It's very important to learn how to motivate ourself well in your daily life. We must be able to keep our spirit high no matter how discouraging a situation is. That’s the only way to get the power we need to overcome difficulties. Those who are discouraged in difficult times are certain to lose even before the battle is over.

For example, when we are playing a competitive sport sometimes we need to have something to motivate ourself before a game. It is important to have a positive mental state during the game because that will help to make us successful and cope with the stress created during competition. When an athlete has a positive attitude it manifests itself to the world as self-confidence. The athlete who is self-confident and has a winning attitude will then be more motivated for their upcoming games.

The following eight tips are for you to improve your self-motivation skills.

Tip No.1: Have a clear vision and commitment not only on the benefits of reaching your goal, but on why you want to do it in the first place.
Know exactly why you want to do something and make sure it really motivates you. For instance, when I set a goal of running my first marathon, I knew I wanted to get in better shape (benefit), but more importantly I really wanted to prove to myself I could do it (the big WHY). I told myself, "no matter what, I will cross that finish line even if I have to crawl over broken glass to do it." If you don't really want it, when things get tough, you may not have the motivation to push through the challenges.

Tip No.2: Create an environment that supports your goal.
Your environment should support your goal. So going back to the marathon example, on hectic days at work, I always kept a pair of running shoes and a change of clothes in my car so I could go directly to the track afterwards to fit in a training run (because I knew that if I allowed myself to go home first, I might make an excuse not to run).

Tip No.3: Create a little social pressure on yourself.
If appropriate, try to find a buddy to achieve your goal with. For instance, if you're trying to eat healthier and lose a little weight, try to find an exercise buddy. In my case, none of my friends were interested in running a marathon so I did the next best thing - I told them all I was going to run one. That way, they would always ask me how marathon training was going and I felt a little pressure to keep training. It also gave me added incentive to complete those 20 mile long training runs so I could then brag that I did it.

Tip No.4: Stay connected to positive influences.
One of my favorite things to do is to listen to some motivational tapes in the morning as I'm getting ready for the day. It helps uplift your mood and reminds you of why you're doing what you're doing in the first place. Wayne Dyer gives some uplifting words of motivation that I listen to in the morning that helps me stay upbeat.

Tip No.5: Schedule it.
The big killer in achieving something over the long-run is not making the time to execute the tasks needed to achieve it on a day-to-day basis. Pencil in somewhere in your day the time to do one thing related to your goal each day. For instance, I would make time for marathon training four to five days a week. I learned the value of time and how to apply the word "no" to things that would interfere with my highest priorities.

Of course, one of the things I've found in trying to achieve a long-term linear goal is sometimes even with the above 5 tips my motivation would sag a bit.

Tip No.6: Stay flexible to avoid burnout.
While you're working towards your goal, you may find you have to tweak your strategy a bit to avoid burning yourself out. For instance, I found that trying to run 60-70 miles a week was a bit too much for me. I felt like I was putting a lot of stress on my knees and something was always aching. It was really bringing me down. So I cut back the mileage to 40-50 miles and found this worked out better. Sometimes I even took a whole week off just to rest my legs and joints.

Tip No.7: Make sure you enjoy the process to get there, but don't forget to plan on how to deal with the crap factor.
Greg Anderson, author and founder of the American Wellness Project, said “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it." Author Wayne Dyer says something similar: "Never forget that doing what you love is the cornerstone of having success in your life". There's a lot of famous folks out there who say "do what you love, do what you love."

Tips No. 8: Read Books – Not just self-help or motivational books, but any book that has new ideas. New ideas get your mental gears turning and can build motivation. Learning new ideas puts your brain in motion, so it requires less time to speed up to your tasks.

Hope the above tips can be helpful for you to motivate yourself and help you achieve more in your life.

Edited by Xiamen Romandy Art Limited.
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(Tag: It's very important to learn how to motivate ourself well in your daily life. We must be able to keep our spirit high no matter how discouraging a situation is. That’s the only way to get the power we need to overcome difficulties. Those who are discouraged in difficult times are certain to lose even before the battle is over. Self-motivation is very important for everyone.)