It's January and like every year, we wish each other our best wishes and generally we make good resolutions.
I would also like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful year, full, I hope, of good news and accomplishments.
At the start of the year, we saw many people wanting to put aside good resolutions by saying that it was better to continue the same daily life while keeping bad habits because after all, it's part of life... Most of the time we tend to abandon our good resolutions; which, more or less consciously, leads to a loss of self-confidence and opens the door to more easily accepted abandonment.
Together we will see how we can try to stay motivated as long as possible and be consistent in our decision-making.
Motivation is often perceived as a fleeting energy, fluctuating with moods and circumstances. However, to carry out long-term projects, it is crucial to cultivate it and develop consistency in your initiatives. Many studies in motivational psychology show that perseverance and discipline play a more important role than initial inspiration.
Here are some psychological strategies based on extensive research to maintain this dynamic.
1. Define Clear and Achievable Objectives
We always remind ourselves at the start of the process that it is essential to set objectives but they must be achievable and above all it is better to target only a few. There is no need to talk about 10 objectives, 3 will be enough. One of the pillars of motivation is clarity of goals. According to Locke and Latham's (1990) goal-setting theory, setting specific and difficult but realistic goals significantly increases performance. Setting specific, measurable and realistic goals allows you to maintain direction. Breaking these goals into smaller subtasks reinforces the feeling of progress, thus fueling motivation. Breaking down an ambitious goal into successive steps reduces the risk of procrastination and facilitates commitment. It will be significantly more important and useful to write down these goals on paper. Write down your weekly goals and celebrate each small victory. If you have failed to follow your objectives, it is not an overall failure, you will need to review the methodology at that point.
2. Create a Routine and Habits
Consistency comes from repetition. Charles Duhigg's (2012) research on habits shows that creating strong routines helps automate desired behaviors. By integrating your initiatives into your daily life, they gradually become automatic. This reduces the need for intense motivation every day. So we hear some say you have to repeat the same task for 40 days, others will tell you 3 months, ... the important thing is to keep your destination in mind while making the effort and knowing how to savor the good you get. for each step forward taken. It may once again be that you lack consistency in your daily tasks to accomplish, this does not matter. You will have to think only positively and you will have to compare yourself with where you were the day before. For example, block out fixed time slots for your personal or professional projects. Associate a reward with completing a routine to reinforce it.
3. Surround yourself with a Positive Environment
We never say it enough, but social support plays a key role in maintaining motivation. Self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 2000) emphasizes the importance of three fundamental needs: competence, autonomy and social relatedness. Sharing your goals with friends, mentors or groups with similar interests boosts accountability. Be careful, we take the positive that there is to be taken but we do not depend on the environment and we do not compare ourselves to our environment. We use it to make things easier for us. For example, you can join online communities or local groups that share your interests. You can also motivate yourself with your best friend to start something and you will have to stick to it.
4. Accept and Learn from Failure
Fear of failure is a major obstacle to consistency. Carol Dweck, a psychologist specializing in motivation, explains in her theory of “mindset” (2006) that a growth mindset promotes learning through mistakes. Seeing failure as a learning opportunity allows you to persevere without giving up. As we have said, what could have come as a failure is not necessarily one. What is important is to keep in mind the objective we have set for ourselves. If this seems complicated, it may not be the objective that will need to be changed but rather the methodology. We will have to take the time to look back on the lessons learned and agree to only keep the positive. Emotionally you have to be strong enough to agree to overcome your frustration and give yourself the means to achieve your goal.
5. Cultivate Discipline Rather Than Relying on Motivation
Motivation fluctuates, but discipline is stable. Angela Duckworth (2016) highlights the notion of “grit” (perseverance and passion for long-term goals). By adopting disciplined habits and making a strong commitment to your projects, you minimize reliance on motivation. Here it will be a question of relying more on the routine put in place rather than on the objective which may be too imprecise to be able to plan ahead and maintain motivation. It actually takes both, discipline and motivation. This is also what will allow you to maintain self-confidence and good self-esteem. For example, you can set permanent appointments with yourself to move forward on your projects. Keep a log to track your progress.
6. Visualize the Results and Remember the Why you have started
Regularly, take a moment to visualize the positive impact of your initiatives. Positive visualization is a technique used by many top athletes to improve their performance. Remember why you started and what the positive long-term consequences are. For example, you can create a vision board with images representing your dreams and goals. Consult it every morning to anchor your motivation. Generally speaking, you should get up in the morning knowing what you have to do during the day and how you are going to do it. This will reassure you, reduce your anxiety and give you a framework to respect. Ideally, it would be even before you go to sleep the night before that you would have already answered all these questions and you will then sleep more peacefully because the solutions have already been thought of. It is once again the importance of moving forward little by little that will be emphasized here.
Conclusion
Maintaining motivation and being consistent in your decision-making relies on a mix of clarity, routine, support and discipline. Psychological research shows that these strategies, applied regularly, make it possible to sustainably anchor a positive dynamic and bring projects to fruition. With time and patience, consistency becomes a powerful asset for achieving your goals sustainably. If you feel like this might be too difficult or if you think you need help, don't hesitate to seek help. Everyone agrees that by being supervised or accompanied, things can be simpler. Then if at the same time, you suffer from significant anxiety, stress or other particularities to take into account, obviously then the routine will be different and the rhythm in place to achieve our objectives varies somewhat. It will then be essential to consider the person in their entirety and understand the interplay of needs (more or less conscious), desires (related to age), behavior (dependent on personality, emotions, capacities and needs). ) and consequences (which generate other consequences).
We will talk about this last point in another article.
Trust yourself in your decision-making.
Gabriel RAFI