third-party services that you can use, so you don’t have to increase your staff count.
This is not meant to discourage you from branching out on your own. You just have to be aware that it’s a whole different arrangement than when you worked for someone else.
Are Incentives Good Motivation For Businesses?

The news is always harping on about tax breaks or other incentives given to businesses to attract or keep them in a town, state or country.
These stories often present the dark side of incentives. It shows the evil giant corporation taking advantage of the state incentives. There is some truth to this, but without those incentives, those businesses will look elsewhere.
These businesses often get criticized for not being good corporate citizens in the areas where they get the incentives. They use up the resources of the community while giving little or nothing back.
The idea behind incentives is certainly a good one. Encourage businesses to build or update the business in exchange for tax breaks, tax credits, or some other benefit. This does motivate businesses to come or stay in that area. But, it is often a one-sided deal with the business driving the process. When this happens, the business gets to dictate the terms. This is why hiring tends to be less than they promised and community development from the business falls by the wayside.
Governments also like to save corporations when they get into trouble. Essentially, they throw money at the company in the hope that it will somehow magically start being profitable again. Money doesn’t help bad companies. It only prolongs the inevitable.
Some may argue that even if companies don’t hire the number of people they promised, at least they are hiring. There is some truth to this, but it’s at a cost to the taxpayer. Are the fewer number of employees going to generate enough economic benefit to make the incentives worthwhile?
It’s clear that businesses will be motivated to find the best incentives to set up shop. On the surface, it seems like it makes sense. However, what typically transpires is that it never works as well for the community as it was supposed to.
In the 1980’s, several Japanese companies set up business in the United States. Many of them refused to take the tax incentives at the time. They felt that the community needed the money and that the company is a member of the community.
As you can appreciate, changing the way you think can have a huge impact on your life, and if you want to know more about developing an inspirational mindset for success, please click on the featured resource below for a free Strong Mindset report; download, read it and take action 😊
The Importance Of Creative Visualization
The Importance Of Creative Visualization

Humans have developed to use our imaginations for all kinds of purposes. Whether it is for comfort, entertainment, safety, or protection, our own imagination performs many jobs in our day to day lives that we rarely, if ever, even think about.
Visualizing can be a powerful tool in our self-help and self-preservation toolkit. The process can be undertaken at any time of the day, in virtually any situation you can think of. All you really need is your brain, and since that’s already with you all the time, you’re all set!
Creative visualization is also a technique anyone can learn, yet it promises to give you your heart’s desires and set you on a course for personal success. What is this powerful tool, and can it really deliver what it promises?
Creative visualization is a specific way of using your imagination. It’s a cognitive process that consists of forming vivid mental images. You consciously change the images, which in turn changes your emotions about the subjects of the images. As you practice visualizing the future you want, you create that future. I can be incredibly motivating when done well, and we all need more motivation, don’t we?
Clearly, we will choose one outcome over the rest that appeals to us the greatest, and we can then focus on attaining that outcome.
You know how famous people often claim to have “visualized” their success long before it ever happened for them in real life? It’s the power of creative visualization that they are harnessing.
And once you see yourself as already having “achieved” your goal (whatever it may be), then your intuition and sense of “inner knowing” will light the proper path.
It doesn’t matter what the outcome is. You might be surprised to know that you can use creative visualization to attain any goal at all – there is no right or wrong.
- If you want weight loss, visualize yourself wearing clothes you love, and let yourself feel the confidence you have in your new body.
- If you want more money, visualize your ideal situation – your ideal location, home, companions, etc. What kind of work do you see yourself doing?
- If you want to travel, visualize yourself going to the airport, your luggage full of resort-wear. Imagine yourself on a warm and sunny beach, napping while you hear the waves of the ocean lapping up on the shore.
The next step, once the goal has been established, is to use your imagination to discover steps you can take to actually get to those places – the beach, the slimmer body, or making more money. A dream is only a dream if there is no action taken. Once you begin taking action, it’s a plan!
Creativity is so important in this process. Without creativity and imagination, you can’t envision what you want to have and what you want to be.
Use your imagination to fuel your future!
“Can Creative Visualization Help Me?”

