Do you believe that a little progress each day adds up to big results? As you struggle through life you’d sometimes feel like you’re not making much progress towards achieving your goals.
It’s easy to want to give up when little steps don’t seem to add up. However, it’s common knowledge that baby steps never remain so for very long.
“Mile by mile one hits the milestone.”
~ Amit Kalantri
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“Even the longest book is read and was written one word at a time.”
~ Mokokoma Mokhonoana
You may not see “RESULTS” as quickly as you want, and you’re tempted to stop taking those small steps. Small steps matter, they do add up!
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Taking tiny steps every single day, one day at a time certainly adds up to miles of the covered area after a while. That’s what motivation is all about. Here are motivational tips for achieving huge successes that will help you stay on track, taking one step at a time towards your goals.
“Beautiful things come together one stitch at a time.”
~ Donna Goddard
Develop self-confidence and never let past failures stop you. You should develop a relentless motor, be persistent, and keep going no matter what. Finding ways to increase your motivation is important because that allows you to change your behavior, be creative, develop competencies, set goals for yourself, and make plans to achieve the goals.
“On your darkest days do not try to see the end of the tunnel by looking far ahead. Focus only on where you are right now. Then carefully take one step at a time, by placing just one foot in front of the other. Before you know it, you will turn that corner.”
~ Anthon St. Maarten
What is motivation?
Motivation refers to the urge, desire, and willingness to perform a certain action. It is the process that guides you to initiate and maintain goal-oriented behaviors. Motivation makes you keep moving towards the goals that you’ve set for yourself, no matter what.
“One foot, then the other. Don’t look at all five feet at once. Just take a step. And when you’ve taken that step, take one more. Eventually, you’ll make it to the shower. And you’ll make it to tomorrow and next year too. One step.”
~ Lori Gottlieb
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Motivation encompasses the emotional, social, biological, and cognitive forces that activate your behavior.
You need the motivation to start a new project when you think of starting one. Motivation isn’t needed only when initiating an action. To persistently continue the desired action, you require motivation as well.
When you’re motivated, you have the urge and desire to change your life. You have the desire for a change, and one step at a time can change your life. By consistently taking one step at a time, you can go from average to great.
Every day you should do something in relation to your goals. Ideally, you should have a daily task list of things that need to be completed and get them done.
If you don’t get to complete the task on that day, take it over to the next day. Make sure you make positive strides towards the life of your dreams by making little progress every day.
Everything is possible to those who believe and put in the effort. You can accomplish anything, just remember that success doesn’t happen overnight. Success is the result of hard work and dedication on a consistent basis.
One year from today if you are still in the same place, then you only have yourself to blame.
If what you are doing now is not what you want to spend your life doing, do something to change it. If you want to live a life of greatness, you should get up and push yourself and make things happen.
There should be no more excuses, no more time-wasting, no more engaging in meaningless activities playing video games with irrelevant friends. The time is now, it is now or never, so get up and push yourself towards greatness.
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“If you can dream it, you can do it” – Walt Disney
There are two types of motivation – extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.
Extrinsic (external) motivation
This occurs when motivation comes from external factors. These factors are given or controlled by others. You gain extrinsic motivations from outside yourself, from your surroundings. This includes for example praise from colleagues.
Extrinsic factors are helpful in motivating you in certain situations, but over time it loses its effectiveness.
Intrinsic (internal) motivation
Intrinsic motivation comes from internal factors within you to meet your personal needs. It is derived from yourself, for example, self-gratification.
Intrinsic motivation is a more effective and long-term factor in completing tasks and achieving your goals in a way that’s fulfilling for you.
Persistently repeating an action will eventually motivate you to increase the intensity of the action that you’re taking towards your goals. Once you’ve achieved your initial goal, you’ll be habituated to continuing the project every day and expand into newer and broader projects.
Motivation inspires you to grow, taking one step at a time forward, and pushing your limits. Sometimes you may feel a lack of motivation, but it’s okay.
“There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, there are no limits” – Michael Phelps
Factors that cause a lack of motivation
There are several factors which may cause lack of motivation:
- fear
- lack of clarity and autonomy
- feeling unchallenged
- emotions
- burnout
- setting unattainable goals
- having a conflict of values, etc.
By acknowledging the conflicts and pushing yourself to be more positive, you’ll certainly feel better.
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Understanding motivation is essential for your personal growth. It helps you to be productive and to excel in your achievements.
Motivation vs Emotion
Motivation is the wants or needs that direct your behavior and channel it toward achieving a goal. On the other hand, an emotion is a subjective state of your being which you’ll most often describe as a feeling. Both motivation and emotion can influence your behavior and lead you to take action.
Don’t let go of your BIG DREAMS, little progress matters. They all add up.
Keep your eyes on your accomplishment and your goals. Keep taking small steps towards those goals every day.
People don’t have to believe in you for you to succeed. Just work hard, when you succeed, they will believe.
~ Stephen Keshi