Last month, we looked at how the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many of us to reexamine our priorities and how we’ve been spending our time up to this point. We also delved into some simple suggestions to get started on making change: clarifying your values and priorities, incorporating those priorities into your life and beginning to shift your routines even while we’re in the midst of a lifestyle upheaval. Perhaps you’ve started to incorporate some of these ideas into your life. Or maybe you started with the best of intentions and now you’re feeling stuck and frustrated. Don’t worry and most of all, don’t be hard on yourself! Maintaining motivation, particularly during these unprecedented times, is challenging. Let’s take a closer look at what it takes to find motivation.
The Three Ds of Motivation
Simply put, motivation is the ability to initiate and persist at a task. Finding the motivation to change means maintaining consistent effort when it would be easier to give up. It begins with the three Ds:
- Direction: When you’re ready to make meaningful change, consider the different directions you can go in your life. You can continue with things as they are now, make drastic and immediate change or take things slower.
- Decision: Based on your three choices of direction, you decide which one is best for you and the type of change you’d like to make. None of the choices are right or wrong. They’re simply dependent on what works best for you and the amount of effort and time you’re willing to put into making those changes
- Dedication: Once you’ve made your decision, it’s time to go all-in. This is the step that determines whether your decision to make changes is a priority in your life and if those changes will be realized.
The difficult nature of making changes and staying motivated means that you will likely be putting in effort long after the point of it being fun and inspiring. It’s hard work, but you don’t have to go it alone. That’s where coaching comes in. Having a coach by your side means that you have someone who asks the difficult questions you may be avoiding, helps with the three Ds of motivation, holds you accountable, keeps you motivated during the tough times and celebrates your victories with you.
While we can’t anticipate and plan for everything in our lives, we can decide how, where and when to concentrate our energy. It requires some motivation and problem solving, but in the end it will lead to a more balanced and fulfilling life. Leah M Joppy and Associates is ready to help you on your journey to discover what your priorities and values will look like moving forward. Call us at 301-670-0051 or email leah@lmja.com to learn more.