Staying Motivated When Times Are Tough

 

When you first put together your plan, it seems to make perfect sense. The steps are straightforward, the timeframes are reasonable, and you’re on the course for greatness. The day-to-day management of it can end up being very different. There will be great days but there will be very hard days. Staying motivated when things are bad is challenging for even the most optimistic people. When paving your own road to success, you have to keep yourself motivated. Obstacles will always end up in your path but how you stay positive will ultimately determine how much you can achieve.

 Breathe

You’d be surprised at how staying motivated can come down to a couple of deep breaths. During times of high pressure or stress, your amygdala (the part of the brain that controls your fight-or-flight response) becomes very active, causing you to overreact to normal stressors and become more susceptible to negative thoughts. Proper breathing, on the other hand, gives you the ability to calm your blood pressure, your stress level, and your mind.

Yesterday, I was driving home from a successful speaking engagement, but as I neared my home city, a strong wave of dread came over me, the result of all the responsibilities and obligations that awaited me once I made it back safely. I realized my sweaty palms, plummeting mood, and increased stress level and employed the following technique:

1. I inhaled deeply for 5 seconds, not from the chest but deep within my belly.

2. I held that breath for 5 seconds.

3. I exhaled slowly for 5 seconds, letting all of the air in my lungs escape.

4. I waited 5 seconds before taking my next breath.

5. I repeated the steps above once again.

Less than one minute in, I immediately began to feel better. My mind cleared up, my motivation returned, and I felt much more in control of my situation. All because of two slow, deep breaths.

Prayer

When the obstacles seem insurmountable, I turn to my most reliable source of support. Bringing my trials to God not only reduces their emotional burden—it also makes me consider what’s truly important and what isn’t. I don’t want to sweat the small stuff, even though it’s easy to get tangled in. Just considering asking God for help gives me the ability to see things more rationally. I have a great deal to be thankful for and all the positives that exist in my life. It makes negative comments or discouraging rejections seem less significant in the long run.

Just the other day, I was feeling more than overwhelmed in my current situation. Lately I’ve been managing and planning my crowdfunding campaign, had a few family emergencies, been working on delivering high-quality posts to you all, and found out my contract at work will be ending soon and my company won’t be renewing. Couple all of that with some health issues my wife and I have been dealing with, and it’s easy to see why I’ve been so stressed out lately. However, the simple act of praying in the morning as well as the various times I feel anxiety creeping up throughout the day instantly brings much-needed peace in a time of serious uncertainty.

 Conversation

Talk to people you care about when you’re feeling down. If you’re not already sharing your goals with your friends and family, you need to start. Having people around you to check in and see how your projects are progressing is a great way to build an accountability network. But don’t forget to reach out to them when you start to struggle. The people who believe in you are the ones you want to have around. They can remind you of why you got started.

Another important thing you can get from your support system is advice or the opportunity to brainstorm out loud. Talking to other entrepreneurs with more experience than me gave me some fantastic information that made staying motivated much easier. Yesterday, I had a conversation with a fellow entrepreneur where we mostly just described our business struggles over the past several weeks: our disagreements with partners and potential clients, miscues and miscommunication, and general business frustrations. Through this pow-wow, I was able to come to conclusions and had ideas that otherwise never would have struck me. When anything can be an inspiration, communicating with people is essential.

 Stories

Stories of other people’s struggles can help you overcome your own. When I’ve run out of momentum and success doesn’t feel attainable, I recharge by seeing what’s gotten other people ahead.

“The very first company I started failed with a great bang. The second one failed with a bit less but still failed. The third one, you know, proper failed, but it was kind of ok. Number four almost didn’t fail. It didn’t really feel great but it did ok. Number five was PayPal.”

Yup, that’s PayPal co-founder and former CTO Max Levchin. Four company foundings and four failures in a row are enough to make anyone give up. It was an expensive, unfulfilling prospect. But Levchin kept going and innovating. Not only did he found a successful business, but his company changed the way people exchange money online. Thousands of small businesses, independent contractors, and individuals have been able to make money and send it out to others quickly and securely. PayPal has transformed the economic landscape for the better. And it happened because Levchin stayed motivated.

Listening to podcasts or reading stories of triumph reminds me that everyone, no matter how rich, smart, or powerful they may seem, has faced countless barriers on the road to success. Failure and rejection are inevitable but good things come to those who are staying motivated.

 Service

Opening your heart and offering your time to others is one of the most valuable things you can do to strengthen your spirit. Bringing back that strength and resilience is critical to handling future problems. This can be very minor—a neighbor who needs help with their gutters, a friend with a baby who desperately needs the laundry done, or a sick family member who could use a home meal delivery. There’s much to gain and little to lose when you try to help others.

Getting involved with a local organization on a regular basis is a great way to stay positive over a long term. Charities and organizations host different events and often have regular opportunities to use your skills or develop new ones while making life better for others. And you never know when you might meet the person who becomes instrumental to success. Volunteering is just as important to networking as any other event. There are so many wonderful people giving their time to causes out there, you’re bound to make a friend or two… maybe someone who can help you out of your tough situation.

 Celebration

When things are at their worst, any positive is worth celebrating! At the end of a terrible day, getting a nice email or a friendly comment on Facebook can make all the difference. Just because a success is smaller doesn’t make it less valuable. Focusing on the positive is what keeps successful motivated. Little celebrations can lift you out of a rut and back into an active mode. Don’t miss the opportunity to congratulate yourself. When I was finishing my book, sometimes finishing a chapter was success—but some days, just getting through a page was worth getting excited about. It won’t always be easy but it will always be worth it.

The drive to achieve your goals comes from within. Whether work feels like too much of the same old stuff or you’re having trouble starting something new, always remember that failure is an integral part of success. There will always be setbacks and opportunities to quit. Staying motivated can be difficult when things are at their darkest but you can push through. You can make a change and renew your inspiration.

You can DO this!