When you set up your business goals, you have an initial surge of motivation. The planning stages are exciting because of what you may accomplish by proceeding with your plan. However, as time passes and other aspects of work get in the way, you may feel less motivated. Here are some ideas on how to stay motivated.

Goals and Tasks

Keep a written copy of your goals on your desk and review them often so you can keep your “eyes on the prize”. I also create a running task list (that I write out in a notebook). I have actually learned, through my Life Coaching certification course through The Life Coach School, that you should do a brain dump of all your action items once a week, then schedule them on your calendar and throw away your task list… but if I throw away my task list, I may lose some important stuff because there are things that are not going to fit in my calendar. So… I keep a running list and review it at the beginning of every week. The I pull the ones that are my priorities and schedule those.

Please note that it is normal, as you progress through your plan, to find that some goals or tasks are no longer relevant. Perhaps you have changed your business initiatives and some of the previous goals are no longer valid. It is a worthwhile exercise to review your business goals on a regular basis to make sure that you are on track with your vision for your company. I would recommend reviewing your business goals at least twice a year, if not quarterly.

Benefits of Completing the Goals

You are responsible for taking your business to the next level. You have to know WHY you want to achieve these goals. Think about the benefits of completing the goals for your business. Why do you want this for yourself and your business? For example, if you are in the health/fitness industry, your WHY may be helping others take control of their lives instead of their weight/health issues taking control. There is a reason why you started your business. It will help if you post your WHY on your desk or on the wall in a nice frame. Put it somewhere that you will see it several times throughout the day. As your eyes sweep over it, take a moment to read and really feel that passion behind your why.

What if You Don’t Do That Task?

Another way to motivate yourself to keep on track with your goals is to imagine what may happen if you don’t complete them. You may stop signing new clients or stop selling your product and your business will grow stagnate. Imagining what will happen if you don’t complete the task or goal can be a great way to ensure that you keep pushing forward.

Celebrate Milestones

When you reach a milestone, find ways to reward yourself and your team. This can be as simple as going out for a celebratory drink after work, catering a lunch at the office, buying a new suit/outfit, etc. Whatever makes sense for your business and will inspire you and your team to reach for the next milestone. Achieving goals often becomes habit-forming (the good kind) so the more you do it, the higher the chances that you and your business will succeed.

What choices are you making today that define who you are? The first principle that Jack Canfield teaches in his book The Success Principles (which I highly recommend reading) is to “Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life”. You are responsible for where you are right now! Think of yourself as the CEO of your life. Your life is the greatest thing you will ever manage and you are responsible for every choice you make. Designing your life enables you to identify exactly who it is you want to be and what it is you want to do.

Designing Your Life

Designing your life demands that you have an open mind. It bestows power and trust in the palms of your hands to construct your life and live it the way that is best for you. Imagine this process as being somewhat similar to flipping a house. Sometimes you have to take a home down to its studs to rebuild something better. It takes a lot of work, but in the end… it is so worth it!

Here are a few actions you can take to design your life.

Demolition Day

Just like when you are flipping a house, designing your life can sometimes require the need for a wee bit of demolition. In order to get where you want to go, you may need to break down a few walls, tear down a few floors, and evaluate a few things about your foundation.

To determine what needs to be changed, you have to consider what is working for you as well as what is not working for you. Demolition day requires us to question what we know and whether or not it is still going to take us in the direction of our goals.

Renovation

After this process of self-reflection is complete, you are ready to begin the renovation process. You are now prepared to move and think differently. How do you want to engage with people every day? What is your degree of dedication and performance in the workplace?

Other Actions to Design Your Life

There are other actions you can take to design your life despite the circumstances that may be influencing you.

Make a Plan – What is your three to five-year plan? You may just be trying your best to make it through today but having a plan can help to ensure that what you do every day, the people you surround yourself with, and the plans you are making are going to take you into the future you desire.

Accept Those Things You Cannot Change – Another aspect of designing your life is accepting those areas in life that you cannot control or change. People often tell us that if we do not like something that is happening, take steps to change it. One of my favorite quotes states that, “If you don’t like where you are, move! You are not a tree.” But what about those things we cannot change? What should you do? You may have to make the hard decision, for example, to move away from a city that you do not like, or you may have to change jobs or take steps to entrepreneurship if there is no opportunity for growth with your current work situation.

