Often, we set out on achieving a goal, get overwhelmed and give up. All due to lack of motivation and setting unrealistic expectations. But that’s another story for another time. For now, here are a few tips to get started and stay motivated till the end.

Write it Out

Writing something down, be it a goal or a favourite quote. It makes it more vivid in our mind. We tend to believe in it more as we get to see it many times throughout the day. Soon, it gets permanently registered in the brain. Similarly, when you see something you want to achieve written somewhere (like your fridge), it’ll remind you that you can’t give up now.

Find a Mentor

You may want to be a great singer or a brilliant chef. And there are many people out there, who have been there, done that. You’ve probably got a favourite band, or a favourite team that you support. No doubt they are amazing at what they do and maybe you wish to be as awesome as they are someday. So take inspiration from them. Read up their autobiographies and realise that they didn’t have it easy either. They climbed up the mountain all by themselves. Search up how they did it, watch their TedTalks (if any) and paste your favourite quote said by them on your wall and such, so when you fail and feel like giving up, you remind yourself that your heroes did it in spite of the pain. Depending on your goal you may be able to work with a mentor who can guide and support you.

Maintain a Diary

Keep a personal diary where you jot down your progress regularly, be it workouts, music lessons, anything that you want to improve upon. Maintain it and see how you progress everyday – slowly but surely. So, when it gets hard, you can look back and tell yourself that you made it this far, you can make it a little farther too.

Just Do It

Yes, just do it! (Thanks Nike!) Without a thought, without a moment of hesitation, without doubting and asking yourself if its worth it, just do it! You know you won’t regret it. If a few moments of pain, confusion and fear can expand your limits and make you stronger, you have got to do it. After all, ships are safe at the harbour but they weren’t made to stay at the harbour, right? So just give it a shot and plunge at your goal. And when you are done, you’ll realise that you’re one step closer to being where you want to be, and then THAT will serve as the real inspiration in tough times to come!