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Motivate Yourself – By Professional Life Coach & Author Malti Bhojwani

So there are two types of motivation. Towards and Away from motivation.

Either we can motivate ourselves to move towards a desirable “place” or we are desperate to get away from an undesirable place and that is away from motivation. Both work; but “towards motivation” is more lasting and empowering, as you are focusing on what you WANT rather than what you don’t want.

You know how this works by now, if I ask you NOT to think of a blue ball, what is the first image that shows up in your mind? A picture of a blue ball! So, you can’t NOT think or focus on something without thinking of it first. The Law of attraction will work bringing into your reality what you think about most. Even if you are thinking of what you DON’T want!

So, how do you step out of complacency and motivate yourself?

maltiBFirst, take stock again of where you want to be, what you really want. Think about what would make your heart sing, make you smile even thinking of it, that’s it – hold on to that image and the feelings. Then, what I would do is spend a few short intense minutes every day visualizing myself having that life. Being that person.

Now that you are clear at least in the FEELING of what you want……surrender to the Universe to show you the hows and the steps.

Complacency is when you are too comfortable, you have probably already achieved many of your desires and goals and you are so comfortable doing the same thing week in week out that there is no motivation to do more.

I see “discomfort” as opportunities. Often when I feel a little uncomfortable or lazy to do something that rationally I know could be empowering, I know that I need to stretch. We only grow when we stretch out of our comfort zones. Just like at the gym, for those who do any kind of resistance work, you know that only when it is a little hard to do, and almost painful that you are actually working the muscle.

If it is too easy to do and you are too comfortable, you are still only moving within your comfort zones. Signs of complacency are when you are bored and when find that you are not resisting anything in your day. This is a sure sign that you are not stretching, therefore, not growing.

On the other hand, if you find that everyday you come up against some resistance to do something, (be practical of course) but often that is the thing we most need to just do! For example, I know of people who are launching a new business and yet they feel resistance to get up on a week night and get dressed to go for networking evenings, but stretching and getting out of your usual routine can be very helpful for this person.

An analogy is to go for a walk even when it is drizzling or over-cast, it means that your commitment to staying fit and healthy is much stronger than your need to stay comfortable and dry at home!

Getting and staying motivated to always keep growing, learning, evolving and changing is easy as soon as you have your desires clear in front of you. When you know what you WANT out of your life, what experiences you want to taste, what you want to do for the people around you and what you want to enjoy yourself, you will be able to dangle that carrot in front of you and keep the “towards-motivation” activated.

If you find it challenging to do this yourself, declare your desires to a friend or better yet to a coach, then have them hold you accountable to do the things that it would require in order to have what you want. Set out little daily habits to stick to that will surely take you where you want to do. Stay tuned for my Habit Forming Checklist Template which we will share here soon.

This is the same for exercise and fitness goals. When you have a clear picture, number, size in mind that you want to be. You visualize how you will FEEL when you look, weigh, fit into that pair of jeans, you will have a very clear image of what you want. After that it is just about holding that desire strong and working slowly but surely towards it.

We have excuses and reasons to feel “out of it” some days. We are affected by our hormones, time of month for us girls, Pre-MS, Post-MS, the tide, the moon’s phases, planet alignments, what we ate or drank that day, whether we heard from the guy we like or don’t like, our weight, whether we are having a good or bad hair day, if we have any pimples, if the stock market us looking bearish or bullish, the weather, the traffic, if we made that deal or not. Everything affects our feelings, but we have to be able to stay focused on WHAT WE WANT, and just keep at it despite our moods.

So, yeah it is normal to feel a little low and out of it sometimes, it’s just a sign that it’s time to shake things up a bit. I just keep that picture of my desired life in my mind, I visualize everything as I want them to be. The special people in my life, smiling and laughing, I include my surroundings and environment in this picture to encompass that I have what I want materially, I see myself smiling and glowing, I imagine and visualize people saying encouraging and happy things to me. In this vision, I have everything my heart desires, love, financial freedom, I am contributing and giving and I am having a great time with the people I love. I see them all happy too and this makes me smile and feel all warm inside.

Focusing on this mental image helps me to stay motivated to do do do what I feel inspired to “do”. Even when I am moody, lazy, tired. Stay tuned for the 13 minute audio of the Jigsaw Puzzle Visualisation Process.

NB: We all have different pain/comfort thresholds, If something feels wrong, too hard and too painful, check in to see if maybe it is wrong/dangerous or unwise for you to do it. There is a distinction between pain and stretch, even in the gym, so make sure that it is a stretch and not pain that you are putting yourself through.

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