When you read the term “self-motivation”, do you visualize a person who is self-disciplined and doesn’t need external motivation to accomplish great things? If so, you are on the right track. Self-motivated people are able to find internal motivations that give them the strength to function and accomplish positive things. Self-discipline is a part of self-motivation, but it isn’t the only factor.

If you struggle with motivation, you may apply negative labels to yourself. You may refer to yourself as lazy, sluggish, or even a failure. Stop that! Lack of self-motivation and laziness are not synonymous. Negative experiences, discouraging words from others, trauma, and stress are all things that chip away at your self-motivation. Stop adding to that negativity with the way that you talk to yourself. Remember that just wanting to increase your self-motivation takes a lot of courage.

“Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives.” – Anthony Robbins

Positivity is what allows you to feel satisfied when you have accomplished something, and what encourages you to keep working when things are difficult. Self-motivated people are able to get things done and achieve happiness regardless of whether or not other people are there to help or encourage them. Fortunately, no matter where you are now, you can develop and improve your self-motivation.

Take these 5 action steps to unlock your positive thinking:

1. Meditate daily

Focus on two things. First, focus on forgiving yourself for failures and shortcomings. Then, visualize yourself full of energy, happy, active, and accomplishing things that are necessary and that are pleasurable to you. You can also use meditation for sleep. Just visualize the stressful and chaotic thoughts that cause sleeplessness flowing out of your mind. Then, visualize them being replaced with soothing white light.

“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.” – Oprah Winfrey

2. Get organized

This is one of the more difficult steps to take when you are struggling with self-motivation. The act of going through your belongings, sorting, organizing, and throwing things away is physically and emotionally taxing. Unfortunately, it is a necessary part of this process. Clutter is exhausting, and living and working in an environment that is not harmonious will continuously sap your energy and motivation.

3. Workout regularly or participate in a sport that you love

You may question how you will possibly do this when doing so requires motivation – the thing that you are lacking. Yes, it is true that it takes motivation to start down the path of physical activity. However, once you get going, the physical and emotional rewards will contribute more to your self-motivation than they ever take away. If you choose to participate in a team sport, a recreational league may be a great place to also find encouragement from others who love something that you do.

4. Give yoga a chance

There are two different ways in which yoga can help you improve your self-motivation. If you practice yoga on a regular basis, you improve flexibility, strengthen and tone your muscles. You will find that with this improvement in overall physical health, doing the things that you need or want to do is much less physically taxing. Your self-motivation will increase in spades if you know that you won’t be physically exhausted. Lack of self-motivation may as well come from an imbalance in one or more of your chakras. There are a variety of yoga poses that can help with that. In addition to this, yoga can be used as a way to push negative energy out of the body and encourage the flow of positive energy into the body.

5. Consume food and beverages that benefit your body and mind

Purge your cupboards of processed foods, fatty meats, excess dairy products, and other junk. Drink lots of water and green tea. Focus on developing a plant-centered diet where you take in at least 80 percent of your calories via plant based sources. If you do indulge, then choose food and beverages that are true indulgences. Enjoy a wonderful glass of wine, a wonderful meal at a great restaurant, or an expensive piece of dark chocolate. Don’t waste your indulgences on things that are not worthwhile.

Focus on daily positive thinking

Even the smallest negative thoughts can chip away at your self-motivation. Remember that self-improvement and motivation depend on you having a positive outlook about the big and small things in life. When you think a negative thought, force yourself to stop and rephrase that thought into something that is positive and affirming. Eventually, you will find that negative thoughts enter your mind less and less frequently.

When you learn how to think positively and motivate yourself every day, your life will improve immensely. You will regain the self-esteem that you lost during your struggles. You will find happiness is easier to come by. First, because it is easier to do the things you need in order to attain that happiness, but also because you will see yourself as somebody who deserves the happiness that was once elusive for you.

This deep inner happiness will allow you to feel love and joy in ways that you never did before. All of this combines to make you a more successful person on many levels. Your new self-motivation will lead you to success on the job, success in relationships, and most importantly success in loving and accepting yourself no matter where you are.

“Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self-starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don’t waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail.” – Og Mandino

You deserve every single one of the positive benefits that come with self-motivation. Surely you can give yourself the gift of a few minutes of meditation, or one day of making food choices that truly nourish your body. Don’t you deserve the tired yet pleasurable feeling that comes after completing a work-out or a yoga session? You don’t need to do everything at once.

Just remember that your action plan is meaningless unless you actually take the steps to do so! What action are you taking today?