How to Motivate Yourself Every Day

Last week I turned a prospect into a client for one simple reason: my energy. It was already late at night. We were talking at a restaurant and, as usual, I could not stop talking. Around 11 p.m. I noticed he was getting tired. I said nothing. Then he asked me: “How do you do it?” Not knowing what he meant, I asked him to clarify. He said: “How do you still have this energy? I know you started early today, you never stopped, and even now at 11 at night you still carry that morning motivation, that same energy.”

It was an excellent question. A couple of weeks earlier a good friend, Matias Biluron, had said something that stuck with me. It was not profound, yet it felt extraordinary because it named a reality I had never considered normal. He told me: “Do you know why I want to work with you, Damien? Because you are not one of those fake positives who get on my nerves. I love positive people. I am positive too. But no one can be 100 percent positive all the time. It is human to have moments when you do not want to hear anyone, when you are simply not in the mood to keep pushing. Nobody is so perfect that they stay positive forever. People who sell themselves that way annoy me. You are positive, yet you are also objective. You are not positive just for the sake of being positive.“

And that is the truth!

When he said that, I felt relieved. I used to think something was wrong with me whenever that kind of forced positivity irritated me. It turns out the feeling is widely shared. I told friends and they said the same thing.

Sponsored*

Simple and Effective Ways to Motivate Yourself

Motivation comes from your state of mind, your mindset. When you feel motivated, you also feel positive. The opposite would be counterproductive. What Matias made me realize, I was able to explain to that gentleman. There are countless exercises and tricks that feed motivation. I use only a few, yet I know many. It is not about collecting dozens of them. It is about using the ones that actually work for you.

1- Music

I listen to music all day long. My wife complains when I am home because she says I never change the tracks. The reason is simple: I built a playlist specifically designed to keep my motivation level high throughout the day.

2- Remember Your “Why”

I keep a folder of photos with family, friends, partners and others for whom I am doing everything I do. Once you have found your “Why,” reminding yourself of it from time to time gives you a real boost of motivation.

3- Be Grateful for What You Have

It is important to set materialism and superficial things aside and feel grateful for what you have today. It helps you put your life in perspective against what you had (or did not have) before, see your progress, and appreciate your current situation instead of always focusing only on the future.

4- Drop Your To-Do List

As I explained in this earlier article, when you stop relying on a to-do list you become far more productive. When you are no longer blocked, your motivation level stays high.

5- Do What Moves You

Doing something you do not enjoy is hard. You cannot fully commit, you lose the desire, and you waste time thinking about other activities you would rather do. If the things you dislike can be delegated, do it. When I hired employees I freed so much space in my schedule that I realized it was actually costing me more money not to have them.

6- Exercise

This is not the first time I have said it, but exercise is extremely important for anyone who is serious about their career and goals. It is not only good for your body. It is good for your mental health, and that keeps my motivation at its peak. I do not always want to do it. Most mornings I have to push myself. Yet once I finish my routine, I feel like a different man.

7- Reward Yourself and Celebrate Your Wins

When you know a solid reward is waiting after you finish a task or project, your motivation tends to rise. Celebrating a win in any other way, even taking one minute to appreciate what you just did or telling someone about it, also recharges motivation and positivity. So hang those carrots and celebrate to keep your motivation alive.

8- Meditation

Just like exercise, meditation is very important. When my mind feels a bit tired or overloaded, my energy and motivation drop. So in the afternoons, or whenever needed, I sit with my eyes closed and simply focus on my breathing for a few minutes. That clears my mind and releases internal tension.

9- Get Out into Nature

I discovered this a few years ago after months without stopping: no weekends, no breaks, nights of only three hours of sleep. I felt I was about to explode, yet it seemed necessary. A friend forced me to take a weekend: no phones, no computers, no internet, up in the mountains near Valle de Bravo a few hours from Mexico City. In less than 48 hours I recharged completely and my mood shifted. I returned to the office far more productive and motivated.

10- Look for Optimism

I explained last week that negativity is contagious. Negativity can drain both your motivation and your energy. On the other hand, a positive and constructive way of looking at things can energize you and refill your motivation. So when you find yourself in what seems like a negative situation, ask questions such as: What is good about this? And what hidden opportunity is here?

11- Get a Coach

If you want to reach a difficult goal, a coach can be extremely useful. Your coach does not only give you a map to navigate and move forward with your goals. He or she keeps you in check and makes sure you are doing what is required to keep advancing. Having a third party watching your back from time to time is an important extra source of motivation because you have to show proof that you are doing what you committed to achieve.

12- Simply Start Your Day

You do not have to wait for motivation to arrive. If you want to work consistently every day, sometimes you just have to get moving. If needed, set a routine with a trainer, get up, do not hit snooze, and the motivation will catch up. The funny part is that after you have been working for a while, things start to feel easier and more fun, and motivation meets you halfway.