What Impact Do You Want to Have on the Lives of Others? – The critical thing to consider with this question is understanding what role that you hope to play in the lives of others. The decisions we make or the actions we take can have a positive or negative impact on another person. We can be a source of positive energy, but we can also be a source of negative energy.

Take a Chance – Do not miss an opportunity to take a chance or try different things. Find opportunities to step outside of your comfort zone. Designing your life does not mean you have to build rigid walls around everything you do or draw a hard line for the decisions you make. If you find you are going in one direction and something happens that creates a desire to change directions, that is ok. Your new path may lead you to an even better future. Remember, you own the blueprint for your life and you have the power to design it the way that you want it!

There was a video that I watched a while ago that really inspired me. The video was of Will Smith, the actor, talking about his first skydiving experience and something he said really spoke to me. After explaining the fear that he felt leading up to the jump and then the bliss he felt once he stepped out of the airplane, Will said, “God places the best things in life on the other side of terror. On the other side of your maximum fear are the best things in life.”

Wow!

Fear is a crazy thing. I mean, it makes sense to be afraid when you are out hiking and run into a mountain lion or bear… because, you know, they can eat you! It makes total sense to be afraid in that situation. What you do not want is for fear, at any time, to paralyze you. Even in the mountain lion or bear situation, if you get so afraid that you cannot move, fear can prevent you from doing what you need to do to live!

Fear can also keep you from having some of the most amazing experiences of your life! The fear of being hurt emotionally can keep you from experiencing the most amazing relationships. The fear of failure in business can keep you from experiencing financial freedom, time freedom, etc. That is what I consider to be an unreasonable fear. Yes, if you fail or if someone hurts you emotionally, it can be painful… but it won’t kill you. And what if you succeed? Or what if that person ends up being “the one”? Don’t get me wrong. I have experienced a lot of unreasonable fear in my life. Actually, I am still working through unreasonable fears! I think that is something that you have to work on your entire life.

What did I fear? I was afraid of opening my coaching / consulting business. I was afraid of failure. I was afraid of what people would think of me. I was afraid of not being able to support my family. For so many years, I let that fear paralyze me.

Now, honestly, I have been living my passion via various jobs I have had over the years. I have been helping organizations, teams, and individuals identify goals and develop action plans to reach those goals for the past 18+ years… and, honestly, I have loved it! But I let fear keep me from pursuing my own dream of helping others through my own business!

When I finally put things in motion and begin the journey towards my dreams, I had to conquer several fears… There was the fear that I felt around opening my LLC. I felt fear when I decided to get my Strategic Intervention certification from Robbins Madanes Training (Tony Robbins and Chloe Madanes) or the Success Principles certification (Jack Canfield) or getting my Life Coach certification. Hitting the submit button to pay for those certifications was completely scary for me. After all, they were expensive and would require a lot of time and commitment on my part. I thought, “What if I wasn’t able to complete the training or what if I didn’t get approved for the certification after all that time and effort? All that money would be wasted!” I am happy to say that with a lot of hard work and the complete support of my amazing family, I received those certifications! What a feeling of accomplishment! Honestly… Why had I been so afraid? Yes, it was hard. Yes, it took a lot of effort. But it was totally worth it! I just wish I would have done it YEARS earlier!

You know what I have learned through all of these fears that I pushed through? Every time I conquer a fear, it gets easier to conquer the next fear! And the next! And the next! I have stepped out of my comfort zone so many times over the past few years and, really, in my life. That is what it takes! Start with baby steps if you have too. If fear is holding you back from realizing your dream, you have got to push past the fear. I know that you will find, just like I have, that it is normal to feel the fear but the rewards on the other side of your maximum fear… are the best things in life. I am realizing my dream of helping others reach for success. It is the most rewarding feeling! The words of thanks that I have received has been my inspiration to keep pushing past the fear.

You can achieve almost any goal you have if you are willing to do what it takes, including pushing past the fear. Don’t let fear be one of your excuses for not reaching your goals. Brian Tracy states in his book, No Excuses!: The Power of Self-Discipline, that “There are only three requirements for success. First, decide exactly what it is you want in life. Second, determine the price that you are going to have to pay to get the things that you want. And third, and this is most important, resolve to pay that price.” Are you willing to push through fear as part of that price? I highly recommend that you do!

What fears have you overcome lately? And what reward was on the other side of that fear? To encourage others to push past their fears, please post a comment and share your successes!