#227: How to Stay Motivated to Reach Your Goals [+ FREE Goal Tracker]

Does this sound familiar:
You start January with a bang. New goals. New resolutions. New intentions.
You’re studying English. Going to classes. Feeling excited about a new program or learning opportunity. And you think, “yeah! I’m finally doing it!” Progress feels good.
In February, work picks up. Your schedule fills. You feel tired. And you start to lose steam.
Then March comes around, and you start to think, “What goal? What progress?” It’s long-forgotten.
It’s a common pattern you and I are both familiar with, right?
So, is there a better way? A way to maintain momentum — the driving force the propels us forward — no matter what?
YES! There is a better way forward.
Whether you’ve set a new goal or you’re still working on goals you set a year ago…
By the end of the lesson, you will be empowered with four steps to stay motivated, reclaim your momentum, AND learn a variety of expressions/vocabulary to accurately express your thoughts on effectively maintaining momentum, even after you’ve lost it.
Plus, I’ve got a FREE download available for you to set your goals in motion right away so stick with me to the end. 📝
You can find the FREE Momentum Tracker just below the video lesson.
4 Strategies to Stay Motivated and Reach Your Goals
Step 1: Evaluate & Refocus
In any journey, we’re bound to hit a snag or two and get thrown off.
To be thrown off is a phrasal verb that means to be diverted away from the pursuit of something.
- For example, after settling into the habit of running three times a week, an injury could suddenly throw you off your routine and stall your progress.
However, let’s reframe this usually negative experience of being thrown off the hamster wheel, or stalling the pursuit of something in a directionless manner. This isn’t so bad if, rather than blindly pursue an end result, we take the opportunity to step back and refocus.
Oftentimes, our goals can be too vague to create enough momentum. That’s why, when there is a hindrance, it’s easy to slack off or slow down.
So, for your first step, reevaluate and try using the following language to create a stronger goal:
I will [verb] for [duration/frequency] [when].
- For instance, rather than “I will read one book this month”, shift the language slightly to clearly express “I will read a book for 15 minutes at 6 AM, before I have breakfast”.
This small shift will eventually help you build your momentum and once again set you on a course towards success.
Step 2: Be A Minimalist
Once you refocus your goal, take a minimalist approach to your definition of success.
If we categorize success as a huge one-time event, like climbing Mount Everest, then we’re bound to feel disappointed and stuck in a rut when things don’t go as planned.
Instead, choose to celebrate small wins by taking a bare-minimum approach.
The bare minimum refers to the least or smallest possible amount that is permissible.
Let’s look back to our example in step one where we redefine success as every fifteen minutes that we consistently commit towards the end goal.
That approach doesn’t involve a high-effort commitment of setting aside hours for reading a book. By choosing to read for fifteen minutes, instead of scrolling through social media, you commit to doing the bare minimum.
Not only do you cultivate a more consistent habit, but creating more of an opportunity to celebrate each day’s progress builds a stronger drive to pursue the feeling of success and satisfaction that comes from knowing your hard work was well worth the effort. This, in itself, makes reclaiming your momentum all the more possible.
Step 3: Fall in Love With the Process
Once you’ve shifted your goals and redefined your process, the next step is to fall in love with your daily practice.
Rather than focus on the endpoint, focus on your transformation.
Transformation is the act or process of changing completely. Transformation comes with time and small, consistent acts, day in and day out.
In other words: routine.
At times, this might start to feel boring or monotonous but you can take steps to help you fall in love with the process of transformation…
It’s certainly easier said than done and, at surface level, it can seem rather monotonous.
Monotonous: Describes something that is unvarying and often results in disinterest/boredom
However, if you kick the habit of taking a result-oriented approach, it can be easy to fall in love with your daily practice.
- For instance, if you want to become a better writer, but feel uninspired by a monotonous routine of using the same resource, introducing new resources to an existing routine could pique your interest and help you kick the habit of being result-oriented.
The act of combining a boring habit with something that interests you, brings more positivity and focus to your commitment.
In effect, finding small joys in your daily practice will help you to get the ball rolling again.
Step 4: Remember Patience Is A Virtue
The most important part of any journey for self-improvement is to understand that patience is a virtue.
As much as success is not a single event, YOU are also not defined by a single event.
Demonstrating through patience and consistent action that you aren’t reciting empty words is a powerful example of walking the walk, and a true sign of self-love.
Walk the walk means to back up your words through action and show that you do what you say.
The ability to walk the walk — even when you feel bored, even when you’ve lost that initial motivation, even when you’re tired, even when you don’t see or feel or hear progress — THIS is the most critical step toward reaching your ultimate goal or outcome.
Everyone experiences highs and lows on the path toward achieving their goals — whether it’s a career goal, health/fitness goal, or language goal.
Those that recognize this reality and can stay true to that daily effort are the ones who will be successful.
- For example, if you find yourself slowly overcoming frustration but procrastinating on recommitting to the goal of mastering watercolors, it’s probably a good time to walk the walk by finally blocking off time in your routine.
Staying true to your words is a form of self-love; it is the key to patiently building and reclaiming your momentum.
Strategy #4: Prioritize Mental Health
To avoid overwhelm, burnout, low morale, or even anxiety, leave work at work.
If possible, take a few personal days when necessary, and always remember to create a strong boundary between your work life and your private life.
Sometimes, a sense of foreboding or the sense that something bad will happen may arise as you get close to burnout or an anxiety attack. During these times, restrict yourself to working only during work hours. Reserve your evenings and weekends for yourself, family, and friends.
During your free time, destress by indulging in your favorite activities, practicing mindfulness, or spending time with family and friends. Relaxation is an effective moderator for negative thoughts.
Additionally, introduce more positivity to your life by choosing to listen to uplifting music, reading literature that inspires positive thinking, surrounding yourself with positive quotes, or even by choosing to watch mood-boosting movies. You’ll find your mind shifting to focus on the positives instead of the negatives.
Now that you’re ready to reclaim momentum and successfully stay motivated to reach your goals, let’s finish with a couple of questions.
You can share your answers with me in the comment section below.
- This lesson was full of idioms, phrases, and phrasal verbs on the topic of how to keep motivation for your goals and build momentum. What was your favorite new vocabulary? Share it in an example sentence below.
- What personal strategies help you to maintain momentum, even when disinterest or boredom creep in?
I look forward to hearing your responses.
~ Annemarie
P.S. Are you looking for a community to provide support, help you stay motivated, and guarantee that you grow? Check out our Confident Women Community.
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I started my training practice with bang. I was so excited about it that I practiced every day for about 20 minutes and after a few months I got myself thrown off the hamster wheel due to Covid-19. After that it was difficult to start again and I needed something to kick the habit back. I decided to start doing short 10 minutes exercises every morning before having breakfast and this little step helped me build my momentum and get the ball rolling again.
Dear Annemarie,🌸 Start something with bang, we start with total enthusiasm but with time it goes down & gradually we throw ourselves off from being learning. I won’t throw myself off and refocusing again. 🌸Making goal little smaller we can keep our momentum high. I’ll be satisfied myself reading 15 minutes instead of reading an hour. 🌸I’ll celebrate small wins by taking a bare minimum approach. 🌸Longer we connect with language better would be the result. Waiting for transformation in understanding and in speaking will help me keep motivated. 🌸”patience is a real virtue “ this strategy I would like… Read more »
As always, you are brilliant in your lessons. You always fall on the wound and apply treatment to it.
1- I feel sometimes as you mentioned in the lesson but I will keep it to walk the walk.
For example, if you find yourself slowly overcoming frustration but procrastinating on recommitting to the goal of mastering watercolors, it’s probably a good time to walk the walk by finally blocking off time in your routine.
2- Those 4 strategies together help us to maintain momentum, even when disinterest or boredom creep in.
Thank you for your comment, Ahmed! We’re happy to know you liked the lesson, and we hope you’ll use those strategies to keep going with your English goals!
Start something with a bang is the phrase i like. I want to start a year with a bang to have excitement of my plans and goals for 2022. And i would like to walk the walk when something distracts me from my goals or I am upset with little progress I will be making
Hi Alexandra. Thank you for your comment. We’re glad to know you found the lesson useful for you. And we wish you much success in your life!
Thank you Annemarie, and happy new year!
Thank you for your comment, Adriana! Happy New Year!
Hi Annemarie, As usual, your lesson is extremely beneficent, strategy 4 is really fascinating:Prioritize Mental HealthTo avoid overwhelm, burnout, low morale, or even anxiety, leave work at work. If possible, take a few personal days when necessary, and always remember to create a strong boundary between your work life and your private life. I liked this lesson, since it coincides with my philosophy, that is the way that made me the winner in the fight with such a painful illness as mine. I believe in optimistic sight of life: Avoid stressful situations, enjoy the present moments, try to not thinking… Read more »
Hi Raoudha! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us. We’re happy to know you enjoyed the lesson, and it mirrored your philosophy. We wish you much success in your life!
I’m working to improve my English; I’m also learning time management. This lesson is extremely important because is showing me that I can increase my ability to walk the walk. I’m proud, I’ve never wanted to throw in the towel. I am motivated; I just need to make some adjustments and celebrate my wins in my little battles against my time. It will help me to get the ball rolling again. I don’t want to feel myself stuck in a rut. Step #2, Be a minimalist, is the one which fixing better to me, taking the bare-minimum goals. Step #3… Read more »
Hi Beatriz. Thank you so much for your comment! We’re thrilled to know the lesson was helpful to you, and we wish you much success in achieving your goals!
In the pandemic, I built a habit of reading book everyday sitting with my kids after having lunch. I finished more than10 books last year. Now I need to be consistent with the habit and don’t want to be thrown off my routine and stole progress. I think, to be a minimalist and Patience is a virtue strategies are better for me for succeeding in my goal achievement. Because I get frustrated easily when I don’t see the progress and lost the motivation easily like others. So, I need to break my goal into small parts, make a consistent habit… Read more »
Hi Sima. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! You’re right consistency is the key to achieving your goals! And breaking a big goal into small parts is very helpful! By doing so, you can see your progress which motivates you to go forward!