HOW TO KEEP ON BEING MOTIVATED

Have you ever set a goal for yourself, like getting
fit, making honor roll, or being picked for a team?
Like lots of people, maybe you started out doing
great, but then lost some of that drive and had
trouble getting motivated again.

Everyone struggles with staying motivated and
reaching their goals. Just look at how many
people go on diets, lose weight, and then gain it
back again!
The reality is that refocusing, changing, or
making a new start on something, no matter how
small, is a big deal. But it's not impossible. With
the right approach, you can definitely do it.

                             Getting Motivated
So how do you stay motivated and on track with
your goal? It all comes down to good planning,
realistic expectations, and a stick-to-it attitude.
Here's what you need to do:

First, know your goal. Start by writing down your
major goal. Your major goal is the ultimate thing
you'd like to see happen. For example, "I want to
make honor roll," or "I want to get fit enough to
make the cross-country team," or even, "I want
to play in the Olympics" are all major goals
because they're the final thing the goal setter
wants to see happen (obviously, some goals take
longer and require more work than others). It's
OK to dream big. That's how people accomplish
stuff. You just have to remember that the bigger
the goal, the more work it takes to get there.
Make it specific. It's easier to plan for and
master a specific goal than a vague one. Let's
say your goal is to get fit. That's pretty vague.
Make it specific by defining what you want to
achieve (such as muscle tone and definition or
endurance), why you want to get fit, and by
when. This helps you make a plan to reach your
goal.

Make it realistic. People often abandon their
goals because their expectations are
unreasonable. Maybe they expect to get ripped
abs in weeks rather than months, or to quit
smoking easily after years of lighting up.
Let's say you want to run a marathon. If you try
to run the entire distance of 26.2 miles tomorrow
without any training, you're unlikely to succeed.
It takes the average person 4 months of training
to run that far! But the bigger risk is that you'll
get so bummed out that you'll give up your
marathon dreams — and running — altogether.
Part of staying motivated is being realistic about
what you can achieve within the timeframe
you've planned. Competing on the Olympic ski
team is a workable goal if you are 15 and already
a star skier. But if you're 18 and only just taking
your first lesson, time isn't exactly on your side.

Write it down. Put your specific goal in writing.
Then write it down again. And again. Research
shows that writing down a goal is part of the
mental process of committing to it. Write your
goal down every day to keep you focused and
remind you how much you want it.

Break it down. Making any change takes self-
discipline. You need to pay constant attention so
you don't get sidetracked. One way to make this
easier is to break a big goal into small steps. For
example, let's say you want to run a marathon. If
it's February and the marathon is in August,
that's a realistic timeframe to prepare. Start by
planning to run 2 miles and work up gradually to
the distance you need.
Then set specific daily tasks, like eating five
servings of fruit and veggies and running a
certain amount a day. Put these on a calendar or
planner so you can check them off. Ask a coach
to help you set doable mini-goals for additional
mile amounts and for tasks to improve your
performance, such as exercises to build strength
and stamina so you'll stay motivated to run
farther.
Reaching frequent, smaller goals is something to
celebrate. It gives you the confidence, courage,
and motivation to keep running — or doing
whatever it is you're aiming to do. So reward
yourself!
http://m.kidshealth.org/en/teens/motivation.html