How to motivate yourself when you feel like quitting

We’ve all been there. We’ve all been on the verge of giving up. You’ve set a goal and come up with a plan and you’ve been working hard towards it for a while. But then it gets tough. You’ve been through tough before but this time is different. Maybe it’s a lack of motivation at the wrong time. Or maybe it’s one too many setbacks. Or maybe it’s just taking too long to accomplish what you set out to do and you’re feeling discouraged.

I’ve been there. I’ve felt those same feelings of discouragement and the desire to just throw in the towel. We all have. Even the most motivated and driven person occasionally gets tired. So what can you do?

Here are three steps to take to keep moving forward when you feel like calling it quits:

1. Remember your goals.

One of the best ways to get motivated is to remember your goals. Make sure you have a specific goal you want to achieve. Then put that goal somewhere prevalent where it will continually be on your mind.

Make it tangible. Write your goal down. Or collect pictures and make a goal board. It must be something you can put your hands on. Then place it somewhere you will see it regularly. The refrigerator is a good place. I sometimes write my goal on my hand with a sharpie so that I see it often during the day.

Be creative. But keep your goal constantly in front of you so you remember its importance.

2. Remember why you started in the first place.

Another good way to motivate yourself when you feel like quitting is to remember why you wanted to achieve your goal when you first started. Did you want to lose weight so you would have more confidence? Remind yourself of that. Tell yourself again why having confidence is important to you. Did you want to start your own business so you could be in control of your own financial future? Remind yourself of why you want your future in your own hands. Did you want to eat better to be healthier for your family? Remind yourself that you started for your kids.

Find whatever the original motivation was that got you started. Then go back and refresh your memory of how important the reason you wanted to accomplish your goal was. Find the “why” and let that motivate you.

3. Trick yourself or treat yourself.

Finally, if all else fails, you can resort to tricking yourself. I use this method often to get to the gym when I’m feeling unmotivated. I tell myself that I just have to go for a little bit so I can check the box. Often once I’m there I end up getting a full workout done anyway. And even if I don’t get the best workout of my life then at least I showed up. And that in itself is a win.

So trick yourself. Tell yourself you only have to do it once more and then you can quit. Tell yourself that you only have to try it once and then you can stop.

Or treat yourself. Reward yourself with something special after you do something you don’t feel like doing. When internal motivation isn’t enough, find an external motivator. Buy yourself a gift as a reward for completing a project. Use a win/loss system for yourself so you feel that much better when you complete the task. Then reward yourself accordingly.

Often if you can get enough motivation to do something just one more time then you will find that the motivation to continue will return.

Final thought: