How to Stay Motivated: 12 Tips to Keep Going

Have you ever pounded an energy drink or sipped a triple espresso thinking it would help you stay focused and complete a task, only to have it wear off a few hours later, leaving you jittery and your tasks still unfinished?

Motivation can feel the same way—like a lightning bolt of inspiration and productivity. But that electric kick in the pants slowly fades. Then, we’re left with the question of how to stay motivated.

What Is Motivation?

Motivation is someone’s willingness and desire to do something—it’s their reason for acting in a certain way or taking steps toward a goal. Motivation can be intrinsic, which means what you do is personally rewarding (like starting a new exercise routine), or extrinsic, which means you’re driven by external rewards (like getting promoted at work).

I believe that true motivation doesn’t just help you get started—it’s also an aftereffect that keeps you going. It’s what happens right after you start something. When you receive positive feedback in the form of paying off a debt, getting praise from a leader, or feeling those jeans fitting a little better, that reinforcement gives your brain a hit of dopamine that says, “Yes! We like this. Let’s keep going!” And motivation ensues.

Then we get to the real question: How do we keep that motivation going? How do we hold onto those good feelings of encouragement and hope to continue working on our goals? Motivation is important, but motivation alone isn’t enough. So I’ll get into other ways to stay focused on your end goal.

12 Tips to Stay Motivated

Now that you know what motivation is, you might be wondering, what are the best ways to self-motivate? Glad you asked. Here are 12 ways to stay motivated when the going gets tough.

1. Behave like you believe.

One way to stay motivated is to focus on what you believe—and behave like what you believe is the truth. I call this a petition of truth. Petition of truth? Say what? A petition is simply a request for something you desire—but it has to be based on something you believe to be true. This is a request of yourself, or a prayer, for something you want based on a truth you center your beliefs, action and motivation on.

Here’s how this shook out for me in real time. My husband and I had a mountain of debt that needed to be addressed. Our petition, or desire, was, “We want to be debt-free and gain financial peace.” We believed the truth from Scripture that says the borrower is slave to the lender, and that Christ came that we may have “a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10 NLT). Actions follow belief, so locking in what you believe and why it’s important for your life will help lock in your motivation to see it through.

2. Know your why.

In other words, you need to have a purpose to proceed—a reason to move forward. If the petition of truth is based on why you want to accomplish the thing, then the purpose to proceed is based on the need to accomplish the thing.

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Your purpose to proceed is the motivating factor for you to move forward with intensity and diligence. And as I always say, the stronger the why, the stronger the try. For me and my husband, we knew we needed to pay off our debt. Otherwise, we’d retire with nothing and our children (if we could even afford to have them) would end up financially taking care of us in retirement. We’d never have the life we knew we wanted.

3. Prioritize and protect your time.

Nothing will stop motivation to reach a good goal faster than being too busy to accomplish it. I’m a wife and mom with a busy, full-time work schedule. I get it—priorities are abundant, and it seems like everything is important. But this is where you have to get into the nitty-gritty of your day-to-day schedule and carve out time to do what you said you would do.

Then, you have to protect that time against all the things that want to distract you and steal your motivation. If you’re going back to school, you need to protect your time from distractions so you feel the motivation to study after a long, hard day. Figure out what that means and commit to protecting that time no matter what.

4. Break it down into baby steps.

You know I had to talk about baby steps, but this doesn’t just work for money. It’s basically the idea of making an overwhelming task doable by breaking it into small steps and accomplishing it little by little. For example, this past spring I trained for a half-marathon. There’s no way I would have been able to up and run 13.1 miles out of the blue. I would’ve run out of steam instantly.

But by breaking it down into smaller chunks of training over time (eight weeks to be exact), I slowly but surely built up my endurance. When the big day came, completing the race was the last step in a long line of smaller steps. So remember—the smallest steps over time can create the biggest impact.

5. Make sure it’s your goal.

It’s hard enough to stay motivated with hard things we want to do. But when something isn’t even your goal? Lord, have mercy, it’s about to be a battle! This may sound silly, but make sure your goal is something you want to do. If you don’t have that connection, you won’t complete it. Your mom wants you to finish college? Your wife wants you to go 60 days without social media? Your friend wants to do Whole30 together? Okay. I’m not saying it’s impossible to stay motivated. But let’s just say you’ll be like Bon Jovi—living on a prayer!

