9 keys for how to get motivated and stay motivated! Learn easy ways to motivate yourself to overcome procrastination, practice patience and perseverance. Eat better, exercise, and make a decision to choose to be happy in spite of your circumstances. Here’s how…

“Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don’t set any condition.” Artur Rubenstein

1) Practice patience, perseverance, and prayer. There’s a story of the person who prayed, “God, please give me patience, and hurry!” In this day and age of cell phones, fax machines and instant gratification, it’s easy to want what we want NOW. No one is willing to wait anymore. However, as we mature, we discover that it often takes patience, perseverance, and a lot of hard work to get the things we really want. Whether it’s a promotion at work, losing weight, or having a great relationship.

If you believe in God, pray for patience, persistence and guidance. God sees the big picture. We don’t. Often, looking back, we see that many of the things we just “had to have” weren’t really right for us anyway.

2) Learning how to overcome procrastination helps you get motivated and stay motivated. I believe deep down most people know what they’re supposed to do to improve their lives. But we procrastinate doing that activity. We just don’t want to do it. Whether it’s getting rid of the clutter in our home or office, cleaning up our eating habits or cleaning out the garage. Most of us know there’s something we need to do that we’ve been procrastinating. Yet, by procrastinating a task, we end up cluttering our minds further by thinking about what we should be doing.

Again, if you have certain spiritual beliefs, just ask for the courage to do it. Turn to God. This is not something I discuss in my speaking engagements as my audiences are diverse businesspeople from different backgrounds. But asking for strength works. By admitting your weakness you will often gain strength in overcoming procrastination. And getting help in many other areas of your life as well.

Stop trying to do it all yourself. Give yourself a break. Give up some of the control. Take it in baby steps. For example, clean up just half of the garage. Or, begin that exercise program just three days a week for 30 minutes a day. Too often we fall into the “all or nothing” mentality. If we can’t do it all at once, well, we simply don’t do it at all!

3) Practice positive thinking.

Think about what you’re thinking about! I read on the internet that the number one thing people would like to change for the new year is to have a more positive attitude. Thoughts lead to words. Words lead to actions, and your actions determine your approach to your career, relationships, health and just about everything else. Positive thinking is something you often have to practice.

I am a worrier. And of all things, a motivational speaker! It’s my job to help people become more productive, improve morale and stay motivated. In many cases, it’s also my job to help them increase profitability. Worrying is a habit I’ve tried to consistently break. After all, worrying is negative thinking. Worry doesn’t solve anything. It doesn’t add a single day to your life. I make a conscious effort to think about what I’m thinking about. I shift my thinking to the positve whenever possible and it’s becoming more of a habit. Becoming more aware of your thoughts is half the battle.

4) Eat right in order to feel happier, healthier, and stay motivated. We all know what to eat but often need to be reminded. Too many junky foods produce junky negative thoughts. Start your morning with protein to stabilize your blood sugar. Increase your daily intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Switch to organics whenever possible toavoid exposure to harmful pesticides. If you travel a lot this isn’t always easy. Do the best you can. Remember, moderation is the key. The minute you have that all or nothing approach, you set yourself up for disaster by beating yourself up for not being perfect.

See your doctor to find out what types of vitamins and minerals you should be taking. Studies show that even when we’re eating at our healthiest many of us are still missing vital nutrients. Drink more water. If you’re under a time crunch, and who isn’t these days, try eating raw nuts such as almonds or pumpkin seeds for protein and iron. Dried fruits such as apricots, raisins and cranberries contain vital nutrients and add lots of flavor. I do this all the time when I’m conducting day-long speaking engagements. It’s vital for me in keeping up my energy and blood sugar levels not to mention improved mental acuity. Find out what works for you because everyone is different.

How To Get Motivated and Stay Motivated…

Choose To Be Happy In Spite of Your Circumstances

5) Make a decision that you will be happy in spite of your circumstances. Don’t wait until everything is going your way in order to be content. Otherwise you will spend much of your life discontented. Avoid the “when script.” For example, “When I get that promotion then I’ll be happy.” Or, “When I get pregnant and have children then I’ll be happy.” How many times have you heard people say, “Once the kids are grown and out of the house THEN I’ll be happy!”There’s always that illusive “when script” projecting into the future. And just because you count on something positive to happen, doesn’t mean it always does. People aren’t perfect and can disappoint you. You can lose your job. Your money can disappear. Things won’t always go your way. It’s okay to plan ahead and set goals for where you want to be. Just make certain you’re also happy where you are now.

