Use Anchors to Stay Motivated

Building a habit of creating anchors to stay positive and motivated

When we're focused on achieving a long-term goal, it can be difficult to keep top of mind the reasons why we are working toward that goal. Tasks that help us get to the long-term goal might be tedious and not give us any kind of immediate gratification, except for being able to check it off the to-do list.

Anchors built to motivate and keep us positive can bridge that gap and help keep us on task. Creating reminders throughout the day that tie to our big why of what we are doing help to keep the energy high when the task isn't fun or engaging.

Ways to build anchors

Creating anchors isn't difficult but you will want to make sure that you choose a method that works best for you.

You can:

Create visual anchors such as vision boards or even a single photo of what you are working towards. Saving up to buy a new car? Put a picture of the car where you'll see it every day.  You could put it on your refrigerator or make it the wallpaper on your phone, tablet, or laptop.

Create verbal anchors such as affirmations to keep you motivated. You could say something like "I give my best and leave the rest" if you tend to get caught up chasing perfection.

Create auditory anchors such as building a playlist of songs that motivate you or keep you positive. 

You could also build these anchors into your schedule by adding them to your calendar. Create a daily reminder that will pop up on your phone or laptop. 

Habit in Action

I'm traveling to Peru at the end of the winter for a yoga retreat and I want to make sure I'm in shape before I go. I set a daily reminder to exercise on my phone but add "for Peru!" to the reminder to keep me focused and motivated. Doing 10 squats "for Peru!" is much more motivating that just putting"exercise" on my to-do list.

Find the method that works best for you. Play around with these different ideas and see which ones inspire you.