How To Make Motivation a Habit

Ever have one of those days when you really, really don’t feel motivated? What happens if you’re in the middle of trying to change something about yourself or quit a bad habit and you have one of “those” days?

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily. ~Zig Ziglar

If you’re anything like me and most other people, you’ve probably had the feeling of running out of motivation. That’s pretty normal. Ever wonder how to make motivation a habit?

Imagine getting up in the morning, not eating and going about your day. You come home after a long day and you’re really hungry. Yet, you don’t bother to eat that evening. The next day comes and goes without you taking the time to eat again. How long far do you imagine you could go like that – without eating? Your body gets weak, it breaks down & gets sick unless you feed it regularly.

Our mental & emotional self needs to be fed regularly, just like the physical body. If not, it gets weak and breaks down, too. We’ve all been there & seen the warning signs. We become negative, hopeless & slothful without feeding our motivation (and attitudes).

We humans must actually practice motivating ourselves and make a daily habit of it. It’s no different than nourishing your body through a healthy diet.

A Few Motivating, Inspirational Ideas

Pay attention to what you listen to. Everything you see & hear is feeding your mind. So, ask yourself, “is it positive or crap?”

Put something positive on your music player in your car. Listen at home, as you commute, etc. Music is fun and I really enjoy it. But what you can pick up from a good audio book or podcast can go a long way to recharging your emotional batteries.

Something I do daily is listen to an audio book or podcast as I’m shaving & brushing my teeth in the morning. I listen to a couple of YouTube videos by one of my favorite inspirational authors or an audio program by someone like Jim Rohn on my iPhone as I’m commuting. If I’m waiting for an appointment, I read something inspirational. I also keep a few great books by my bedside so I can easily read something positive right before turning out the light to go to sleep.

Those things all help to nourish my mental & emotional being and strengthen my motivation. My resolve stays stronger. I really notice when I don’t do these things for a day. It’s easy to feel the difference – almost like skipping an important meal. I’ve made a habit of doing things like these by practicing them over & over.

Make A System That Works For YOU…Then Practice!

The best thing about doing this is – it really doesn’t take any extra time! Get just a little creative and most of your motivational practice can be done while you’re doing something else or have “down” time. If you have a smartphone, use it smartly. Make it your tool. If you don’t have something like that, get a cheap MP3 player or carry a pocket-sized book of motivating stories with you. You can find a lot of ways to work this into your daily routine without upsetting or neglecting anything you already have to do.

The only extra time you’ll really need to take, is getting your own system together. Once you have that in place, practice, practice, practice.