Motivation
5 Unusual Ways To Maintain Your Motivation

There are any number of posts, books and videos that will talk to you about motivation and offer all sorts of advice. Some of that advice can be useful, and some not so much, but what I want to talk to you about today are five motivational techniques that can be highly effective, but rarely get talked about.
Here are the 5 creative ways to maintain your motivation:
1. Understanding your core values
If you don’t understand what your personal core values are, then you don’t understand yourself. Values will drive your actions, define you as a person, and can be incredibly motivational. If used correctly that is.
Imagine you have a core value of freedom. To you, that means reaching the position of earning enough money so that you can become location independent. To achieve that requires some hard work and it may mean you have to get up a couple of hours earlier in the morning before going to your current job.
One morning your alarm goes off at 5.30am in the middle of January. It’s bitterly cold and your heating has quit on you. You immediately focus on what you don’t want to do, which is to leave your nice cosy, warm bed to start work.
And therein lies the problem. You are focusing on what you don’t want. What if you brought that core value of freedom to your mind? What if you reminded yourself of it’s importance and how badly you want to be working from Bali, Italy or Thailand?
Suddenly you are exponentially more likely to get yourself out of bed and do the work because the importance is now front and center in your brain giving you a burst of well needed motivation.

2. Visualization
You may be thinking, ‘well visualization is hardly unusual Tim’ and you would be right…up to a point.
Most people who employ visualization get it all wrong. They think of what they want and then zoom in on it with a laser like focus. Unfortunately, this has two huge drawbacks.
Firstly, for some people it can send the message to the brain that the goal has already been hit. Sadly, this can lead to a very subtle and often imperceptible reduction in motivation.
Secondly, people have a tendency not to visualize the potential (and inevitable) problems they are likely to encounter. If you are doing something really worthwhile, then it’s probably not going to be easy – life doesn’t work like that. Ask Joel if he got this site to be where it is now without any stumbling blocks, making any mistakes or working hard?
If you visualize yourself breezing through to your goal easily, then when you do encounter difficulties your motivation will drop. Definitely employ visualization because it’s scientifically proven to help and can be very powerful, but when you’re doing so, anticipate the potential problems too. See yourself dealing with them efficiently and effectively to make that far more likely.
“I visualize things in my mind before I have to do them. It’s like having a mental workshop.” – Jack Youngblood
3. Keep your blood sugar levels up
Your brain needs two things to create energy: oxygen and glucose. Unfortunately glucose depletes through the day and you start to become less effective as that happens. Your willpower dips massively, as does your ability to motivate yourself to do the work rather than taking the easy and more appealing option of chilling out in front of the TV.
You can boost your energy levels by drinking a high energy, high sugar drink or even eating some candy, but this is a last resort tactic and not something I would recommend.
You will indeed get a boost of energy as the sugar is turned into glucose quickly, but you will then get a crash between an hour and 90 minutes later causing a dip in motivation and a craving for more sugar to maintain the ‘high’.
So apart from the long-term negative health benefits of adopting this approach, it’s also not really effective as a long-term strategy for maintaining motivation.
The best way to maintain blood sugar levels it to adopt a low glycemic index diet. By doing this your body metabolizes the food into glucose at a much slower rate delivering it to your brain consistently, rather than in spurts. This way you avoid those surges of energy followed by huge crashes and the desire to just quit or binge eat.
4. Take regular breaks
On average your brain can stay engaged on one task for between 90 and 120 minutes before it starts to lose focus and thus motivation. When people push past this they start to get into the law of diminishing returns and their performance suffers – often without them even realizing.
Every 90 minutes or so incorporate a 10 to 15 minute break. Taking a walk or doing some light exercise is cool, as is doing a mini-meditation or even having a power nap. As long as whatever it is, takes you away from your task, you are going to return fresher, more motivated, and perform to a higher standard.
5. Get enough sleep
You may think that working into the small hours is a great idea. Especially if you’re not an early riser and have a big goal or plan you are working on.
However, if that means you are only getting 5 or 6 hours sleep then it’s highly probable that over time you will see a drop off in your performance with the resulting dip in motivation.
A lot of people think they can exist on such little sleep, but very few can for anything other than short periods. Your brain needs time to reenergize itself. There is a growing amount of research that too little sleep can have long-term implications for cognitive ability and to stay motivated and on task. So get enough sleep.
“Sleep is the best meditation.” – Dalai Lama
I’m sure you have your own tricks for staying motivated and I’d love for you to share them in the comments below!
Change Your Mindset
5 Ways To Achieve Your Goals (With Examples)

Setting goals is a crucial first step, whether you’re striving to reach personal or professional milestones. However, achieving those goals requires planning, determination, and focus. In this post, we’ll discuss five actionable strategies that can help you achieve your goals in 2023, and we’ll provide real-life examples to inspire and motivate you. By implementing these tips, you can train your brain to achieve your goals and make meaningful progress toward your aspirations.
1. Write Down Your Goals
The first thing needed to achieve a goal is to have one. A goal becomes very clear and precise once you have written it down most simply and easily to remember.
Here are some examples:
- I am the world’s best dancer!
- I am the greatest athlete!
- I have created the world’s most innovative tech company!
They are all written with the belief that these things have already happened. Once you start believing it has already happened, other people too can sense your confidence and things start happening.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” — Andrew Carnegie
2. The One Page Plan
A simple one-page plan to accompany your goal is much more powerful than a detailed 30-page plan. After you have written your clear goal – write down all the things you will have to do to achieve it. Make it as simple and direct as possible so that you can refer to it every day and take action. A simple plan is easier to follow and keep up with.
3. Get The Right Skills
Once you have a clear goal that has been inked into your mind, and a clear plan in place, it is very important to invest in the skills you need to achieve your goal.
So for example, if you want to become a movie star, you should immediately start developing your acting skills. Observe how other actors perform, join an acting class, read about acting, and most importantly, start honing your craft by joining a local theatre group and going for as many auditions as you can. Practice is very important for mastering any skill.
Struggling To Achieve Your Goals? Here Are 9 Possible Reasons Why!
4. Surround Yourself With The Best People
The best way to achieve our goals is to make sure we have the best people supporting us. People who succeed are always those who understand the power of people.
So let’s say your goal is to be an entrepreneur and you have developed your entrepreneurial skills, the next step would be to get the best people to join your team to help you achieve your goal. These would be people who you consider to be the best marketers capable of getting you the best customers and investors.
Once you have the best people supporting you, it becomes much easier and faster to achieve your goals.
“It takes tremendous discipline to control the influence, the power you have over other people’s lives.” – Clint Eastwood
5. Power of Faith
Nothing beats the power of faith and belief. Sometimes you might face challenges, sometimes things might not be going your way, and you might feel like giving up – these are the times when faith and belief will keep you going.
So many people give up, just a few inches away from victory. I am sure you are not one of them since you are investing time into self-development which gives the highest returns! Now go out there and start achieving your goals!
Need more motivation? Read our blogs on motivation and become your best self now!
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- 10 Things Stopping You From Achieving Your Goals
- 6-Step Process For Reaching Your Goals
- Powerful Life Lessons From David And Goliath Story
- Reasons Why It Is Important To Follow Your Dreams
- Signs That You’re Self Sabotaging
- Why Perseverance Is A Major Key To Life
- 6 Personal Growth Challenges To Transform Your Life
- 11 Habits To Achieving Greatness In Your Life
- 21-Day Rule That Can Change Your Life
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Change Your Mindset
5 Easy Ways to Find Motivation When You’re Feeling Stuck
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We’ve all had those days when we feel like we just can’t get motivated to do anything. Whether it’s an important task that needs to be done or something we just don’t feel like doing, it can be hard to get going. (more…)
Change Your Mindset
7 of The Best Motivational Speeches of All Time

What could we possibly achieve by listening to motivational speeches? Isn’t that a waste of time? It’s not. A great motivational speech can be a trigger to action. It inspires you to do something. Powerful speeches make you realize you’re not just a useless individual in this world. Everyone matters. You matter, too. (more…)
Change Your Mindset
Motivational Advice You Never Hear From Elon Musk

Elon Musk is the hottest entrepreneur on the planet right now. From launching an electric car into space, buying Twitter, and tunneling holes throughout the country, his unconventional ventures are inspiring millions. (more…)
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