HOW TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE GIVING UP ON YOUR DREAMS?

Life has its ups and downs. At times, we feel like we can fly up to the moon and the stars. But at times, we feel as if we are trapped at the bottom of the sea and not knowing how to come up to the surface.

Life can be tough. Life is full of challenges.

On the other hand, life can also be wonderful and exciting.

Our dreams keep us alive.

We all have dreams.

Small dreams. Big dreams.

Ambition. Wishes. Purpose.

But in order to achieve our dreams, we must face some obstacles.

Our journey may not be as smooth as we think. We continue to follow our path, along with determination and persistence. 

However, it might take longer than we expected to find what we are searching for and at that moment we start to doubt ourselves and wonder if all this hard work is worth it. We begin thinking of giving up.

The question is, should we just give up?

Or should we find a way to hold on a little longer and get back on track?

When we are feeling down, all we need is a little support, a gentle reminder, a bit of assurance and some motivation.

Unfortunately, it is not always easy to motivate yourself. When you feel like giving up, your negative feelings tend to be stronger than your rational mind. It might be difficult for you to convince yourself to listen to your own positive viewpoint.

Fortunately...

It is not impossible to inspire yourself again.The first thing you need to do is to relax and gather your thoughts.

When you feel like giving up…

1)Remind yourself why your dreams mean a lot to you.                                                

So, what is your dream? Do you want to be a public speaker? A writer? Dancer? Are you planning to start your own business? A restaurant? A training company? A toy shop? Perhaps, all you want to do is teach?

Whatever that is you are trying to achieve, remember why you started working at it in the first place. Why did you join the Toastmasters club? Why did you join a cooking class? What made you borrow all those thick, heavy business and management books from the library?

When you feel like giving up, remind yourself, what this dream of yours really means to you. Why do you want this so much? What drove you to do this in the beginning? Do you remember the day you decided to go after your dream? Can you still recall the energy, the vibes, the passion and the emotion?

2)Remember how far you have come

When you are thinking of giving up on your dreams, remember what you had to go through to reach this far. Remind yourself of the difficulties you faced and how you dealt with it.

Do you still remember the days when you had to practice your speech everyday so that you could deliver a good speech for your Toastmasters meeting?

Do you remember how someone told you to give up on writing because they think that you are just wasting your time?

Can you remember all those sleepless nights studying for your exam to get your Bachelor Degree in Business?

Despite all the challenges, you did not stop before. Even though some people may not believe in your dreams, you took a chance. Why stop now?

You may not arrive at your destination yet, but your journey is filled with memorable experience; good or bad. Whether you are going to reach there as fast as the lightning or as slow as the tortoise, you are definitely moving forward. Do not look back. Be proud of the little steps you took. Who knows? You might be closer than you think.

3)Learn how to bounce back

When things do not work as planned, you can get frustrated. You will tell yourself that you are not going to make it. Your negative emotions will take over. You think you are a failure and you want to forget your dreams forever.

Oh, come on! Wake up! Stop this unacceptable mindset immediately! Look. If toddlers think the way you do, they will never learn how to walk.

Facts of life, we do not always get what we want right away. Failure (as we named it) is a must in the process of learning. Failure teaches us lessons. Failure to achieve some goals does not make you a failure in life. We fall, we get up again. 

In chasing your dreams, you must know how to bounce back every time you get disappointed. You must know how to rise up again when you are defeated. 

There will be time when you feel demotivated. Sometimes, we feel too much or maybe something influences us to feel that way for a brief moment. Acknowledge your feelings, except how you feel and let it pass.

Take a break if you have to. Stop for a while and get a good rest if you are exhausted and once energized, continue walking. Just make sure you do not go back or give up on your journey. When you feel like giving up, get up and bounce back.

4)Be Positive

When you want to give up on your dreams, do your best to stay positive. Keep that positive attitude and mindset no matter how hard it is. Do not let your feelings get to you.

You need to believe in yourself again. Remind yourself, that you are unique. Know your worth. Know your strengths.

Know your potential. Do not belittle yourself. Tell yourself that you are good at what you do, over and over again.

Being positive helps you to motivate yourself again. When you think positive, you will stop thinking about giving up. Giving up on something important is definitely not a positive way of life.

Positive people believe that success is waiting for them. They understand that to accomplish anything, they have to be patient and be willing to work hard. 

So,when you feel discouraged and thinking of quitting, quickly push those thoughts away.

5)Find Another way

Working hard to reach your dreams is not the only way to do it. You need to be smart too. Instead of feeling miserable and punishing yourself, find the solution to your so-called problem. Why are you thinking of giving up? Why are you having difficulties achieving your goals which lead to your frustration?

Think about this rationally. Are you doing this correctly all along? Is it true that you are not good enough or are you looking at this the wrong way?

Why are you not getting speaking engagements? Is it because you are not a good speaker?

Why nobody is interested to publish your book? Is it because you are a bad writer?

Why is your restaurant not getting enough customers? Is it because some people do not like to eat your supposedly delicious Cream Cheese Blueberry Pie?

Find out why it is not working. Keep experimenting. Look for another way to achieve your dreams. In other words, use another path to reach the same destination. If you cannot swim across the river, then use the bridge.

Maybe you can publish your own books or approach other publishers. Maybe you can give a free talk or write an article to get recognized as a public speaker. Or maybe you can come up with new signature dish.

Instead of giving up, find ways to improve yourself. Keep learning to get better at what you do. Discover new things which may help you to get where you want to be. For example, how to make connections, learn about marketing and how to use the social media.

6)Look At the Big Picture

When you feel upset about where your life is heading, always remember to look at the bigger picture. Maybe you want to achieve your dream to make money or to get recognition from people. There is nothing wrong with wanting that. But try to see it in a different perspective.

It must not only be about gaining an income or becoming famous. Try to see beyond that. Your dreams can also be about contributing to the society or leaving a legacy behind. Your dreams should bring more meaning to you and to others.

For example, if your dream is to become a public speaker, then it should not only be about you. Think of your dream as a way for you to help others. 

The public speaking skills you possess can assist you in spreading the valuable information and great knowledge to the world.

By achieving your dream as a speaker, you are able to change mindset, inspire and motivate people for a better tomorrow.

When you see the big picture, you will not give up on your dreams easily. You will understand why this is so important. You will continue to work at it and eventually, you will arrive at your destination.

7)Talk To Supportive people

What better way to motivate yourself than having a conversation with someone who understands you? When you feel like giving up on your dreams, find someone who cares about you. Talk to them and tell them how you feel. Letting it out from your system will do you good.

When you are trying to achieve your dreams, surround yourself with optimistic people. You need all the support you can get. 

And you need some encouragement. Stay away from toxic and negative people. Be with the people who believe in you.

Talk to people who made it. They will tell you that success does not happen overnight. They experienced the same thing that you are experiencing right now. There were hard times. There were rejections, frustration and mistakes. Nevertheless, they kept on going and had no regrets.

Listen…

You are lucky because you know exactly what you want and you have the courage to go after your dreams. Some people are still struggling to understand themselves. Some people are too scared to do anything.

The only thing you need to do now is to keep moving forward. Do not let your negative thinking change your mind. Do not let your uncertain feelings pull you down.  Nobody ever said that it is going to be easy.

Believe in yourself. Because if you do not trust in your own abilities, no one else will. Be patient and have the will power to succeed. If this really mean so much to you, then you must not let anything stop you.

You are on your way.

Do not give up yet.

It is not over until it is…

Written By: Intan Salwana Anis

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