When I was a kid, I woke up every day excited about the little things. I woke up excited to sit with my best friend on the bus, play soccer at recess, and learn letters and shapes. As we grow up, life becomes more complicated. We have greater responsibilities, face challenges daily, and go through stressful situations. The transition to adulthood, the change from being a carefree child to a stressed student, is a big adjustment. It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that my life is not going to slow down. If anything, it’s going to get a lot faster. Because of this reality, it is so important for all of us to put effort and time into finding sources of motivation. Here are some tricks that have worked for me!
Celebrate every small victory
The biggest way I find motivation daily is by celebrating every small victory. One way to do this is to make a list of the beginning of the week of every assignment, test, chore, and task. This could be as big as studying for a midterm, or as small as doing the dishes. By doing this, I wake up every morning with excitement to check off as many things on that list that I can. Every time I get something done on the list, I get to check it off and feel like I am one step closer to finishing all of my tasks for the week. This little process of checking items off my list is a very important part of my week and helps me to congratulate myself on getting little things done.
Keep a positive mindset
Maintaining a positive mindset is one of the hardest aspects of finding motivation. When it feels like there are not enough hours in the day, it can be so hard to be cheery and happy. My answer to this problem has recently been iced coffee. I wake up every day and know that, at some point, I will either make myself a coffee or go buy one from Starbucks. This process of getting and consuming coffee not only gives me a little boost of energy, but it also clears my mind, even for 15 minutes, where I can focus on doing something nice for myself. If you aren’t addicted to coffee like I am, find something you enjoy and make it a ritual in your life. This could be taking a daily walk outside, or making yourself a nice breakfast each morning, or watching an episode of a TV show every night. When school or work is stressful, and everyone around you is consumed with their own lives, it is so important to find ways to make yourself happy, even if it is just one small daily ritual you have to look forward to.
Surround yourself with people that motivate you
With that being said, it is also important to connect with others. Human interaction can be healing and comforting. Oftentimes, having friends to go to the library with, get lunch with, or work on assignments with is extremely motivating. Try to surround yourself with people that are hardworking and inspiring because chances are, they will push you to be the best version of yourself.
A goal I have in my life is to wake up every day with the same motivation and excitement I had as a child. Some days are much easier than others to accomplish this goal, but by following these guidelines and training my mind in these ways, I have noticed a change in myself. It’s not as simple as just making a list, drinking coffee, and having good friends, but for me, these things help me find daily motivation.