How do I stay motivated when I am not seeing results?

Remember why you started. They also say that motivation is a myth, but personally, I find that if you don't have homemade motivation, store-bought is fine too. Set SMART goals (quick google search will help you here) and stick some affirmations up on your wall. Currently, my two favourites are "I can finish this. It will be so rewarding." and "I'm making my past self proud and my future self grateful." Keep your head down and keep trucking on. Eventually, you'll look back and see how far you've come! Also, take pictures at the start and end, but not in the middle. Dramatic changes.

I'm currently preparing for an exam and therefore can deeply relate to this scenario. Many of the things we do that align with our long term goals do not progress linearly but rather exponentially. Examples are working out, eating healthy, studying, etc. It can be very hard to keep pushing in the beginning but slowly and surely, the results will show themselves and accelerate infinitely. It is often a misconception that we need to start big to get big but in reality, that way is not sustainable in the long run. James Clear, the writer of 'Atomic Habits' states that if everyday, we do 1% better than the day before, it is not only enough and easy to do, but the efforts will compound overtime and eventually become a "habit" that is long-lasting and can be done sub-consciously. In conclusion, trust the process and keep going; no matter if you are running, walking or crawling, just keep going by 1%.

Let's take a common example of an activity for which motivation is required- exercising. People start exercising in order to lose/gain weight, and motivation is required to achieve results. Most people usually focus on the numbers that the weighing machine displays to feel better about themselves and when the numbers do not decrease/increase, they start losing motivation. In this situation there is motivation but the activity is driven by the wrong motive. In order to stay motivated, you should focus on bettering yourself, learning and growing from the mistakes and downhills you've had to improve your mental and physical health. This way you will be able to stay motivated as well as start seeing results.

Sometimes it's really easy to lose motivation when the progress we want to make just isn't happening at the rate we would like. It's important to focus on the process instead of the results. If you find ways to love and trust the process, the results will have no choice but to come eventually. Think of it this way, if you work out 3 times a week, and you become passionate about working out, you will find ways to work out that you enjoy. You will eventually grow to love it. When you love it, you will learn more about it, and thus you will find even more efficient or better ways to train yourself. The process is the key, not the results.

Sometimes forcing things such as motivation to happen can actually do the opposite. Taking "baby steps" by creating daily/weekly to-do lists can not only help with tracking progress but show you any sort of progress you are making. Forcing yourself to take on a million tasks at once often will lead to burnout, further making you upset because aren't motivated enough to do x y and z". Start small, implementing 1-2 new things to your routine, and slowly add more tasks. Seeing any sort of progress will make you feel better, and increase overall motivation in the long run.

Keeping motivated can be incredibly difficult, and when you're not seeing results it can sometimes begin to feel pointless to even keep trying. However, there are ways to stay motivated and reach your goals, and I'll talk about a few here. Different things work for different people though, so feel free to think about what would be best for you! One idea may be to consider your reason for doing things - how will what you're doing help you in the future? What would happen if you stopped trying to do it? What would happen if you kept going? By reaffirming your reason for trying, it can sometimes make it easier to gain motivation to complete a task, for future gain, even if you aren't seeing it now. Another reason you could be feeling a lack of motivation is that something in your method of doing things isn't working out for you. For example if you were trying to be motivated to study, writing notes may not be the best option for you. By re-thinking how you're completing the task, maybe it could make it easier to fine a more suitable way of doing things. Another idea may be to find new inspiration for what you're doing. Sometimes your goal may be a long way away, and take a lot to achieve. By creating mini milestones and rewarding yourself for the journey, this may help you to keep going and push yourself to achieve your goals. You could also talk to others who have been on a similar journey, to ask for more ideas to keep you're going when you're feeling stuck in a rut, and to reassure yourself that you can make it! A final idea you could try is making your journey more fun and interesting... for example if your goal is to eat healthy food, trying to find a cool recipe to try, or a new ingredient you've never had before could make it more interesting to keep going with your goal, and try new things at the same time! Gaining motivation can be really hard, and there will always be days where it's difficult to find inspiration to do things. I hope that you find these ideas useful, and can achieve all the results you want in the future.

Don't stop at your dream, even if you don't find outside support. Burn with an idea, let it kindle a fire in the heart, and make the soul tremble. Fight for yourself, for your feelings and thoughts. You decide what's important to you. You decide what to believe in and how to live. Imagine yourself in 5 or 10 years, how you will be if you go all the way. Imagine the life of your dreams, do not put a frame on your consciousness and capabilities. Take the risk, feel the life, live it. Cherish your dreams. And never stop. Because you will achieve what you want. When this happens, you will remember with gratitude your former self, the one who took the risk and went to the end. I believe in you. You can handle it. 💜

It can be difficult to stay motivated when it seems like nothing is moving. I tend to ask myself what I really want to get done on a macro and micro level and about my path to get there if ever feeling somewhat discouraged. I also know that speaking to other people about goals sometimes has been helpful for me. Sometimes in such situations I find myself needing a different route or find that I just could use some encouragement. While a friend may or may not have answers to that could help me I know that sometimes having a second opinion has allowed me the option of gaining insight from another perspective that I perhaps wouldnt have otherwise been able to hear.

Instead of looking outwards for motivation and validation and to see how well you are doing, which is what I suspect is currently happening, you should look inwards. It is really helpful to reflect on whatever it is you are doing every so often- once a week or once a session, whatever length of time is suitable for you and your activity. Don't make it too long that you won't stick to it, but keep it frequent enough so that you can see your progress in a tangible manner. Celebrate the small victories, and remember that you don't have to be better than everyone around you, just better compared to yourself in the past.

Keep learning. Remind myself I can that even if I make a small difference that it's something.Keep trying and looking out for people that may need help. I remind myself that I may not see results for a while especially since I am a novice. I need to keep practicing to improve my skills. I will try and engage in more training and hone in my coaching skills and listening skills. I will engage with peers to get feedback on my listening skills. I would endeavour to learn from my mistakes and conversations that dont go so well.