Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes

Desire is the key to motivation, 

but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal.

A commitment to excellence. 

That will enable you to attain the success you seek. 

~Mario Andrett~

 In order to reach the goals set, it's important to find the right motivation to work towards achieving them. Because they probably won't come easy, and there will be obstacles along the way.

There will be days where you want to give up, and admit defeat.

There will be days where your mind tells you that those goals are impossible. What will keep you motivated to getting up every day, and keep you on the right track towards your destination? What will keep you moving? It's unlikely that anything  will happen if you just sit there, and wait for everything to fall in your lap.

In psychology, motivation is defined as "the process that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. Motivation is what causes us to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge. It involves the biological, emotional, social and cognitive forces that activate behavior."

Here are some of my 9 best tips for staying motivated:

• Focus. Keep focused at one goal at a time. It's easier to get distracted if you're separating your energy on several goals at once.
• Announce your goal. It's harder to give up on a goal when others know about it. Maybe someone you know have the same goal. You could challenge each other, draw from each others experience, and support each other on the way.
• Visualize achieving your goal. Make a clear mental image of how things would be when you've reached each of your goals. Examine what it would feel like. Picture yourself where you want to be. Do this every day, make it a routine.
• Write down your goals, and stick them on the bathroom mirror, or somewhere else where you'll see them several times a day.
• Set yourself small goals, that will, step by step, take you closer to your main goal. The small goals should be daily and/or weekly goals, monthly goals, and so on. If your big goal is to run a marathon, set goals for how far you'll run each day, and each week.
• Don't get discouraged if you feel like you're going in the wrong direction. Instead, see what you need to change, to get back on track. Learn from your mistakes, but don't bury your head in negative thoughts. Analyze what went wrong, and take the steps to correct it.
• Keeping your eyes on the top is important, but don't forget to take a breather along the way, to stop and enjoy the view and of how far you've come. Every step in the right direction is a success. Take pride in them!
• Seek inspiration from others. Read about other people who have achieved the same goal that you have. Read books on the subject. Find and follow blogs, watch inspirational TV-shows, go to motivational lectures.
• Don't give up, don't let negative thoughts get the better of you. Remember, you can do anything you put your mind to!
  

How do you keep motivated? I'd love to hear other's thoughts on the subject.

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination.
~Tommy Lasord~

xx,

Dark Duchess

To be or not to be...or what to be?

Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. 

If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.

~Mahatma Gandhi~ 

Is it possible that a change in attitude can change your whole life, and make dreams come true? Can a person really become whatever he or she wants? Will positive thinking bring positive things back into my life again?



I don't know, but this is my self experiment to see if changing the way I think, can help change my life too. I used to be such a positive and happy person. Always having a smile on my face, I took every hardship as a challenge, as a step that would make me stronger.




And really, I had it all: A great job that I loved, good friends, an amazing place to live, with everything I could wish for.

Then he came along... Yeah, of course it had to be a man that changed everything. I wasn't looking for a relationship. I was perfectly fine living a single life, doing whatever I wanted. At first I didn't care for him, he kept courting me, doing everything he could think of to charm me. In the end, it worked. All of the sudden my life went from happy, to exhilarating, exciting, adventurous. I never knew what he would plan, he always had some surprise at hand.



He seemed to be perfect: Good-looking, funny, intelligent. He had a fancy job, big house, loads of money, a fantastic family. Everything was perfect. On the surface. Then things started to change, and he changed me, broke me down, tore me to pieces.



Slowly I started believing what he was saying. That I was worthelss, that no-one but him wanted me, and that I could never be successful at anything.




Thankfully I had the sense to get away from him, far away. But the thoughs he put into my head are still there. The scars are still visible, and I can't bring myself to smile over the small things anymore. I believe what he wanted me to believe: That I am small, insignificant, worthless. I can't seem to find that positive outlook on life. But I do want to! I don't want to let him win!

I've lost many friends, the distance makes it hard to keep in touch, and I'm not the cheerful person they used to love. Although I still have a great job, things are not the same as before. And I loathe the place I live.

This is my project, my fight to get my life back. I really hope that changing my whole outlook on life, will change my whole life. I hope that I can be happy and sunny again. And I hope that Gandhi's wise words really are true. That if I start believing in myself again, if I believe that I can be happy and successful, that it will come true. So this will be my self help blog, my experiment.


Can I succeed?

Can thoughts change your life? Can dreams really come true if you want them to?




xoxo,
The Dark Duchess