Practice, practice, practice!  We have all heard this phrase before when we learn something new like a sport, musical instrument or even a complicated math formula.  Like all of those things, keeping motivated is a skill that can be mastered.

Motivation is an internal force that drives us. We can nourish and feed this which allows us to grow and succeed.  And sometimes, as human beings, we let it slip away and get too content with just the “being” part.

Do you ever think to yourself, “my favorite sports star is such a natural talent, it must be easy for them?”  True, their ability to master certain aspects of their game may come a little easier for them than for others.  But they do not lack the motivation and drive to prefect themselves.  That motivation keeps them going, makes them get up and go practice more and more until they achieve the nuances and subtle improvements that separate them from the good to the great.

Have you ever started something, had the best intentions to move it forward and then just kind of let it stall? I have.  Sure we always have excuses like, I ran out of time, life got busy, something came up or I just “didn’t feel like it.” Because our motivation is internal and we can only answer to ourselves, it can often seem easy to brush it off and get lazy.

If we reflect on our favorite stars and role models, do they have the same 24 hours each day, do they have families, friends, do they sleep?  Of course they do!  The biggest difference is that they have learned to master their internal motivation and they do not accept the excuses, especially from themselves.

There is one thing that I see that truly sets them apart, their motivation.  This is not a new or hidden concept.  Why else would we see so many people succeeding as or being trained by life coaches, mentors, inspirational leaders and other downright great folks? It is because we often look for help to get us “out of the rut” or “off the couch” and we want someone to motivate us.  Well guess what, they can’t!

I do not profess to be life coach yet, but I am fortunate to know many of these people, some personally and some from connections I have built through online networking. They are great people with great messages.  I have heard and seen amazing tools like vision boards, daily affirmations, and specific, targeted goals.  I think these methods are fantastic ways to get you inspired, however your motivation must come from within. In most cases, these great folks have used these methods to feed their own motivation and it is through their successes that we can feel inspired by them.  This post is not about the benefits of using or not using tools and connections like these to get inspired.  I think they are great, but use what works for you and remember that only you control your own motivation.  Only you can decide to do what it takes to push yourself towards your own target or goal.

I have learned that motivation needs to be nurtured and respected and you can only truly be great if you practice and keep practicing that motivation until you begin achieving your goals.  And once you see your success building, keep reminding yourself of the next milestone and only YOU can push yourself to get there.

Motivation comes from within, only you can do that for yourself. Reading through to this point in the post means you have motivated yourself enough to find out more.  Transforming these thoughts into words has helped me to increase my own motivation.  Some other tips that have helped me along the way include:

• When you first get up in the morning, think positively and assign yourself a goal or goals that will help move you towards your ultimate target (vision boards can certainly help with the “dream” target)

• Don’t accept excuses, especially from yourself!

• Don’t forget to have fun, make leisure and  fun part of your planned activities to keep your motivation thriving (just don’t let the leisure part take over)

• Celebrate the small successes and victories, they matter

• Answer yourself one question each day, “did I accomplish something today to move me further towards my goal?”

• Lastly don’t let setbacks stop you.  We all have moments like that, the greats know it, accept it and move on.  There will be bumps along the way to your dream, it is how you respond and drive forward that will keep your motivation alive.

Thank you for making it to the end of my post.  I know I cannot motivate you directly but I hope that you have been inspired to take your own steps to your success.  Please feel free to leave me a comment, tell me how you push yourself towards success.  I would love to hear from you.