One minute you’re killing it like a boss, and the next, you’re ready to wave a white flag on the day before lunch. Try these simple motivation life hacks to give yourself a boost when you’re not on your A-game.
Strike a power pose
Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist and professor at the Harvard School of Business, gave a TED Talk on the significance of body language. Her premise is that non-verbal communication (i.e. body language) may be just as important as verbal communication. And one of the ways that you can communicate non-verbally is with a “power pose.”
Power posing is a controversial self-improvement technique or “life hack” in which people stand in a posture (picture Wonder Woman in a wide legged stance with her hands on her hips) that they mentally associate with being powerful, in the hope of feeling and behaving more assertive.
Cuddy’s research found that by standing in a power pose for as little as two minutes can increase your testosterone levels, which are associated with confidence, and decreases your cortisol levels, which are associated with stress. Try it it only takes 2 minutes!
Write a letter from your future self
Try reverse engineering your goals, instead of jotting down what you’re going to do. Try writing a letter from “the future” describing your accomplishments in the past tense. This can be a powerful way to stay motivated.
For example, instead of, “I want to be the <insert top career goal> in three years,” you would write a note dated in 2023 and say, “I’m the <insert career goal> and it’s everything I worked for, and it feels fantastic!”
Use your passwords as a motivational tool
The next time prompted to change your passwords, use it to keep your mojo. While still using acceptable password practices— including numbers, uppercase, and lowercase letters and symbols—tweak your combinations to reflect what you’re working towards. Bonus: this habit makes them easier to remember and way more fun!
For instance, if this is your year for cultivating more self-love, your password could be: 2020+IAM+Love or if your goal this year is to save more money: 20$Save.
When you make these into passwords you regularly use, such as logging onto your laptop, it’s a subtle goal reminder several times a day. That’s better than typing in something meaningless like, 82>jhZ42.
Share Your Goals with Others
If other individuals know what you are working towards achieving a particular goal, you are more likely to push through and succeed. However, if you immediately fail to achieve your goal, it can seem a bit tragic to realize that so many people know your destination. This is why it’s smart to share, but not boast on your new goal intention.
Try out some of these motivation hacks and let us know how they work!
