You can use all kinds of ways to be motivated – plan, set goals, chunk down, link up with someone else, use music and see the positive instead of the negative and probably these things will work – for a short time – but how do we remain motivated day after day after?
The concise oxford dictionary gives the following definition:

“Supply a motive to, be the motive or motive of. Hence motivation”

So to have motivation we must start by supplying a motive.  What motive could we possibly have to get up at 5am and battle for a seat on an overcrowded train to attend the board meeting from hell?  What motive could we possibly have to go out night after dark, wet, cold night to train?

‘Well’, you might say, ‘to pay the mortgage, put food on the table,’ or ‘because I want get fit, lose weight, win my next competition’.  Do these motives sustain our motivation though?  Do we really get why we go to the meeting, do we really get why we train?

Motivation needs something much, much deeper to sustain it, it needs a reason, a cause.  For what reason?  Beliefs and values are at the core of you, they are your reason, your cause.

Unless you connect what you want to achieve with what you believe in and value it is unlikely you will find the will to actually achieve it.

Beliefs are flimsy and are easily changed; remember when you believed in Father Christmas (who does exist by the way).

The thought: “I just lost, therefore I am rubbish”, then someone comes along and says, “I know you didn’t win, but wow I was impressed with how you did that”.  Now what do you believe?Values are cherished and protected and not easily changed, they can regularly move about in order of importance, however.

So if you have something you really want to achieve – a goal, write down your own values for life, list them in order of importance.  Now list the values surrounding the goal.   Is there any connection?  Might you have to change the order of importance to be motivated?

Give it a go and share your experiences – what are you going to be motivated to do?