Congratulations! You did it! You’ve figured out how to stay self-motivated during your last challenge. It was no small feat, but now you’re done…right? Not so fast. Just because you learned how to be motivated from within this time doesn’t mean the chase is over, and you’ve won the game.

Just as life has its ebbs and flows, people have their own ups and downs. You may have a setback (or two or three, or more), and in that case, you have no idea how your mindset could change.

That may sound daunting, but it’s important to be realistic. If you’ve gotten this far as a self-motivated individual, you’ve likely had to be realistic with yourself in the past. It’s not game over – you’ve just started a new level, a new phase of life that you’ll have to conquer.

To help you in your “battle”, check out these 5 ways to stay self-motivated every day – especially after a big setback in your life.

 1)     Redefine Your Approach

If you did things the same way your entire life and never made changes to your approaches, you probably haven’t made much progress. True? When you feel like you’ve hit a roadblock, view it as a chance to figure out a new way around it.

Some things to consider when redefining your approach are; get clear about what YOU want, focus on WHAT not HOW, don’t give in to negative self-talk (this will derail you quicker than anything else), and always be willing to let things go!

 2)     Spend Time with People Who Make You Feel Good

Not everyone will make you feel great. It could be that it’s a personality difference or that they somehow just have a way to bring you down. If you feel like you’re leaving a social situation with more negative feelings than positive ones, it might be a good idea to check out of it. Those types of situations won’t lift you up and help you get back on your feet.

REMEMBER to:

·       Spend time with SUPPORTIVE people

·       ASK for help and support

o   Different people can support you differently (try not to lean on the same person for everything)

·       Find your inner path (what makes you tick)

We, as humans, thrive on connecting with others. We gain as much emotional benefit by helping others as we do by others helping us. It’s a two-way street, where both sides are winners!

If you are looking for a more spiritual path, read more about how to do it here.

3)     Give Yourself Some TLC (aka Self-Care)

The first thing you may do when you experience a setback is to get angry with yourself. You may turn from self-motivated mode to self-deprecation mode in a matter of moments. Don’t do that! Instead, remind yourself of all the great things you’ve done – all of your accomplishments and wonderful qualities.

Give yourself a designated period of self-care, because as soon as you beat yourself up about something, it’ll be much harder to get those inspiration levels back up later.

Self-care should be practicing things that make you feel better. If something that you currently do a lot doesn’t make you feel better, think about how you can limit that behavior or activity in your life and add time in for things that make you feel GREAT!

Here are some suggested self-care activities that are easy to start:

·       Spend some time meditating and being mindful; and less time in the noise of your daily life.

·       Practice hobbies and activities that you enjoy and that you may have put aside lately.

·       Spend less time on activities that you’re expected to do.

·       Make time to sit down with a good book.

·       Spend time in nature and less time inside (my #1 go-to self-care activity)

 4)     Reward Yourself at Least Once Daily

While you’re indulging in self-care, be sure to do at least one positive, uplifting thing daily. That doesn’t mean finishing a pint of ice cream or staying in bed all day. It means you should do something productive that makes you happy.

As we mentioned in the self-care section, try taking a walk outside or cooking a healthy, delicious meal. Maybe you’d like to start going to the gym or attending meetings that support causes you are passionate about.

5)     Let the Past be the Past

It’s called the past for a reason. You could spend hours thinking about what happened before your setback and how you could have changed it. Hindsight is 20/20, so the only thing that will happen here is it will make you feel worse. Be confident in your decisions, and don’t look back.

Whatever you did (or didn’t do) in your past, be gentle with yourself. Think of any missteps as a guide to what you should (or shouldn’t do) now and in the future. Let it be a learning experience instead of a painful memory. What’s done is done. You can’t undo it but you can LEARN from it.

Whatever your goal or purpose, keep motivated and be your best cheerleader.

In the wise words of Napoleon Hill:

“Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive and Believe, 
It Can Achieve.”

– Napoleon Hill.

Here is another interesting article about staying motivated, when you are losing interest in an important project.

Remember, the more we focus on staying motivated, the easier it is for us to do it spontaneously.