6. Devour your daily bread.

For once I’m not talking about food. I’m talking about quiet time each day to talk to the big guy Himself about what you’re trying to accomplish. Jesus calls Himself the bread of life, meaning in Him is everything we need to fuel, sustain and grow ourselves. And that includes our goals. When my husband and I were paying off $460,000 of debt, it was no small task to stay motivated over the long haul. When I tell you I was in God’s face daily asking Him to help a sistah out, I’m not kidding. I needed Him and His words on a daily basis to keep me full and focused.

7. Follow a proven plan.

Just being out here in the wind trying this or that is a recipe for losing motivation. In most cases, we need a clear path to walk and a proven plan to get the results we desire. When we were getting our money together, we read The Total Money Makeover and followed its principles. When I wanted to change my diet, I followed the Forks Over Knives plan. And when it was time to train for my first race, I downloaded a running guide that came highly recommended. The point is to take the route that others have already traveled and used to find success.

8. Talk to productive people. 

You need to get around people who’ve done what you want do, who are doing what you want to do, and who believe in what you’re trying to do.

These are people who have shared beliefs and offer accountability. These people will encourage and cheer for you, but they’ll also tell you when you’re trippin’. And be prepared because productive people are truth-tellers. They’ll make you feel irritated and stretched sometimes because they know what you’re capable of and want to see you succeed. These are the people who will slap the fried chicken out of your hand and smile in your face while they do it. The good news is you approved this behavior when you gave them permission to hold you accountable.

9. Let the haters hate.

The truth is, not everyone will be on board with the goals we chase or the moves we’re trying to make. Sometimes that haterade can come on strong and from places we least expect. Don't let anyone break your stride. Remember, finding success by making changes in your life is like a mirror for other people to compare their own lives. But you can’t control how folks interpret their own reflection. Keep doing you and don’t let anyone or anything stop you.

10. Think about what you think about.

What I’m saying is you need to Philippians 4:8 this thing! Here’s what I mean. Are you filling your mind with resources that will motivate you or garbage that could slow you down? The Bible says, “Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse” (Philippians 4:8 The Message).

This means choosing what you listen to, who you listen to, what you watch, and what you engage in with intention. My husband has sticky notes on the mirror over his bathroom sink. They’re filled with truths and little notes to keep him motivated and encouraged for his daily goals. Think about it. What kinds of podcasts are you listening to? If you’re looking for motivation to overcome fear, be more outgoing, and make more friends, murder podcasts and Dateline probably aren’t helping on the social anxiety front. Just sayin’.

11. Define what success means to you.

I’ll start for you: Success isn’t perfection. Success is choosing to start again even when you stop. Even when you forget, even when you miss the mark. That being said, having a clear picture of what the win looks like ahead of time will help you know when you’re on track. Here’s an example: Yes, my goal is running five day a week. Sometimes I miss the mark, but winning is when I run consistently more than inconsistently.

Sometimes winning looks like maintaining a good habit while you gear up to tackle a bigger goal. Success in this season could look like, I don’t need to lose weight yet, but I’m not going to gain any more weight. Or, I’m going to learn to live on what I make and stick to the budget. I’ll wait to pay off the debt until after I lock in this level of consistency.

12. Celebrate your milestones.

One of the best ways to stay motivated is to know that not only is there a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but there’s a trail of gold pieces the whole way there too. Listen, I want to feel and experience the rewards of my efforts along the journey! And remember, giving your brain the shot of gratification it’s looking for only fuels your motivation. So be intentional about plotting moments of celebration. For example, Every time I lose five pounds, I get to spend $50 toward a new wardrobe. Or, Every time we pay off $10,000, we get to go for dinner and spend $150. Celebrating the small wins gives you the energy you need to get after your goals and stay motivated!

How to Stay on Track to Hit Your Goals

No matter how big or small your goals are, I know that if you put these tips into practice, you can make progress toward your ambitions. Here’s one more tip for staying motivated, especially when it comes to money goals: try the free EveryDollar app! EveryDollar makes it super simple to create a budget that helps you plan for those important life things, like paying off debt, saving up for a house, or being a generous giver on birthdays and holidays. Check it out!