Staying consistent in pursuing our goals can be exhausting at certain points, especially if we do not see the end of the tunnel anytime soon—or even worse, facing obstacles that drag us backward rather than towards our goal. However, at the same time, thinking of giving up on our dreams and goals can be heartbreaking and, (even worse) for some people, means staying in the suffering. Besides, giving up halfway through your growth journey, meaning that we need to restart this complex process all over again?
Here are some tips that can help you to stay motivated in doing your best to reach your dream or goals (at least the things that I tried personally and worked on every other time). It is not easy to always be motivated all the time—which I think makes sense because if it is easy though, everybody will most likely be wherever they wish right now—however, this challenge can make us realize that all your sacrifices, hard work, prayers would be worth it at the end and even more you will miss all these processes at some point in your life in the future.
Let’s begin.
Remember the “Why” behind your dreams and goals.
It sounds simple and cliché, but I found this a powerful way to restore my drive to keep moving forward. Remembering the purpose or the “why” behind achieving this dream and goal allows me to be reminded again that my hard work and efforts will eventually matter. All the efforts, the pain, the sweat, and sometimes the emotional roller coaster that I’m facing at this moment are essential as part of achieving something I have dreamed (want or passionate) about or in becoming what I hope to be in the future. All of them will somehow contribute to your future success.
Stay patient
This second tip might sound boring and may be hard to do or does not even make sense for some of us. I agree that being patient—forced by reality to wait for not knowing how many minutes, hours, or even years—must be challenging. The biggest question is that, too, how if the time indeed never comes? My friends, I feel you. What helps me personally (as best to my knowledge) to stay patient is accepting the reality that achieving certain goals and dreams in our lives often takes time and could be risky. Besides, the life journey is not always on the high or happy spectrum; it is a combination of both the high and the low spectrum. Thus, acknowledging this reality might be a mature way to look at how the real world rolls and can give us a perspective on how to stay resilience and consistent even during low moments in our journey. How we respond during the high and the low times sometimes can determine how fast we progress towards our goal.
Enjoy the process, Look around but don’t go too far off
So what would we do then in the seasons of waiting and staying patient? I found that enjoying the process is the key to staying “joyful” in the process. It’s like traveling to a nice place using a train while passing beautiful views along the way with our favorite person. Though the ride can take several hours before reaching your destination, we certainly can still enjoy the ride because we see beautiful sceneries that we have never seen before along the way and make memories with our favorite people. Sometimes, we are too fixated on pondering when we will arrive at our destination, easily making us impatient and frustrated. In this case, the ride will be challenging to enjoy. Some ways to enjoy our season of waiting could be practicing gratitude, meeting new people or sharing your journey with family and friends, exploring new hobbies, exercising, taking time to rest and care for yourself, and helping others along the way.
Stay Inspired
Being inspired allows sparks of motivation and sometimes confidence to keep pursuing our goals. Hearing testimonies of people who have successfully reached their goals and overcome challenges can inspire us to follow their path and do the same thing. Moreover, being inspired can also spark creativity or fresh perspectives that might help us in our journey to reach our dreams or goals.
Celebrate Small Wins
Don’t underestimate small wins and milestones in our journey; they matter. Celebrating small successes can have a positive impact on our motivation, confidence, and overall well-being. Celebrating small wins helps build self-confidence tremendously; you feel more accomplished when you know that you are progressing well in your journey—and this will allow us to stay motivated to stay in the game and move forward. Celebrating small wins also demonstrates a positive attitude and respect towards ourselves and the people who help us in the journey.
Be willing
Be willing to feel pain or unsatisfied during the journey. Be willing to acknowledge that your journey might not feel like a walk in a park. Be willing to accept that sometimes, to achieve our dream, we might need to let go of other things or people in our lives. Be willing to stay hopeful even during the low times in your journey.
Lastly, it is expected to have moments of doubt and desire to give up while pursuing our dreams and goals. However, the reality is that there is no shortcut or easy way to achieve your dream (assuming your vision is more significant than your current capacity); the key is to develop strategies and plan to overcome the feelings of giving up and make a daily decision to stay consistent on your path to achieving your goals.