Staying motivated and committed to our goals can be a challenge. Fortunately, psychology has come up with a range of strategies that have been proven to help us stay on track. Here are 10 psychological tricks to stay motivated and stick with your goals.
The Ulysses Pact: An Ancient Technique for Building Better Habits
The Ulysses Pact is a technique that helps you stay on track even when things get tough.
It involves making a commitment in the present that binds you to perform an action in the future, such as writing checks for each missed workout with a friend.
The Seinfeld Strategy: A Powerful Double Motivator
The Seinfeld Strategy is a powerful way to stay motivated because it’s a double motivator: crossing off each successful day gives you a sense of accomplishment while avoiding the pain that comes from breaking your streak is also motivating.
It’s also an effective memory enhancer to keep you on track.
Get Focused with the Distraction List
The Distraction List is a tiny tool you can use to manage internal distractions like worry and daydreaming that can derail your motivation.
Whenever you set out to do your task, keep a small notebook or pad of paper and pencil with you.
If you notice yourself getting distracted by a thought, feeling, memory or other internal distractor, quickly jot it down and then shift your focus back to your task.
Lean Into Your Distractions
Ignoring internal distractions often leads to an even stronger surge of them.
The Distraction List works well because it helps you lean into your distractions.
By briefly acknowledging them and having a plan to deal with them later, you can train yourself to become less reactive to them and better able to stay focused on your work.
The Benefits of Visualization
Visualization can be a powerful technique for staying motivated and improving performance.
Visualize the outcome of your goal and its benefits, making sure that the image is specific, concrete and available.
Doing this will create a strong motivation to achieve your goal.
Chunking: Breaking Down Big Goals Into Smaller Parts
Chunking, the process of breaking down an intimidating goal into smaller parts, can help increase motivation by boosting self-efficacy.
For example, instead of seeing one large project, break it down into smaller tasks for each day.
The Negative Impact of Self-Talk
Habitual negative self-talk can rob you of motivation, so it’s important to learn how to talk to ourselves in a gentler manner.
Replace harsh self-talk with positive affirmations that acknowledge your hard work and commitment to change.
Social Support (the Right Way)
Social support can be a great way to stay motivated, but most people make two big mistakes when recruiting a friend or partner.
First, they focus too much on the end goal instead of the daily routines that will move them closer to their goal.
Second, they think of their social support person as someone who will stop them from slipping up instead of someone who will encourage and validate their wins.
Use Positive Reinforcement To Stay Motivated
Positive reinforcement can help increase the likelihood of performing a desired behavior.
This means rewarding yourself whenever you hit a milestone or complete a goal on your way to achieving something bigger.
The Power of Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is an incredibly powerful tool for motivating yourself.
Pick a small but enjoyable reward that you can give yourself once you complete a task, like 15 pages of reading or working out for 10 minutes.
Every time you complete your goal, reward yourself with something small to boost your motivation.
