1. The vast majority of us have our eye on goals and accomplishments off in the distance, which
means we completely lose sight of how far we’ve come in this very moment.
We compare our present selves with our future selves, when our future selves have the unfair
advantage of more experience and more time for growth.
With that in mind, here are a few tips that I’ve learn in finding motivation:
Tip #1 – Break Goals Down Into Small Steps
If you create a massive goal for yourself and don’t stop to pat yourself on the back until you’ve
reached the finish line, you’ll likely have that feeling of, “ok, now what?” Plus, the goal may seem
so big that you can become overwhelmed and more easily give up.
By breaking down and celebrating the smaller milestones, you can start to notice your progress as
you move forward which, in turn, will increase your motivation.
It will also help you to make adjustments when necessary — changing the things that aren’t
working and doing more of the things that are.
Tip #2 – Erase Your Comparison List
We all have vastly different skill sets and life experiences, so comparing what you’re doing to what
someone else is doing is comparing apples to oranges.
More importantly, we tend to be so hard on ourselves that the chances of us being on the winning
end of those comparisons are slim to none.
If you must compare, only think about you in the past and you in the present — this is the only clear
indication of your own progress.
Tip #3 – What You Resist Persists
Know that avoiding a challenge now will only encourage it to show up later.
I could have easily given up running and working out all together by now — I’ve certainly had a
few legitimate (in my mind) reasons to — but no one ever gets away with avoiding things simply
because the going gets tough.
Eventually the lessons intended for you to learn in completing one task will show up in another
way, in another form.
Challenges only become less challenging when we face them head on, as painful as that may be.
Tip #4 – Embrace Slow Progress
Slow movement in the right direction can be more exciting than giant leaps.
If, by some miracle, I was able to run ten miles nonstop on my first attempt, chances are I would
have become bored quickly and moved on to something else.
It’s in the slow and steady progress that we can find the most excitement. Why? Because we can see
a much more expansive room for growth.

2. The key here, as mentioned in tip #1, is being able to recognize the progress for what it is — no
matter how slow moving it may be.
Tip #5 – Lighten Up!
Don’t take everything so seriously. Period.
I am a perfectionist by nature. So when I have one bad day where I don’t reach a level that I believe
I should be at, I cite that as a good reason to quit and move on to something else.
The truth is, it’s not always that serious.
You might not be quite up to par today, but tomorrow you might be an extraordinary day for you.
Let yourself go through the ups and downs so you can really savor the moment when you reach that
next level of greatness.
I’m making a choice in this moment to get up, dust myself off and go for another run — no matter
how out of shape I might actually be.
Using affirmations during exercise does two things. One, It prepares the mind, which in turn, prods
the body for development. Two, for competitive athletes, it radiates their success thoughts which
have the potential of affecting their opponents.
If you follow a general fitness routine, then the following affirmations can be of help:
"Every day in every way I am becoming fitter and healthier."
"I enjoy my daily workouts and they make me feel energetic."
"My metabolism has improved as a result of my exercises and I am leaner and fitter."
"My daily exercises make me stronger and fitter."
"I can do it."
Combine two or more of these exercise affirmations as per your need and repeat them in your mind
as you do your workout. Also, try to visualize the end result that you desire with your workout. The
combination of exercise affirmations and visualization is very very potent.