hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're going to learn about four simple tricks
to stay motivated every single day now let's begin motivation is not some magical solution
to all your problems it won't guarantee you that promotion it won't stop you from failing
a test a lot of people think a little motivation means success will just fall into their lap but
that isn't how it works you see motivation isn't the answer it isn't the end point it's where you
start think about your goals like a road trip okay finding motivation is like choosing where
you want to go and why just because you pick the destination doesn't mean you'll always get
there you still have to put in work by driving the long hours and paying for gas you'll still
have setbacks like blowing a tire or sitting in traffic but if you pick the right destination
for the right reasons you can power through any obstacle now of course it won't be easy
each obstacle can leave you wondering why you took this grueling trip in the first place and at some
point you'll feel like turning around you might think about even giving up you might get so tired
that you drive somewhere closer and easier instead this happens to so many people because they don't
start the right way they don't think enough about where they're going in fact some people just pick
a random destination with no clue why they chose it even if they do make it somehow these people
quickly realize it isn't really where they wanted to go so today I want to talk about motivating
yourself the right way from choosing meaningful goals to persevering through failure these simple
tricks will help you follow a path toward your definition of lifelong success number one on
your goals this is a trap that tons of people fall into especially if they're just finishing
high school or college now you might have an idea of how your life's going to play out but
is it yours is it what you want or did someone else choose it for you for years a close friend
of mine said he was going to be I'm a doctor he initially came up with the idea and middle
school and his parents immediately latched on to it he got good grades and excelled in science so
naturally it seemed like a perfect fit whenever anyone asked his parents would brag about how
their son wanted to be a neurosurgeon my friend eventually started telling people the same thing
after graduating high school he went to a college with a great pre-med program and started browsing
potential medical schools my friend thought he had his entire life planned out he was so sure
he had found the path that would make him happy but did he in reality he was trying to achieve
his parents definition of success he adopted their goals as his own he chose a destination and a good
one but he never knew why he wanted to get there finally after years of reaching for someone else's
dreams he sat down and thought about where his life was headed it didn't take long for him to
realize he was going the wrong way so what's the point of this story well you're surrounded by
influences and expectations everyone around you will have a vision of who you are but really no
one knows you better than you so don't spend your life trying to live up to their expectations or
run from their criticisms you shouldn't choose a path because people say you should your motivation
has to come from you it should stem from your talents your interests and passions it should
represent what actually makes you happy now I'm not telling you to ignore your family or
community but you won't have the perseverance to achieve your goals if they aren't yours so
here's the first trick to staying motivated set aside a few minutes each day to own your goals
and during that time consider where they come from remind yourself how and why you chose them
and not only will you feel more pride in who you are but you'll also know you're heading in the
right direction number two envision the details when you imagine your future do you ever think
about the little details now I don't mean that vague fantasy that people have about living in a
giant mansion with their million there's nothing wrong with dreaming about wealth and fame but
more often than not these aren't actually goals they're just things that you think about for fun
you can't figure out a plan to get there because there doesn't really exist this is what separates
a goal and a dream I often hear these terms used interchangeably but there is a difference dreams
are flexible and easy they capture imaginary feelings and actions you might dream about
flying or walking through walls my pet doesn't mean you're going to some dreams inspire you to
chase after something but your goals actually do the chasing goals are concrete steps towards
something you want they have deadlines costs and obstacles they can and should exist in real life
yet people don't treat them that way they act like their goals are crazy and possible ideas
so they seem imaginary but they don't have to stay that way you can motivate yourself
every day by visualizing your goals picture them down to the smallest detail if you want to ace a
test imagine yourself in the room staring at the paper now think about the feel of the pencil in
your hand and the seat on your back this is the same technique countless professional athletes
use before major competitions they envision themselves winning and then do everything they
can to bring that vision to life but this trick isn't limited to short-term goals you can do the
same thing with your future ask yourself as many questions as you can think of what is your daily
routine look like who do you spend most of your time with what kind of furniture do you own you
know these questions may sound pointless but each one gives you direction and drive you don't have
to ask every question at once and you don't have to know all the answers by simply forcing yourself
to be specific you can turn vague ideas into real achievable goals number three the power
of expectations and now I mentioned before that other people's expectations could lead you down
the wrong path they can make you feel lost or unfold you might spend years doing something
just to avoid letting other people down but if you already know where you're headed expectations can
also work wonders after you decide on your goals tell someone about it explain to a close friend or
family member where you're going and why express your vision and the steps you're taking to make
it a reality all too often I hear about someone hiding their dreams some stash away their goals
on a secret to-do list others say they won't show anyone until it's 100 percent perfect which it
rarely ever is either way they're too embarrassed to show the world what they're passionate about
but hiding their goals may be holding them back when you explain your goals you turn them into
physical deadlines if no one knows what you're doing you can get away with not doing it so you
should create that expectation you need someone to expect you to finish when you say you will ideally
find someone who will check in and ask about your progress and make sure it's someone whose opinion
matters to you that way you won't want them to see you give up no one likes to admit to a loved
one that they failed or fallen behind instead you want to show up with a finished product and
make them proud it's important however that you don't get carried away this trick only works if
you open up to one or two people otherwise you can actually lose motivation when you tell everyone
that will listen you sometimes assume an identity that isn't yours to say you want to write a book
you're having a hard time staying motivated so you decide to tell a bunch of people about it
now those people will unconsciously think of you as an author suddenly you've adopted a new title
and reputation without doing much of anything so why invest the time and effort into earning
something that you already have I see this all the time through social media people seem more
interested in getting attention and respect than accomplishing their actual goals to make sure you
don't fall into this trap till only one person you care about and that way their expectations
will fuel your success not give you an excuse to be lazy number four resurrecting motivation
I wish I could tell you you'll feel motivated all the time but I can't even if you maximize
every trick on this list you'll eventually feel lazy and unproductive no matter how ambitious you
are there's just no avoiding these moments of weakness most people let this negativity stop
them from pursuing their goals they expect things to be smooth and easy but life obviously doesn't
work that way every path you take will be filled with failure and frustration but here's the thing
you know these obstacles are coming sure you don't know what or when or why but it's going to
happen eventually something will make you feel like giving up so why not prepare yourself the
fourth trick to stay motivated every day is to figure out ahead of time how to resurrect your
motivation create a plan to navigate through your darkest laziest moments while everyone's
plan will look a little different there's one key thing you need find a way to accept your failures
whatever happened happen and you can't change that if you spent the last two hours watching
TV instead of working don't sit around feeling guilty about it instead remind yourself that
every second is a chance to wipe the slate clean learn from your mistakes and try again thank you
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