3 Steps to Get Motivated
Many of us have goals for our lives. However, "a goal without a timeline is just a dream" - @RobertHerjavec
In the midst of a global pandemic, thinking optimistically about your future can be difficult. So, how do you set effective and meaningful goals during COVID-19?
We acknowledge that for some people who are struggling with Covid-19 or have family or friends going through a difficult time during Covid-19, goal setting is just not a priority. For most people who are healthy, staying safe and are looking for inspiration, we all know that the pandemic makes goal-setting harder - not only setting long-term goals, but also striving for making and attaining daily goals.
Many struggle with feelings of paralysis and helplessness since the outbreak. Here's how to get started:
Step 1. Leverage the pandemic
First, understand that most people feel like they are in a motivational rut. The pandemic has caused many to feel stuck. You might feel that way too. The most important thing you can do for yourself is to acknowledge the huge opportunity that you have to make small incremental gains over the course of the pandemic to have a huge impact on your competitiveness when the pandemic ends. Staying at home with little to do will force many people to succumb to stagnation, and may cause a large divide between those individuals who have worked on their professional growth and those who haven't.
Step 2. Start where you can
Even setting daily or hourly goals is a good place to start, because easy wins can help boost a positive mindset, and begin to make you more hopeful about your future and the steps you can take. This in turn can help you better begin to answer the harder questions like: "Where do I want to be in a few years from now?" [see Step 3 below]. Remember that setting goals and focusing on a better future can help get you moving in the right direction once again.
Step 3. Develop a goal-oriented mindset
Putting in the necessary time and energy to chart your path forward will help to guide you each step along the way. Even if you veer off course, understanding where the path leads will go a long way in helping you find your way back on track. Begin thinking about where you want to be in 5, 10 or even 20 years into the future. For many, this can feel like staring up at a mountain from basecamp. The climb seems impossibly high, and it can be difficult to imagine making real progress, much less reaching the summit. However, some preliminary steps to getting started with this include:
- Speak to people in your field of interest to gain insight on different career tracks.
- Find people that inspire you to work towards your goals and follow them, learn from them, and leverage their energy to help push towards your goals.
- Document your thoughts, feelings and aspirations in a journal so that you can reflect over time on the attributes that matter most to you.
Focusing on this process helps you gain clarity around the next steps you want to take towards your future
