Have you ever noticed how a lack of motivation leaves you feeling sluggish and uninspired? One great way to turn that mindset around is by consciously getting joyful! Joyful about what, exactly? Well, anything will do, but here are a few good ideas to get you started.
Probably one of the best things to get joyful about are the end results you’re trying to create. If you’re working toward your goals and feeling unmotivated about taking action, start by thinking about how good you’ll feel to achieve the goal. Imagine the feelings of excitement and satisfaction you’ll experience when you can finally shout, “I did it!” It’s important to not just think about these things, but really allow yourself to experience the feelings too!
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
You can also take it step further and consider how achieving that goal will contribute to your life and the lives of others. What do you stand to gain from it? How will it help others? How do you feel about those benefits? Imagine that you and others are enjoying those benefits right now. How does that make you feel?
Still not feeling the joy?
Not to worry. Start focusing on something wonderful you want to happen in your future, even if you’re not working on it yet. Make this “something” really BIG and AMAZING. Something that you know will change your whole life and cause you to overflow with joy. Some examples: Imagine that you’re business efforts paid off with a huge unexpected windfall and you get to call all your friends and relatives to share the good news. Or imagine that you’ve closed a deal on your dream home and you’re going to start moving in tomorrow. Or imagine that you just got engaged to the love of your life!
Invincible determination can accomplish almost anything.
~Thomas Fuller
Whatever you choose to focus on, pretend that it’s happening NOW and allow yourself to get into those feelings of intense excitement and awe. Stay with these images for as long as necessary to pump yourself up with joy.
Now take some action
Once you’re feeling joyful and excited, get moving immediately on your other tasks or goals – the ones you were avoiding a little while ago. Don’t give yourself time to form any more excuses; just do it!
Allow your feelings of joy and enthusiasm to flow into your current activities and keep your motivation strong. You’ll probably find that your energy stays high for a longer period of time and you’ll end up accomplishing more than you would have otherwise. Even better, joy can make any action seem almost effortless – which can be a big help when you’re pursuing goals or facing a difficult task.
Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation,
and a pinch of creativity. ~Bo Bennett
Once you get used to using joy as a motivator, you’ll likely come to enjoy the process so much that it will take less and less effort to employ – and you’ll have no trouble at all keeping your motivation consistently strong!
Want more simple methods like this one to help you reach your personal development goals, or maybe you just need more motivation? I have always found that challenging myself to accomplish something within a certain timeframe is very motivating. For example, start by asking yourself: What Could You Accomplish in 100 Days?
