Motivation is cute....

It seems a lot of my ideas are sparked by conversations lately. Over the weekend I had a conversation with a friend of mine who has been struggling to stay on track for a specific goal. The word she kept using that stuck in my brain long after the conversation was "motivation".

More than once, I heard her say 'I know what I need to do, but I'm just not motivated to do it right now.' Now, motivation and I are old friends. I am equally familiar with motivation's presence as I am with the absence of motivation. Motivation is fickle and likes to come and go with the whims of the wind at times. As a friend I like to be a cheerleader, an encourager, and a little bit of a pusher.

A little side story here. I am a huge Bobby Bones fan. I listen to the morning show on iHeart radio and have since 2010. Bobby Bones has inspired me in many phases of my life including writing Ketchup Sandwiches. Likely, I will never meet Bobby in person, but I am grateful for the positivity and light he brings into the world. I use his words often in hopes that they will help others the way they helped me.

In an attempt to both encourage and push my friend I once again leaned on Bobby's words. One of the phrases he uses is Fight. Grind. Repeat. I believe I have referenced this phrase in previous blogs/posts. Basically, this phrase means fight to get where you want to be, work hard, and then get up and do all again the next day. Keep achieving. Keep pushing.

The way I have heard Bobby explain motivation is that motivation is cute and fun to get you started moving toward a goal, but motivation will not get you across the finish line. Think of motivation like New Year's resolutions. Everyone has them. We have all heard "new year new me" proclamations. Inevitably, most of those resolutions fall away by March. All of the cute motivational post goes silent and the rationalizing slide in. No, motivation will not bring you results.

Discipline is what carries you when motivation fades. When you are tired, sore, and depressed discipline is what gets you out of bed. When the snooze button calls your name, or the couch beckons you discipline is what will keep you from letting comfort hold you back from reaching your goals. Do what needs to be done even when it is the last thing you want to do is the best explanation for discipline I have. Discipline plays the defining role in success.

I am on the phone telling her these things and I find myself feeling reassured. I know how hard discipline can be because I try very hard to maintain discipline in so many aspects of my life. There are times when I just want to give up and let go, but I have goals. Sometimes the world tries to make us feel guilty for having dreams and goals because those dreams and goals require us to use our time differently. I know I have fallen prey to the 'mom guilt', 'wife guilt', and a the general 'I'm not doing enough' guilt because I have had to shift my time.

I needed to hear Bobby's words as much as my friend. I am going to keep pushing even when I don't feel like it. But how do we keep pushing? Here are a few of the things that I do.

1. When my alarm goes off, I count to three in my head then force myself to stand. Once I am standing, I start moving. Then I get to the caffeine as fast as possible.

2. I remind myself of my goals. No matter what I am working towards at that time there is always temptation trying to drag my focus and derail my progress. When I find myself toying with the idea of doing something that will alter my path to success, I remind myself of my goals and why I am working so hard.

3. I have built in breaks for my body and mind. I make sure to set aside a little time each day to take a break and give myself a little treat. Typically, this break takes the form of a 20–30-minute soak in hot water, audio book, and chocolate almond milk.

Reaching any goal is not an easy or linear process but being disciplined at least 85% of the time will make reaching any goal just a little easier. We got this!