“Sometimes our biggest life goals seem so overwhelming. We rarely see them as a series of small, achievable tasks, but in reality, breaking down a large goal into smaller tasks — and accomplishing them one at a time — is exactly how any big goal gets achieved.” – Jack Canfield – Best Selling Author of Chicken Soup for the Soul
It is hard to stay inspired when it feels like your goals are far out of reach.
As a student, picking a career path is a difficult choice to make. However, once you finally decide what your passion is and what you want out of a career, getting there may be a long process. No matter the length of time it takes it can be hard to stay inspired if the end result feels so far off.
While going through this, how do you stay inspired through the process?
It is easy to lose motivation when it feels like what you are doing is irrelevant to what you want to be doing in the future.
The path you are taking may not always feel like it has a direct connection with what it is you want in the future but it is still an important part of the process, which helps shape you into your future self.
As an undergraduate student of Psychology, the path to my career is still far from being completed. Therefore, I would like to share with you five tips I like to keep in mind, when feeling uninspired, that help me stay on track.
- Remember the goal. To me this means remembering the reasons behind why I am studying this and why I got into this field to begin with.
- Be grateful. Education is a process. Learning and growing is a process. All which are progressions that help you find your place in this world.
- Be mindful. Be aware of how you are feeling both physically and emotionally. Be aware of what your body needs and of what your mind needs. This may be very different for each person. Think about how both your body and mind are responding to what you are doing moment by moment.
- Visualize the results. Imagine what your life would be like when you achieve your goals and how you will feel reaching that end result. I find that this skill in particular really helps me refocus on my studies and pushes me to work harder and strive past the difficulties or roadblocks that arise along the way.
- Be aware of the energy you put off to others and the energy others put off to you. Who you surround yourself with matters. Being aware of how the people around you make you feel is vital. Through my time in school I have found that the people I have surrounded myself with have had a strong affect on the way I work and my attitude towards it as well. Surround yourself with those who motivate and inspire you to work hard, keep you on the right track and stay confident in yourself and your skills.
If you find that you are someone who is following these steps yet still find it difficult to stay inspired through the process you can always reach out to a professional or a registered psychologist who can help you get back on the track you wished for yourself.
Book an appointment today. We would be happy to answer any further questions and connect you with one of our Markham therapists.
Written by: Sabrina Medinski, CBT Psychology for Personal Development.
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