When it comes to sparking your motivation from the get-go, you need to have a clear vision of what you’re motivating yourself for. Whether that be a goal focused on fitness, social, career or personal growth.

“A helpful way to spark motivation is to focus on a long-term goal and then break the tasks into small achievable mini goals along the way,” says Beyond Blue’s lead clinical adviser Dr Grant Blashki. “Sometimes, if you’re not in the mood, a small start-up activity can get the ball rolling such as, ‘I’ll just read the first chapter of the book for class,’ or, ‘I’ll just walk around the block and see if I feel like going for a jog once I’ve done that.'”

What about goals and motivation to get through the current pandemic? It’s no doubt a trickier time than usual to stay positive, focused and motivated.

In a recent chat on Amelia’s podcast Healthy Her: For Mums, psychologist Dr Tim Sharp (known as Dr Happy) suggested we should be thinking forward to when we no longer have to social distance.

“Project your mind to when isolation is all over, what sort of person do you want to be as you emerge? Do you want to feel like you seized that time and made the most of what you could out of it?”

So perhaps you’ve had your light-bulb moment and your motivation is fully charged. How do you maintain that for a long period of time? Because, of course, life happens.

“We’re definitely creatures of habit and many of our day-to-day activities are in autopilot, so the trick is to try to get yourself into some good habits,” explains Dr Blashki.

“Linking in with friends who have similar goals can also be very motivating, whether it’s stopping smoking, eating healthy or keeping up with exercise. Set up prompts that are easily visible and encourage you and remind you to undertake whatever it is you’re trying to achieve.”

If you’re losing motivation, there could be a number of reasons, but it’s about how you address it that counts.

“So why is it that some people are glass half empty and some glass half full?” Amelia asks. “Dr Sharp tells me it’s a mixture of nature versus nurture (born with it versus the way we were raised), but optimism is a learned trait that you can practise. Start by using the ‘but’ method, say to yourself, ‘I feel (insert negative sentence/ emotion) but (insert optimistic take on that).’ For example, ‘I feel so demotivated to exercise but I know I’ll feel so much better when I do.’ Every time you catch yourself being negative, throw in a ‘but’.”

Text: Bauer Syndication

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