6 keys to finding new motivations and turning your life around

During the first weeks of the year, it has become very common to create plans for the next 12 months; a stage in our lives that, although it may be defined in a somewhat arbitrary way, we want to dedicate ourselves to improving both personally and, on many occasions, professionally.

Taking advantage of the motivational thrust of New Year's resolutions is often exciting, especially if we we get down to work from day one and begin to get involved in our transformation into that "I" ideal. However, if we do not know very well how to face that task, the chances of running into frustration are high, especially if our plans are ambitious.

If you are in the situation that you are not satisfied or satisfied with your personal or professional situation and you want to do something about it, here you will find several key ideas that can make it easier for you to reach your goals and turn your life around. These are simple principles, part of which we psychologists use to help our patients and clients when they are challenged to progress in aspects of their lives (not necessarily related to disorders).

• Related article: "Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection"

Key ideas to turn your life around

Betting on putting large amounts of effort into a project is counterproductive if we waste these attempts for not knowing how to measure our strength or define our short-term objectives. This is part of the raison d'être of the psychological assistance offered by behavioral experts. human: avoid that motivation is wasted by not having a master plan with which to set our progress. It is a bit like training the voice to sing: if when trying to use it we notice that we are always forcing it, something is wrong, and the technique must be modified.

Here you will find several tips to improve the technique with which you promote your personal or professional development, to redirect it towards what works. They are simple, but you must bear in mind that for them to work you must be constant with them, and that depending on what your needs you will require the help of a psychologist or psychologist to accompany you in this process, whether or not disorders or syndromes are present diagnosable.

1. Analyze the current situation

First of all, you have to bet on realism and know how to describe the current situation, to be aware of what it is from which we can work. It is best to create a SWOT: a table of four parts in which you can write down, in the form of short terms, what they are your strengths, your weaknesses, your opportunities and your threats / risks, taking into account what aspect of your life you want progress.

2. Trace your desired situation

Now is the time to define your arrival box, the state in which you want to be in a few months. It is important that you try to define it by going to the concrete, without falling into the use of very abstract concepts. For example, do not resort to "I want love", but "I want to spend more and better time with my friends, my family, meet new friends", and so on.

3. Look for achievable goals in the short and medium term

It is important to have goals in the future, but as long as you can subdivide them into other short-term goals. Create a calendar in which these challenges are distributed with a certain periodicity (for example, with at least one mini-goal each week) and that allows you to visualize your achievements following an ascending difficulty curve.

For example, if you want to learn the basics of a new language to broaden your professional profile and you have study material, you can set the goal of reaching Saturdays having studied a new chapter.

• You may be interested: "Types of motivation: the 8 motivational sources"

5. Establish an action plan

Now is the time to see in its entirety what you want to address as your plan to turn your life around, and add things to it, take away others and make some corrections. For it you must make an estimate of the time available you will have and your energy level with which you will start week after week.

6. take care of yourself

It is very important to be in good physical condition to perform well, since personal and professional development involve going through challenges. It is very important, above all, that you get enough sleep and eat well, since if this fails you can have problems of fatigue, lack of concentration, etc.

7. Create a distraction-free environment and progress routine

Finally, It is recommended that you create a workspace in which you will make your progress and in which you will be subjected to few distractions. If you want to start your own business from home, reserve a corner of your home to be your study, away from noise and TV screens. If you want to learn to play an instrument, do something similar, having all the necessary material for training at hand. Follow this philosophy of creating specialized workspaces so that nothing separates you from your goals.

Need help?

If you notice that you are having difficulty meeting your goals, we recommend you contact UPAD Psychology and Coaching, our psychological assistance center in Madrid. Here, either in person or online, we can guide you to promote your change for the better.

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• Shrestha, Nipun; Pedisic, Zeljko; Neil-Sztramko, Sarah; Kukkonen-Harjula, Katriina T.; Hermans, Veerle (2016). The impact of obesity in the workplace: a review of contributing factors, consequences and potential solutions. Current Obesity Reports. 5 (3): pp. 344 - 360.