No matter who you are, where you come from, or what your ultimate goals are, creative visualization can help you.
We all want to succeed in life, and success is going to mean something different to each individual person. When you consider it, every one of our ancestors was a success, because they continued to live and reproduce. That bodes well for our potential success, too!
To someone else success means a cabin in the woods with a woodstove and enough cut wood to make it comfortably through the winter. Success is completely subjective, and there are no right or wrong answers.
Creative visualization is one very powerful way to see yourself through to whatever success means to you. By visualizing the desired outcome, you can also creatively brainstorm the action steps you’ll need to take to get to that outcome.
Momentum is key here – once you’ve begun practicing creative visualization, you’ll begin to see changes in your life that you may never have expected!
Creative visualization has also been used very successfully to change negative ingrained habits into positive habits!
Let’s say you’re prone to procrastination. It’s clear what you need to do. You know the deadline as well. Yet, no matter how much you know what needs to be done, you still don’t do it.
At the end, you are always rushing to get the tasks done in time for the deadline, creating horrible stress for yourself, and doing a less than stellar job.
The next step would be to creatively visualize how you’d feel if you didn’t have that habit anymore. How great would it feel to have every work assignment scheduled out and delivered on time?
Maybe you’d even get a raise! And how awesome would it be to not have that last-minute stress of being under the gun with your projects?
Creative visualization can help you help yourself and turn your bad habits into positive action!
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Fear Based Motivation
Fear Based Motivation

Fear can be an effective catalyst for motivation. For example, if your boss tells you to get your project done on time or you will lose your job, you can be sure you’re going to do everything in your power to get that project done. You may resent your boss for doing this, but you are probably going to do as he or she wishes unless you are looking to get fired.
Another situation where fear will motivate you is when something crucial breaks in your home. It could be the furnace giving out in the middle of winter. You are at a point where you have no choice but to call for expensive repairs. If you don’t, you’ll risk the pipes freezing and being uncomfortable.
But, in the case of your boss harping on to you, is there a better way for him or her to handle the situation? Can you continually work in an environment based on that kind of fear?
It’s questionable whether motivation based on fear is sustainable. If you are an employee and there aren’t many jobs available as alternatives, you may feel like you have no choice but to comply. But, sometimes, this kind of negative working environment gets people more motivated to get out of the situation.
In other words, the motivation tactics may work in the short-term, but eventually, employers may experience a high turnover when those employees recognize there are other choices. The internet is a great equalizer in this regard as more people can choose to freelance on their terms.
Unfortunately, these managers don’t learn this until it’s too late. And even then, will they make any changes? Often, they make the justification that it’s the employee’s fault and they decided to leave.
Think about the impact you have if you are a manager trying to motivate your employees. If you have used fear as a motivator, is it something that has worked for you in the long-term? Or, did you simply set an environment where people couldn’t wait to get away?
Does Time Of Day Matter In Motivation?

Do you find you get more done in the morning? Or are you one of those types of people who like to work during the mid-part of the day? There are also those who are night owls and do their best work in the evening or night.
Is there an optimal time for your motivation or does it vary from day to day? People who claim to be morning people say they love that time because it is serene and gives them time to think. During the early morning hours, before 6:00 AM, for instance, the phones aren’t ringing. The rest of the family is asleep unless there is another morning person in your family. But hey, they get it too! They’ll both leave each other alone.
The night owls wait for people to go to bed and then they are in their sanctuary. It’s a long wind-down period for them, and in fact, many of them will fire up the coffee to make it last even longer. These are usually the light sleepers who believe they can get by with only three or four hours of sleep.
None of this is scientific. People seem to naturally give their best at the time of day they feel the most comfortable in. But, it seems like there is something to it, science aside. Just think about the people you live with. Which periods do they excel? Ask your co-workers which period they prefer? How about the people that live in their homes?
Whether there is statistical evidence to support this is not the point. Most people find the period that works best for them, and they tend to stick with that for a good portion of their lives. This is the one time when going outside your comfort zone may not be a good idea. If the time of day is right for you then just go with it and don’t fight it.
Do You Find Memes To Be Motivational?

People love memes. There all over the web. They are a sort of mini billboards if you will. They can tell a story in one shot with some text thrown it to help the message.
Many of them are created with the intent to motivate. For exercise, they show people in fantastic shape with a message stating, “This could be you,” or something like it. You see the message, and you get excited that it is possible. But, then the phone rings, and you are once again dealing with your routine.
You have to be careful of the message, though, especially when you are dealing with important subjects. Too many people pass off political memes as fact, and they usually are far from that. No one challenges these messages, and people tend to accept them as is. There have been instances of sayings associated with people who never said the sayings. The practice of not fact checking these memes is quite dangerous and leads to an increase in propaganda. This happens across party lines.
It does depend on the subject. Memes that try to motivate people to work out probably don’t need to be fact checked. They simply give you a vision of what you could look like if you were to exercise.
You also must be aware that many memes are created for marketing. Ultimately, they are trying to get you motivated to buy their products or sign up for their newsletter (which may eventually lead you to buy something). It’s not that there is anything wrong with this nor is it illegal or unethical. It’s just something you should consider when you view the memes.
Some people hate memes and want nothing to do with them. They believe they are manipulative and also because of the political reasons described above. These are probably not the people you want to target if you decide to use memes.
As you can appreciate, changing the way you think can have a huge impact on your life, and if you want to know more about developing an inspirational mindset for success, please click on the featured resource below for a free Strong Mindset report; download, read it and take action 😊
How To Act In Spite Of Your Fear
How To Act In Spite Of Fear

