Have you ever asked yourself how some people seem to stay so motivated in achieving their goals and dreams? Whether it be in your personal life or professional life, we look at these folks and think “wow, I don’t know how they do it! What energy they have!”.
I often think this about fellow artists in my field. I see them pumping out social media posts like clockwork, launching new products on the reg and overall just having great engagement with their followers. And I say this, mind you, as someone who considers myself very organized, focused and good at sticking to a routine. Yet, even I marvel at folks who seem to do it all so successfully.
For example, in my industry (digital design assets) though the community itself is overall large, the group of more popular designers is actually pretty small. This means I’m competing with a huge pool of other designers to try and find my place among the top tier. It’s like this in every industry and made even harder for newcomers who are still navigating their way.
I’ll be very honest and say that I am always struggling with the balance of working and living. I admit I get frustrated when I don’t see my business going as well as I would like it to…especially when it feels like I’m putting so much of my time and energy towards it. I also want to live an enjoyable life…so as I always say, balance is key. I want to stay motivated and yet don’t want to burn myself out…because that can happen.
So how do we stay motivated?
I do this is in a myriad of ways. First, I recognize what I’m feeling at the moment. Am I feeling a little envious, comparing myself to others too much? Is it frustration I feel because I know I have a good product but no one is seeing it? Do I need to advertise more? Should I take some classes to strengthen my skills? I then write down any key thoughts or ideas and take each on one by one. I generally get a lot of answers this way. Other times I realize I’m doing everything I should be doing at the moment, it’s just that I’m expecting too much, too soon.
Being successful takes time and hard work. Hard work takes dedication and commitment. Commitment comes from knowing you have something worth offering to others. None of this means you shouldn’t work to expand your skills or make changes when necessary. What it means is that you don’t give up. You stay the course.
Staying motivated is an ongoing situation that you’ll likely be dealing with throughout the life of your business. So get used to it. Remember also that the path to a successful business is not a straight line to the top. It’s usually a zig zag of ups and downs, highs and lows with some plateaus sprinkled in between. It’s a process of exposing yourself to new things, learning different skills, and venturing into areas you hadn’t looked into before. It’s also stopping to take some time and reflect how far you’ve come. Doing this will make you appreciate yourself more, which is also a great motivator.
So the next time you’re feeling stuck, don’t fall into a negative mindset. Instead, look back at all that you’ve accomplished already. Be grateful in that moment and allow yourself to come from this positive space excited about how you will navigate your business going forward. You’ll find this will keep your mind open and the ideas flowing.
We all have dreams and aspirations and yes, we all need a good kick in the butt sometimes to stay motivated in achieving them. However, the best motivator is isn’t one that kicks you when you’re down, it’s the one that helps lift you up. Be your own cheerleader telling yourself, you got this. Because you do, and don’t ever forget that.
Until then…
