staying motivated

Any hobby can be a gateway to improved mental health, happiness and relaxation. However, it can be extremely difficult to stay motivated for many reasons, and when motivation is lost it can lead to what was once a fun pastime becoming a stressful chore. So here are some tips to help maintain, regain, or create motivation.

List your achievements – Whether you came first in a competition or found something you once struggled with becoming easier, make a note of it in a diary, journal, or even just a notebook. Doing this can help to improve your confidence in yourself and increase motivation, because it is a reminder that however big or small your achievements are, they are still achievements. Even if you may consider someone else’s to be better or more impressive that does not lower the value of yours or make them any less your own. This brings up the next point:

Owning your achievements  - Every achievement is a small success however small or large, if you look at the stars in the sky their size does not affect how much of a star they are, the same goes for your own achievements, they are all stars in the sky of your life. Unfortunately, in our modern society the line between being proud and being self-centered or bragging can seem increasingly blurred to the point of no definition. This has created a stigma around having pride in your achievements and could make you feel guilty or wrong for doing so. Remember, you do not need anybody’s permission to feel proud for achievements you earned through your own hard work. 

Set goals – Setting goals can benefit you in many ways such as creating a source of motivation and something to celebrate when completed. These goals can range from a short-term to long-term, creating a driven and positive mindset. For me, I have been setting small goals in language practice on Duolingo using the day streak, this has been extremely helpful in motivating me to continue learning languages! 

List your strengths – Appreciating your strengths can be as important as being aware of your weaknesses, by listing them it is easier to come to terms with the fact that whilst it is impossible to do everything perfectly, there are many things that you are good at and nobody can take that away from you. This can grow your self-confidence, increase happiness, and in general help you to maximize enjoyment from your hobbies.

Notice negative self-talk and work towards making it positive – Negative self-talk can lower your confidence and create a negative environment around your hobbies, a good way to combat this is to make a conscious effort to replace negativity with positivity. For each negative thought try and think of three positive thoughts. At first the effort may feel very odd and forced, but over time it will create a natural habit of which will improve your overall mindset, and you will find your passion is once again a passion!

Finally, have fun! – The fun theory states that fun is an important motive for many things in life, in this instance it can be applied to hobbies. With any hobby you can sometimes not feel motivated to do it. However, when this happens perseverance is the key to keeping the fire of passion for what you love lit. You can persevere through these times by utilising the fun theory, try to think of three things, a fun experience of your hobby in the past, something you enjoy or find fun in your hobby currently, and something which you are excited about in the future of your hobby. This can help to bring positive memories of what you love to the front of your mind and make you excited and motivated to continue pursuing your hobby, as Michael Schumacher said “Once something is a passion, the motivation is there”.     
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• Jasmine