6) Don’t compare yourself to others. We tend to compare the worst in ourselves with the best in others. Don’t compare your insides to someone else’s outsides. This is especially true for women. In our society, we’re bombarded with magazines and media projecting an unrealistic standard of what we are supposed to look like. Many magazines feature ads with supermodels who are six feet tall. Even worse, the photos have been airbrushed and retouched dozens of times. Focus on developing your own unique gifts and talents. If you’re too focused on trying to be like other people, you will become discouraged, give up, and lose sight of your dream.

7) Rest, relax, and recharge completely. It’s one thing to get motivated, but to stay motivated you need downtime. If you’re sleepy on a weekend afternoon, take a nap. In our fast-paced American society, this is virtually impossible during the work week. America is one of the few countries in the world that doesn’t take an afternoon break. Lots of scientific research has shown that lack of sleep negatively affects mood, stress levels, mental acuity, weight, and overall performance. If you’re tired, you’re more likely to snap. You won’t be a pleasant person to be around.

Exercise plays an important role in getting and staying motivated. For example, many participants in my speaking engagements tell me that walking outdoors during a short lunch break is enough to reenergize them. Exercising outdoors is especially beneficial in helping reduce depression during the winter months.

While you’re exercising, and driving to and from work, listen to your favorite music. One of my favorite songs is “It’s On,” from Boney James “Pure” CD. Very upbeat music with lots of saxophone, and serves as a huge energy booster and mood lifter for me! I’ll often play it after finishing a project. It’s a small but very positive reward.

9) Get out of yourself. Be grateful for what you have. Do you have enough clothing, food, and a roof over your head? Probably so. Do volunteer work, or spend time listening to a friend or family member in need. By helping others you realize that whatever your “trauma of the day” happens to be, really isn’t so important after all.

Focus more on what you have, not on what you don’t have. Today, make a conscious decision to be happy in spite of your circumstances.

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Why are so many people not fulfilling their potential? What is causing them to be unhappy, and to behave in destructive ways? A therapist tells us the answers and solutions.

Why are so many people not fulfilling their potential? What is causing them to be unhappy, and to behave in destructive ways?These questions plagued me, and I was determined to find the answers. As a practicing Marriage, Family, Therapist, my counseling office served as a “research laboratory.” My subjects, the numerous troubled clients of all ages, offered me many opportunities to collect valuable data. I was fascinated with the results.

Basically, this was my scientific approach. I asked the clients to close their eyes, and to visualize a number from one to ten, ten being high, that would rate their self-esteem. They often reported seeing numbers from one to six.

Then I suggested, “Imagine that the person who you have issues with is standing in front of you. Tell that person what you are upset about.” After they expressed all their thoughts and feelings, I continued, “Now say, when you do that I decide that I am _____ and finish the sentence.”

To my surprise, 99% of the clients completed the statement with the following negative thoughts: “I’m deciding that I’m bad, unworthy, not good enough, unimportant, unlovable, stupid, and ugly, or not okay.”

These decisions, I discovered, are the basic causes of our low self-esteem. These insidious beliefs in our subconscious create a great deal of pain in our lives. Even though in reality, FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real, we believe these untruths and act accordingly.

For example, if a woman is convinced that she is stupid, she is likely to demonstrate ineptness in her job. If a man feels he is bad, his behavior will be consistent with his belief.

It is interesting to note that even though two people may feel they are bad, their behavior can be the exact opposite. One may act very shy, while another extremely aggressive. The same root, just different branches.

Where do these destructive, debilitating beliefs come from? I discovered the answer to that question with the following process I developed called, HART: Holistic and Rapid Transformation. Once a client uncovered their negative belief, I said, “Allow yourself to go back to the time when you made that negative decision.” Often, they would recall an incident when they were five-years-old or younger, or in elementary school.

For example, Karin, an unhappy and overweight thirty-six-year-old woman, recalled a time when she was three years old and her father left her mother. Karin was devastated, and she decided that she must be not good enough, bad and unlovable.

Typical of a young child, Karin took total responsibility for her parents divorce. As a result, her negative beliefs deep in her unconscious affected her self-esteem. Consequently, adult Karin was unsuccessful in her relationships, career and in maintaining her ideal weight. Her guilt feelings and her debilitating negative thoughts sabotaged all her efforts. Karin was definitely not fulfilling her potential.

Once I helped Karin heal her inner child, and realize the truth that she was good enough, lovable, and a good person no matter what anyone said or did, she felt better. At the end of the session, Karin rated her self-esteem higher than at the beginning.

In summary, the data led me to conclude that we make decisions from our experiences. Negative experiences cause us to make negative decisions which lead us to negative behavior. Of course, the opposite is also true.

Therefore, it is important for all of us to experience many positive interactions so that we can make positive decisions, feel good about ourselves and be able to act in healthy, constructive ways.