What makes successful people different to others? In all honesty there are a number of factors, but a lot of it boils down to taking action that others aren’t prepared to take.
And why don’t people take action? At the root of it is fear and this can manifest in a number of ways.
How do you overcome fear and take action anyway? Well, hopefully this article will give you some pointers to take action when you are scared and to help you overcome self-doubt.
Taking Action Even When You’re Scared To Death
Fear is a normal emotion. Sometimes, it can be beneficial because it makes you aware of risks, keeps you alert, and improves mental focus.
The key is to prevent it from dictating your actions.
The Many Shades OF Fear
This human emotion isn’t all black and white. Fear can take many forms, from mild anxiety to downright debilitating overthinking. Under certain circumstances, it can protect you from danger and stop impulsive behaviors.
But, because it’s closely tied into your gut instinct, it can also help you improve your decision making.
Let’s say you want to quit your 9-to-5 job and start a creative agency or work as a freelance web designer. You might be afraid that you’ll lose time and money if things don’t work out as you planned. What if you won’t have enough clients? Or what if you get sick and can’t work anymore?
The risks are real, so it’s normal to experience fear. However, you’ll never know what you’re missing if you don’t try. Who knows? You might have a huge success and build a loyal customer base.
Five years from now on, you could have enough money to buy the home of your dreams. Do you want to live your life wondering What if?
How To Conquer Your Fear
No matter how hard you try, you’ll never be able to get rid of fear completely. Instead, you should make it your ally.
Picture yourself reaching your goal, whatever it is. Imagine the worst-case scenario and then come up with a backup plan.
Use your fear as a source of guidance. Assess your inner fears and seek possible solutions. Using our example above, you could start a web design side hustle in addition to your regular job.
This way, if your business fails, you’ll still have an income. If it keeps growing, turn it into a full-time job. With this approach, you’ll get to do what you want and mitigate risks.
6 Tips For Getting A Grip On Self-Doubt

Did you know that a whopping 85 percent of people have low-esteem? This issue affects their personal and professional lives, including their careers, their health, and their salaries.
These personality traits appear to be more common among women. They develop in childhood and either exacerbate or diminish with time.
If self-doubt plagues you, check out these tips to boost your confidence and trust yourself more:
Accept Yourself
Self-doubt is part of being human. Embrace it and turn it into a strength. When used correctly, this personality trait can help you make better decisions, instead of rushing things.
Think of it as a tool that guides your actions and keeps you from making costly mistakes.
Just make sure you don’t overuse it though because self-doubt can also make you question your sanity and decision-making abilities.
Know You’re Not Alone
Even the most successful people have doubts. They often question their actions and wonder what the right thing to do is.
Focus on building your confidence and self-esteem.
You might never get rid of doubts, but you can stop them from taking over your life.
Get the Facts
Your doubts don’t necessarily reflect the truth. Most times, they mirror your fears and emotional struggles.
Think about your achievements and how hard you worked to get where you are today. Be proud of yourself and admire your capabilities.
Whenever you’re in doubt, get the facts straight. Research the problem in question, weigh the pros and cons and ask for a second opinion.
Acknowledge Your Strengths
Make a list of things you excel in. Write down your skills and accomplishments. Accept praise from others gracefully and acknowledge your talent.
Celebrate your strengths every single day. Make positive affirmations and remind yourself how much you’ve done so far.
Stop thinking of what you could have done better.
Choose Your Friends Wisely
Negative people can drag you down and ruin your self-esteem.
Nothing will ever be good enough for them.
That’s why it’s so important to surround yourself with positive people who support you and listen to you instead of judging.
Define Your Values
Lastly, define your values and the values you live by daily. Once you establish those, you will have a more realistic perspective of the current situation.
Focus on the things that drive your actions and are at the core of your beliefs.
Overcoming self-doubt is a lifelong process. Stop questioning your own decisions. Don’t waste time overanalyzing – trust your actions and put your plans in motion.
Simple Ways To Overcome Your Fear Of Taking Massive Action

