6 Ways to Get and Stay Motivated in Your Small Business

By Alyssa Gregory

Getting and staying motivated is vital, whether you’re striving to reach a business goal, starting a new venture, or managing the day-to-day operations of your business. Lack of motivation can chip away at your confidence and hurt your potential for success. The more motivated you are, the more forward-moving momentum you will create and the easier it will be to tackle ambitious goals and reach higher levels of success in your business.

Follow these tips to get motivated, climb out of the slump, and position yourself so you can reach each and every one of your targets.

While lack of motivation may not be related to a specific goal, having a goal can often help you get motivated. SMART goal setting is one way to outline your objectives, clarify the importance of the goal, and create an action plan for achieving it. If you are able to break down long-term goals into weekly or even daily action steps, the progress you make every day can help you build momentum and get motivated to keep the process moving.

Do you remember what it felt like to reach an accomplishment, hit a significant milestone or make an important decision? Spend some time thinking about the process you went through, the work you put in and the taste of victory. Reliving some of your best moments can get you over the hurdle and into action.

3. Find Inspiration in Someone Else

There will always be others who have walked the path before you, faced challenges and emerged victorious. Spend time appreciating the drive and determination of others, and explore how they overcame the challenges they faced on their journeys. This can be motivating, while also giving you some creative ideas for getting through the challenges you’re facing.

4. Try a New Approach

Progress often generates routines; routines can bring boredom; and boredom can cause a loss of motivation. If your routines are causing you to lose your fire, it may be time to shake things up. Try altering the way you do things, when you do them, how you do them and even how you think about them. Start to question your standard processes, and introduce a new way of thinking to get past complacency and renew your motivation.

Having someone there to encourage you, support you and challenge you can be an effective way to get and stay motivated. When you make a commitment to someone else to do something, you’re no longer struggling along on your own. You have someone else counting on you, and most of us feel increased motivation to act when there is a chance we will disappoint someone other than ourselves.

Ultimately, although some of these methods rely on external sources, motivation comes from within. The best way to get motivated is by figuring out what psychs you up and gets you moving. You can try your favorite music, positive thinking, celebrating success, and creating a personal mantra. When you’ve found an activity that results in a boost in motivation, and makes you excited to take the next step, you have found your own motivational secret to get over the slump.