The clients also taught me that we are unique but our problems are not. Troubled adults and children are all struggling with similar negative decisions which cause them their problems. The negative thoughts are like roots of a tree, buried in the ground, buried in the unconscious. The branches of the tree represent what we can see, the symptoms.

Some examples of how people express their negative beliefs are: career and relationship problems, poor grades, ill health, and drugs and alcohol (an attempt to numb and drown the painful negative thoughts).

When we all believe the truth that is expressed on the below poster, our self-esteem will be high, we will rate ourselves as tens, and we will fulfill our unlimited potential.

The Truth IsNo matter what anyone says or does,I am Okay, Worthy, Lovable, Attractive, Important, Intelligent & Good Enough.

I am a good person, and I deserve to be Happy, Healthy, and Successful!

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Most of us underestimate the power of our words. We sometimes miss how our words set a tone. A few words can make someone’s day, or shatter it. Words can inspire someone to buy, or to go away without buying. Our words can move someone to do their best work, or to work against us. Your spoken words serve either to build up or to tear down.

They serve to empower and inspire, or to disempower and hurt. Words are either life affirming or destructive. For this reason we should choose our words carefully. “The word is the most powerful tool you have as a human…like a sword it has two edges, your word can create the most beautiful dream, or your word can destroy everything around you.” (The Four Agreements, Don Miquel Ruiz)When you are talking to someone ask yourself this question: “Who am I being and what is the impact of my words on the people around me?” The power of your words lies in the intention behind them. Is it your intention to create a resolution or to be right? Do you intend to help the organization accomplish its mission or to satisfy the need to take someone down? We communicate best when we are clear about who we are and what we intend. This kind of clarity prevents us from saying words that are harmful to ourselves and others. It may prevent us from engaging in harmful gossip and complaining.

Gossip is usually destructive. It is often a careless use of our words. We just aren’t thinking about how we are affecting others. Sometimes gossip is mean spirited and intended to cause hurt. Whether gossip is careless or intentional, it causes pain. We may be hoping for a little humor or self justification, but the results of gossip are anger, suspicion, embarrassment, and fear. These creations of gossip negatively affect morale, service, and productivity. You cannot both care about someone and gossip about them. If you think back to the last time you either heard or offered gossip, it probably didn’t make you feel good. Gossip disempowers us.

Similar to gossip is chronic complaining. Complaining about people and situations makes us feel and look powerless. Managers who complain in front of their employees lose credibility as leaders. Chronic complaining leads us into a dead end street where there is nothing to be done. We become victims who are powerless to change anything. While venting frustrations to a trusted friend can be helpful in releasing negative feelings, complaining to everyone tends to reinforce negative feelings. Like gossip, chronic complaining disempowers us.

Our power to do harm is exceeded only by our power to do good. A simple, sincere apology (given without expectation of return) can heal a relationship. An uplifting word at the right moment can change a life, launch a career, or convince someone to go beyond perceived limitations. By consciously looking for evidence of greatness in others, and by using our words to tell them, we help others to build confidence. When we sincerely speak well of others we uplift ourselves.

There is great power in making the commitment to keeping our words as positive and life affirming as we are able. As an affirming presence our influence grows. We feel better about ourselves. Constant negative speech imprisons us and prevents us from finding joy and success. Developing the habit of speaking well of self and others frees us to enjoy life more. We become a blessing to ourselves and to others.

Our spoken words originate from our thoughts. The best way to increase the positive power of our spoken words is to clean up our thinking. We must become willing to think well of ourselves. Constant self criticism needs to become unacceptable. We free ourselves to think and speak well of others by thinking well of ourselves.

Consider practicing the following:

• Affirm life in your thoughts and your words. (To affirm life is to build up, to nurture, to support, and to bless)

• Refuse to gossip. Commit to saying only words that are uplifting or helpful to others.

• Refuse to listen to gossip. Compassionately tell others it is beneath them to gossip.

• Refuse to indulge in complaining about another person.

• Refuse to dwell on self critical thoughts. Learn from mistakes and move on.

• Intentionally look for positive qualities to think about yourself. Make a list often.

• Intentionally look for positive qualities in others. Tell them.

• Don’t take the words of others personally. Their words are more about them than about you. Let go of your grudges and your hurts and wish others well. This practice will make you happier.

• Do not allow negative emotion to control you. Accept it. Be willing to let it go. Stop feeding it with negative words. Choose words that will refocus you on who you are and what you really want.

Gossip and complaining are distractions and a misuse of your energy. Decide what you really want and apply your energy to it. As you become more life affirming in your thoughts and words you will experience more joy and success, and your sense of well-being will affect others. More people will trust you and want to help you. Your life will change. Affirm life with your thoughts and words and you will find that your organization, your family, your community, and you will benefit greatly.

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