How to Motivate Yourself and Achieve Your Goals

(Part I)
We all need motivation to achieve our goals. We all need goals to achieve what we want in
life. It does not matter if we are students trying to achieve a degree, or athletes training for
a race, or if you are like me and the most of us during this time of year, trying to lose weight.
Is there a milestone you are reaching for, or an opportunity waiting for you to make the
most of it?

What are your talents and what have you been successful at? Remember your past
accomplishments. Remember it can be done because it has been done. Remembering those
moments of achieving prior accomplishments will keep you motivated, and moving forward.
I think we have all said at one time, "If I can do this, then I know I can do that." However, we
all know that at times staying motivated can be difficult.

Set small attainable goals. Sometimes if you see the whole big picture, it may be
overwhelming, and this is why we have to set small attainable goals to reach our final goal.
Your mind is in it, but are your actions working towards your goal? Your inspiration is your
motivation, and your motivation is vital to attain your goals.

"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." - Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr.

Set yourself high expectations. The challenge makes it more inviting. I have read many
resumes in the past. Most list on their objective something like "Seeking a challenging and
satisfying career opportunity as...." The two go hand and hand, and conquering a challenge
brings great satisfaction. Ask anyone that has finished a marathon, and they will all agree
that it is one of the most challenging and satisfying accomplishments. Was it easy? No. Most
importantly, it was attainable with a strong will, laser focus, proper training, and a
nutritional diet. These requirements were necessary to fuel the mind and body in order to
condition and prepare for the big race. We all know the saying, "Nothing great comes easy."

"Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Work, continuous work, and hard work, is the only way
to accomplish results that last." - Hamilton Holt

Create a plan. Consult with a successful mentor, a coach, a professional that has been there
and done it. This individual can save you the headaches, and provide the best suggestions
towards creating your plan.

"The best way to predict your future is to create it." - Peter Drucker

Do not be a quitter. You have started something, but are you going to finish it? Every
successful person had a moment where he or she thought "I will never reach my goal."
However, the successful person did not dwell on this feeling. The successful person kept
persevering until he or she got over that mountain, over that plateau, over that obstacle.
That individual did what was needed to get to the other side. Ask anyone that has ever tried
losing weight if they ever had a plateau where they just could not lose any more weight for
a while. Even though they exercised daily or were on a strict diet. It happens, but the
successful person achieved their weight loss goal because they said no to negativity, and did
not quit. If you quit, you are not quitting on the challenge, you are quitting on yourself.

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." --
Henry Ford

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