5 Unorthodox Ways to Stay Motivated

In this fast-paced, stressful world, setting and achieving goals can seem like an impossible task. As women, we are pulled in so many directions. Is it even possible to achieve the things that we want in life, when so many others are demanding our time? And if we find the time to commit to ourselves and our dreams, how do we stay motivated. How do we keep ourselves from just giving up; giving in? 

The typical things we hear regarding motivation are rarely more than flippant taglines. Keep your chin up. Fake it till you make it. Attitude is everything. Just do it. We have all heard these comments before, and they don’t seem to motivate at all. If anything, they only serve to promote eyerolls and irritation. The masculine model of industry and achievement used these terms and sayings to some success but what about for women? 

I don’t care who disagrees with me, women and men are built differently. Our minds do not work the same. As children our brains and skills developed at different rates in different areas. Our thoughts occur differently as adults. Women hold a vast capacity to experience a wide variety of thoughts and feelings at once. Men don’t often work that way.

They are built to tackle one thing at a time. From an evolutionary standpoint, these differences make perfect sense. In the caveman days, a woman would have to be doing chores and take care of infants at the same time. Men would have only needed to perform one task at a time, say hunting, or starting a fire. Nowadays, the differences are less pronounced, but make no mistake, they are still there.  

So, what to do about staying motivated? Is there a more feminine model? The answer is a resounding Yes!  

Here are 5 ways to keep your mood elevated and stay motivated: 

Meditate. 

Focus on abundance, success, gratitude, love. Whatever you need to feel each day in order to stay the course. Focus on a feeling or focus on the image of you achieving your goal. Do this every morning for at least 5 minutes a day. You can also do a visualization in the shower, imagining all the negativity and doubts running down the drain.  

Create accountability.  

Find a partner with a similar goal, create or join a group of like-minded women, join an online group. Tell others your goal and commit to regularly check in with any struggles or need for support.  

Set cool rewards. 

Figure out things you can do as a reward for your efforts. They need to be small things you can do every week or so. If you have a busy schedule, a bubble bath or time reading can be a reward. Set bigger rewards for milestones reached such as a massage or new haircut. Find what works for you. The rewards need to be something you will enjoy and that won’t derail your goals. I don’t recommend junk food being a reward for walking every day for example.  

Celebrate Successes 

Once you’ve reached your goal, CELEBRATE. So often we let the goal achieved just pass as an ordinary event, but it’s not. It is vital to celebrate when you do something you’ve been working hard at. It reminds you of how fabulous you are and how much you deserve to do well in your life. You can celebrate alone or with a group, whatever suits you. When you celebrate the small goals, it will feel much more natural to celebrate the bigger goals. I suggest keeping a Success Journal by your bed. Read through it often. When you achieve a Big Goal, make sure you celebrate with others. You deserve the recognition for your accomplishment.  

Joy Jar 

This is my favorite tool for staying motivated and keeping my mood elevated. Get a clear glass jar and label it The Joy Jar. Decorate it if you like, just make sure you can still see through it. Every time something cool, fun, special or exciting happens in your day to day, write about it with the date on a slip of paper. Throughout the year you watch as the Joy Jar fills up. At the end of the year, read through all those papers. Too often we reach the end of the year and look back with regret and guilt for what we didn’t do. This way you get to reflect on all the great things that happened instead! 

The feminine model for motivational focus is one that is gentle, but firm. Set goals, lean on community for support, and celebrate the steps along the way.