How Do You Stay Motivated?

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A reader sent over a message this week and asked: How can I stay motivated?

Not easy. Running 100 miles per hour every day is tough at your job. We all need to find some balance in life. Maybe you have been in sales all of your career and sometimes you need to re-boot yourself. In business/sales I always remind myself of this proverb that I found hanging in a general manager’s office at a car dealership. It’s stayed with me over the years:

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion,
Or if will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle,
Or it will starve to death.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle,
When the sun comes up, you better be running!

One of the ways to stay motivated is with the repeated use of affirmations. I have used them over the years and continue to use them. Your mind is like a computer-guided missile: It will go where your conscious thoughts take it. If they’re negative, most likely you will not succeed. If they’re positive, you increase your chances of success tenfold.

Here is a list of some of the affirmations I have used and continue to use:

Winning Attitude
1.     My greatest joy is living up to my own potential.
2.     I am choosing to be happy, healthy, and successful.
3.     I renew myself daily with the joy of life.
4.     Each challenge I face stimulates my strengths and confidence.
5.     Setting goals and achieving them is becoming a way of life for me.
6.     I successfully finish all projects that I begin.

Goal Setting
1.     I am very clear about what I want in life.
2.     I am living my life by choice and creating my future.
3.     My life is becoming a series of positive achievements.
4.     My self-discipline and inner focus are becoming stronger each day.
5.     I have moved beyond old limitations and I am easily achieving my goals.
6.     Each goal I achieve stimulates my optimism and confidence.

These are just a few of the affirmations I have used. I know when I relax and fail to use them; I see and feel the difference. Sometimes it’s just a matter of re-programming yourself for success and motivation. It might seem weird and to some people they are hokey. Yet, the people who understand one of the greatest creations in the world -- our mind -- know that positive reinforcement is the key to getting what you want in life. There are many forms of affirmations you can use for creating your healthy self image, financial success, and so on.
Here are a few rules to follow so affirmations don’t become laborious and too time-consuming while you are rewriting the neuro track in your brain.

The Two Keys to Affirmations:
1.     Formulate the suggestion you wish to program into your brain, such as the ones I gave you above.
2.     Use daily repetition.

Keep affirmations short and to the point so they are simple enough for a five- or six-year-old to understand. An affirmation should always be stated in the positive. All of your affirmations should be spoken aloud and repeated between five to 20 times per day, depending on your time constraints. The most successful way I have found for using my affirmations are:
- In the car on my way to work.
- Quiet time at home.
- Right before I go to sleep.
- Waiting for a meeting to start.
- On a sales calls when I am in the client’s lobby.

As with any new habit, it takes about 21-28 days to create that new neuro pathway in your brain. The hardest part can sometimes just be starting. Get the index cards out and write a few of them down. Put a duplicate set in the  car or on the dashboard so it’s the first thing you see when you get in your car in the morning. It’s a start. Your mind will clear the path for what you want and need.

Sean Luce is the Head National Instructor for the Luce Performance Group International and you can reach him at sean@luceperformancegroup.com or www.luceperformancegroup.com. Sean’s new book The Liquid Fire can be found on Amazon.com.