Don’t fault yourself for being afraid of taking that big step–the massive action that needs to happen to realize your dream! It’s a natural response to moving out of your comfort zone.
When fear rears its ugly head, use these simple tactics to put it in perspective and move on.
Recognize Fear Is Only A Feeling
Fear can feel very, very real. But it’s only an emotion that survives and thrives when we dwell on it and start to believe it.
And taking action can remove that fear, so hat have you got to lose?
Everyone Has Experienced Fear Of Failure
Everyone experiences fear before they try something new. Think Tony Robbins hasn’t experienced fear of failure? Sure he has, and I’m sure he would tell you that himself.
When a moment of panic comes over you, image your role model and remember that they too have experienced fear. But they moved through it anyway.
Take The First Small Step
We’ve all heard Newton’s 1st Law of Motion: A body at rest tends to stay at rest, while a body in motion tends to stay in motion.
You’ll realize that you can do it, and you’ll be excited to take that next step. Fear will be replaced by enthusiasm!
Use A Lifeline
Sometimes we recognize fear for what it is but can’t seem to get over the hurdle anyway. That’s the right time to call in some reinforcements.
Get a hold of a friend, colleague or family member who is totally on board with your goal.
This person loves you and has faith that you can achieve your goal, so you don’t need to worry about being embarrassed to tell them that fear has you in a paralyzing grip!
They will support you through each step you take; sometimes all we need is to hear a person we love and admire tell us it will be all right.
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Using Time Blocking To Stay Motivated

We are all guilty of suffering from a lack of motivation in our lives!
What happens when we push our brain to keep thinking, focusing and creating hour after hour? It shuts down. It goes on strike. It says “I’m outa here, buddy”.
This is especially true when we keep requiring it to focus on the same task for hours at a time.
Neuroscience now tells us that changing tasks regularly, taking consistent breaks and blocking out our time keeps our brain more engaged when it is working so that we actually get more done in less time.
So, let’s look at blocking time.
This is not a new concept. But it’s one we don’t use often enough to maintain our enthusiasm and focus, not to mention our mental and emotional health.
But why you may ask, is this important to performance and productivity?
- Keeps your brain from getting bored (aka, low motivation)
- Mentally prepares you for the tasks ahead
- Lowers stress because you see work getting done
- Ensures no multitasking occurs
- Improves self-confidence in your ability to succeed
So, how should you go about blocking your time? Usually, it’s recommended to work in 2–3-hour work chunks at a time, while allowing a short 5–10-minute break every 30-45 minutes.
- Decide how you will block your time. There are many ways to do this, including various apps and email calendars. Google Calendar is a great way to get started because it’s easy to use and readily available.
- Chose the date and time for your task. Remember to keep it to 2-3 hrs if possible
- Decide where you will complete the task.
- Include any details you need to remember before performing the task in the memo area. This will make it faster to get started when you get to that time block. No searching for the sticky note you wrote the directions on.
- Set reminders so you know when it’s time to switch tasks. You can get a reminder via email, pop-up or app notifications.
If 2-3 hours seems a long time to focus on a particular task, then you can use smaller chunks.
The Pomodoro technique uses time chunks of only 25 minutes, each followed by a 5-minute break. After 4 of these chunks, you should take a 15-minute break.
If you a little more information about the Pomodoro technique, you can read this blog post
When working on tasks, you should also schedule breaks you’re your routine.
Why, you ask? Well, let’s look at a scientific reason now…
3 Reasons Science Tells Us To Take Breaks

Too busy to take a break? That’s a common thought in our fast-paced world.
We are a society with consistently too many things on our collective plate.
Advances in neuroscience have proven that we need breaks as well as focused work time, as some cultures have known and practiced for millennia.
Why We Need To Take Breaks

There are a number of reasons why it is important to take scheduled breaks, and we will cover just 3 of them in this article.
This causes us to become frustrated and becomes a negative feedback loop, so it is important to take a break.
Let’s look at 3 big reasons to stop…
Make Connections And Retain Information

Our brain has two modes of operation. The focus mode, which is where we spend most of our day, concentrating on tasks and challenges as they arise.
For example, you may have an ah-ha moment about a solution to a problem that you’ve been trying to solve while you are driving someplace familiar or taking a shower. This diffuse mode is when most of our insights and out-of-the-box thinking happens.
Re-Evaluate Our Goals

When we stay focused on a task or problem constantly, we can easily become caught up in all the little details instead of questioning if we are completing the right tasks in the best order and way.
Stepping out of work mode for even just a few minutes is enough time to help us re-evaluate our goals and the way we are going about achieving them.
Keep Us Engaged And Motivated

Our brains weren’t meant to stay in focused mode all the time, even though we think they should sometimes.
Breaks give our brains a rest from constant focus so that they can “regroup” if you will. When we take breaks throughout the day when working on tasks that take a lot of concentration or take a longer period of time to complete, we actually are more productive and motivated when we are working on the task than if we worked straight through.
As you probably already know, having a strong mindset is critical to any attempt to plan and stay focused, so click on the featured resource below to get a free report on how to develop a strong mindset. Download, it read and take action 😊







