Honesty is the best policy

How to stay motivated

It’s day 3 and already #JanuaryBlues is trending on Twitter. But you can distract yourself from the January gloom by continuing to focus your attention on the positive changes you can make in 2017. Of course on some days you are going to feel a bit down and lacking in motivation. That is all part of being human and something I always address in my Manchester hypnotherapy clinic. It’s important to acknowledge and plan for the lows so we can deal with them better. And in fact today’s tip focuses on the importance of being honest with ourselves.

Get real with yourself  

Do you enjoy spinning classes? Do you really want to cut out sugar? Is a career move something that you really, really want to do? Is there a ‘should’ in your resolution? If so, treat with caution and perhaps back away. The ‘should’ is a clue that your resolution may be coming from external forces such as friends, family or society rather than your own desires and values.

Something we often overlook when making these decisions is thinking about whether we really want it enough despite the inevitable sacrifice that will follow.Anything that requires extra effort, time or energy in one area is inevitably going to result in less effort, time or energy in another. This article describes how all decisions have a trade-off and what we can do to best balance the constraints of our busy lives.

Two important questions

Sacrifice is fine as long as we acknowledge it and are willing to proceed regardless. Ask yourself: “What will I lose?” and if you’re still willing to go for it you are in for a fighting chance.

This leads us nicely to the second question: “What will I gain?”

Our brains are hard-wired to seek out pleasure and avoid pain, so if your future goal seems too painful, it is unlikely to succeed. Incorporate enough pleasure, reward, exhilaration, relaxation or interest into your daily goals and success is more likely to follow.

Only you know what gains will keep you going and its important to keep reminding yourself of them to keep your eye on the prize. Play around with how you might do this – an alarm on your phone? post-it notes in key areas of the house? A quote or image that lights that fire in your belly? Experiment and see what works best.

 

3 January 2017