At the start of any project, we’re extremely motivated. We put in a lot of effort in a short space of time, and progress is rapid. The problem is that motivation quickly runs out and we abandon what we started so well. So how do you stay motivated? How do you maintain your motivation over time? Here are my 10 powerful tips to keeping you motivated!

1 – Have an ambitious, exciting project

To maintain motivation over the long term, our goal must be sufficiently ambitious and, above all, sufficiently interesting and exciting. Indeed, our level of motivation depends enormously on our level of interest in our project, our goal.

Example: you want to get back into sport and stick with it for the long term. So maybe setting yourself the goal of doing an official 5 km race by the end of the year might motivate you a lot more than saying you’re going to run 3 km on Sundays for the rest of your life.

But there’s no need to expect too much. Just enough to keep you motivated over the long term.

2 – Start slowly to maintain motivation over time

In the beginning, our motivation is so high that we tend to do a lot. The problem is that we exhaust our motivation. In fact, I’ve found that, to stay motivated, it’s best to start slowly.

Example: you want to lose 10 kilos. At first, you’re going to restrict yourself on everything, but soon enough, you’re going to feel the lack and gradually eat away at your motivation. So why not start slowly by replacing a fatty or sugary food in your diet with a healthier one? What do you think?

3 – The power of habits

To maintain motivation over the long term, nothing beats a good habit. A good habit is something you do on a given day at a given time, and you don’t even think about it anymore. As a result, we have less and less need to draw on our limited reserves of motivation.

Example: instead of going for a run when you’re feeling motivated, decide to go for a run on such-and-such a day at such-and-such a time, whether you’re motivated or not. It’ll change everything in your life, so what are you waiting for?

4 – Surround yourself well to maintain your motivation over time

The people around you have an impact on your level of motivation. Fortunately, you don’t need 10 people behind you to motivate you. Just one is enough. So, among the people around you, who would be most likely to support you in your project?

5 – Bounce back and never give up

Not everything will go smoothly, and it’s important to be aware of this if you want to stay motivated over the long term. In fact, the secret is knowing how to bounce back. Bounce back from failure, bounce back from the unexpected.

So bounce back! And don’t give in to the temptation to use failure or the unexpected as an excuse to give up. I won’t!

6 – Read motivating books to maintain your motivation over time

Who better to motivate us than people who have achieved what they set out to do? So read biographies of famous people, but also books on personal development. Let other people’s achievements keep you motivated!

7 – The art of avoiding procrastination

Procrastination is a real poison, because it’s always creeping up on us. In fact, no sooner have we managed to get rid of procrastination than it finds a way to come back. So understand that avoiding procrastination requires constant vigilance!

For example, I keep a close eye on the time I spend on my phone and social networks. Because I know that if I’m not careful, I can easily go from 15 minutes to 30 to 1 hour and so on.

In other words, I’d advise you not to trust yourself and to watch yourself like I do! With kindness, of course. And above all with humor! But, above all, with consistency!

8 – Put your goal at the heart of your daily life to maintain your motivation over time

I’ve noticed that if our goal isn’t part of our daily life, then we quickly give up.

For example, if we only work towards our goal on odd-numbered Sundays, then we’ll give up. On the other hand, if we make progress on our goal every day between 6 and 6.30 a.m. or 9 and 9.30 p.m., then we’re far more likely to stay motivated in the long term. What do you think?

9 – Stay focused and don’t lose focus

I’ve also noticed that we spread ourselves too thin, and this is a mistake that destroys our motivation. With all the social networking and advertising, we want to do lots of things – too many things, in fact.

That’s why, when you’re deciding on your ambitious, exciting project, focus solely on it. If you have other projects that come to mind afterwards, write them down on a piece of paper and forget about them until you’ve completed your current project. Once that’s done, you can go back to your list and choose a new project. For me, this is one of the most powerful keys to maintaining motivation over time. What do you think?

10 – Cultivate patience and perseverance to maintain motivation over time

Why do we want everything right away? That’s not how it works. So let’s learn patience and perseverance. To do this, learn to take a deep breath and keep moving forward, slowly but surely.

Don’t let your thoughts make you think you’re not moving fast enough, and that it’s not right that it’s taking so long. Just keep going. You’re in the right place doing the right thing. Keep going. What do you think?

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover The 50 best quotes for motivation and action
Discover Top 10 tips to boost motivation: Discover how to kick-start it

I also recommend this inspiring book on the subject:

Life of Pi by Yann Martel
This story following Pi Patel, a young man stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger in the Pacific Ocean, explores themes of survival, resilience and the strength of the human spirit.
An impressive story with fantastic and philosophical elements. A must-read!

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself.