Find Free Inspiration to Stay Motivated Today.

Do you find it hard to stay motivated with new projects?  Do you sit around wondering where you can find inspiration for staying motivated? Looking for inspiration can sometimes be difficult when much of what we see in the movies and news reports are based around negative stories. Many of the people around you can be negative and lack motivation. Leaving you feeling like your life is also surrounded with negativity and the lack of motivation. This makes changing your life seem impossible.

Don’t worry there is inspiration right around the corner. The easiest way to find free inspiration to change your life is to start watching self-help videos. You can find thousands of inspiring videos that will move you to tears and motivate you to change your life. 

Self-help videos show you other people dealing with the same struggles you may have had in life. These videos also show you how others have faced challenges and conquered them. You get to see first-hand how they accomplish their goal or conquered their struggle, the benefits they received and how it changed their life. 

I watch and listen to free inspirational videos, tapes and Cd’s. I surround my-self with stories that motivate, encourage and support my goals in life.  Using inspirational self-help videos has taught me so much about my-self and my live. It is a very valuable tool for anyone seeking help.

You can easily change your life today and stay motivated by surrounding yourself with inspiration.To start you off in the right direction check out the inspirational vidoes provide by selfhelpportal4u. You will be glad you did.

The Blessings in Challenges

Have you ever noticed that every challenge also contains a blessing in disguise?  If not, you may not have been looking closely enough!  It’s true that challenges often seem like inconveniences when they get in the way of something you want.  When you’re working toward goals that are important to you, the last thing you want is to face a big challenge or obstacle because it usually means that your desired outcome will be delayed.

However, if you learn to see challenges in a new light, they can easily become the best things that have ever happened to you.

Below you’ll find 5 questions you should ask whenever you find yourself facing challenges:

1) What Can I Learn From This?

Too often we view challenges as annoyances or personal vendettas, when in fact they may hold a great opportunity to learn and grow!  If you start by asking what you can learn from each challenge, you’ll suddenly see them as possibilities that pave the way to greater wisdom and self-mastery.

2) How Can This Strengthen Me?

One major reason why challenges intimidate us is because we don’t feel capable of handling them.  We have a limited perception of our own abilities, so we automatically believe that the challenge is bigger than we are.  However, if you learn to see challenges as an opportunity to become stronger and more empowered, there’s no way they can hold you back!

3) How Can I Use This to My Advantage?

Most often we see challenges as disadvantages – but is that necessarily true?  A challenge can often help you see that there are many possible ways to achieve a goal, and the one you’ve chosen may not necessarily be the best one.  Asking this question can often open your mind to alternative routes that may be shorter or otherwise better in some way.

4) How Can I Use This to Help Others?

Though we often believe our goals affect only ourselves, more often we have a huge impact on the people around us too.  Not only do other people watch what you do and how you live your life – they often model their own behavior after yours!  If you refuse to let challenges intimidate you or slow you down, you just might inspire and motivate others to do the same with their own challenges.

5) What Would Make This a Worthwhile Experience?

Sometimes just being willing to recognize that a challenge may not be such a bad thing can be enough to help you realize all kinds of wonderful benefits from it.  This question does a couple of things:  first, it helps you feel more empowered because it affirms that you have a choice in how you react to the challenge; and secondly it reminds you that every challenge holds the seeds for unlimited blessings and opportunities.

What Does Your Lack of Motivation Mean?

A lack of motivation can often seem to be caused by laziness or procrastination at first glance, but looks can often be deceiving!  If you’re struggling to stay motivated about working on your goals or any other endeavor, a little introspection can be just the thing you need to provide clarity and insight about what’s really happening beneath the surface.

Grab a sheet of paper and a pen, and answer the questions below:

1) Am I afraid of failing?

Fear of failure is an all-too-common reason why people lose motivation.  If this is one of the reasons you’re holding back, you’ll likely be able to come up with clear ideas why you feel so afraid.  For example, you may write, “I’m afraid of embarrassing myself in front of my family and friends,” or “I’m afraid I’ll be really disappointed in myself if I don’t make this happen.”  Whatever comes to mind, write it down and then really think about whether it would be so terrible to experience – or if it would be much worse to not try at all.

2) Do I really believe in my own ability to persevere until I make it?

Likewise, you may be feeling uncertain about your ability to overcome obstacles and challenges, which is slightly different than a fear of failure.  For example, you may have a certain measure of confidence in your skills and abilities but doubt that you have the determination and fortitude to achieve the full outcome you desire.

3) Have I grown bored with the goals that once meant so much to me?

This is an excellent question to ask because sometimes you’re not aware that your priorities and preferences have changed, and you can gain a lot of clarity by understanding what you REALLY want.  If you do find that you’ve lost interest in your initial goals, you simply need to come up with some new and exciting goals that will spark your eagerness to move forward again.

4) Am I afraid of what it might mean if I succeed?

Another common fear is the fear of success.  A fear of success is more about fearing the baggage that often comes along with success.  You may feel nervous about taking on extra responsibility, feel overwhelmed by the increased attention your success would bring, or you might even be worried that you’ll never be able to “top” this level of success in the future.  The only way to work through these fears is to discredit them.  When you break them down and really examine them, you usually find that they’re groundless or irrational, which helps you to move past them.

5) What would make me feel more motivated about this goal or activity?

Sometimes you can’t find any clear reason for feeling unmotivated, but asking this question can often help you feel more in control of your own willingness to take action.  Not only do you realize that you’re not powerless against a lack of motivation, you may come up with creative ideas that could inspire your sense of enthusiasm again.

The Power of Surrender

There are few things more maddening than running into obstacles and blockages while you’re working toward your goals!  You’ll be moving along nicely, feeling great about the progress you’re making, when all of a sudden – boom; you’re stuck.  You’ve encountered an obstacle that you have no idea how to get around.

What you do next will often determine whether you achieve your goals or give up on them forever.  Your first impulse will probably be to try to figure out a way to work through the obstacle or sidestep around it – or even force it to move out of your way.

But what if that doesn’t work?  Does that mean your goals are toast?  No!

Today you’re going to learn another powerful technique for dealing with obstacles: surrender.

You may think that surrendering to obstacles means that you’ll be giving up on your goals, but keep in mind that surrender is not the same thing as defeat.

When you surrender to obstacles, it means that you refuse to waste your energy fighting them.  It means that instead of resisting and struggling, you’re going to step back and see the obstacle in a new light.

Here’s how to do it:

1) Step back and gain some emotional distance.  When most of us encounter obstacles, we tend to take them personally and draw conclusions about what they mean.  We throw our hands up and declare that our goals are finished, we’re finished, and we’ve failed.  Nothing could be further from the truth!

Instead of drawing conclusions about the obstacle you’re facing, step back and observe it.  Why has it appeared in your life?  What lessons can you learn from it?  Is it possibly an opportunity to stretch yourself more than you’ve been willing to in the past?

2) Open to your creative inspiration.  Just asking those questions can get your creative inspiration flowing like crazy!  When you detach from any need to push through the obstacle, you suddenly see that there are many other options available to you.  During this time, be sure to jot down any insights and possibilities that may occur to you.

3) Give it time.  Even if you see some great possibilities for working through or around the obstacle, don’t take action on them right away.  Give it a few days.  Keep your distance, and you’ll probably notice that your fear and frustration will begin to dwindle.  Before long you’ll feel stronger and more capable about moving forward again, at which time you can put some of your new ideas into motion.

When you enter into this process of surrender, don’t be surprised if the obstacle dissolves spontaneously on its own!  It happens frequently, simply because you’ve stopped trying to force things to happen and are instead willing to just go with the flow – which creates space for movement and progress to occur again.

The Power of Momentum

Have you ever hesitated to take action and gotten stuck in a rut of inertia?  Most often when this happens, you’re waiting for some internal or external clue that tells you it’s okay to move forward.  You’re waiting until you feel more confident, or until obstacles dissolve and your goals are easier to achieve.

The problem is, the longer you stay inactive, the harder it is to begin moving forward.  So you wait; and wait; and wait some more!

The truth is – it will never get easier to move forward.  Every moment that you hold back you are settling deeper into your comfort zones, and pushing out of them will be even more uncomfortable when you finally do it.

However, you’ll be pleased to learn about a little thing called MOMENTUM.

You see, when most people procrastinate and avoid taking action, they do so because it seems exceedingly difficult to move forward – and they mistakenly believe that it will ALWAYS be that difficult.  Have you ever had the same perception?

What you need to know is this:  the longer you work on taking consistent action toward your goals, you will build momentum and it will get easier and easier as you go along.

Eventually the actions you take will seem almost effortless.  You’ll begin to enjoy your activities because you’ll feel more empowered and confident about taking action.  Not to mention, all of the effort you’ve put in will be reaping great results by that time!

Are you ready to climb out of your rut of inertia today?  If so, here is a simple 3 step process to help you begin taking action – and keep taking it!

1) Commit to the actions first.  When many people set goals, they commit to achieving the end result, but they rarely commit to taking the actions that will get them there.  Take a few minutes to jot down the specific action steps that will get you to your goal, and then make a solemn commitment to take them every day.

2) Baby steps, baby steps!  Did you know that small, consistent steps toward a goal are often more effective than large, sporadic actions?  Even tiny actions will begin to build momentum and bring you great results!  Make it your sole mission to move forward consistently, despite feelings of fear, obstacles that pop up, or anything else that threatens to erode your confidence.  Keep moving forward no matter what.

3) Don’t focus on results yet.  Many a goal has been abandoned because people take an action, wait to see what the results are, and quit when they don’t see the results they expected.  Don’t get so dependent upon the results that you allow them to determine your NEXT actions.  In other words, focus only on putting one foot in front of the other, even if you’re not yet seeing the results you want.  If you quit, you’re guaranteed not to see results – but by persevering, you’ll make things happen eventually.

Joy as Motivation

Have you ever noticed that a lack of motivation leaves you feeling sluggish and uninspired?  One great way to turn that mind-set around is by consciously getting joyful!  Joyful about what, exactly?  Well, anything will do, but here are a few good ideas to get you started.

Probably one of the best things to get joyful about are the end results you’re trying to create.  If you’re working toward your goals and feeling unmotivated about taking action, start by thinking about how good you’ll feel to achieve the goal.  Imagine the feelings of excitement and satisfaction you’ll experience when you can finally shout, “I did it!”  It’s important to not just think about these things, but really allow yourself to experience the feelings too!

You can also take it step further and consider how achieving that goal will contribute to your life and the lives of others.  What do you stand to gain from it?  How will it help others?  How do you feel about those benefits?  Imagine that you and others are enjoying those benefits right now.  How does that make you feel?

Still not feeling the joy?

Time to up the ante.  Start focusing on something wonderful you want to happen in your future, even if you’re not working on it yet.  Make this “something” really BIG and AMAZING.  Something that would change your whole life and make you whoop and holler with joy.  Some examples:  Imagine that you won the lottery and you get to call all your friends and relatives to share the good news.  Or imagine that you’ve just won your dream home in a contest and you’re going to see it in person for the first time.  Or imagine that you met the love of your life and it’s your wedding day!

Whatever you choose to focus on, pretend that it’s happening NOW and allow yourself to get into those feelings of intense excitement and awe.  Stay with these images for as long as necessary to pump yourself up with joy.

Once you’re feeling joyful and excited, get moving immediately on your other tasks or goals – the ones you were avoiding a little while ago.  Don’t give yourself time to form any more excuses; just do it!

Allow your feelings of joy and enthusiasm to flow into your current activities and keep your motivation strong.  You’ll probably find that your energy stays high for a longer period of time and you’ll end up accomplishing more than you would have otherwise.  Even better, joy can make any action seem almost effortless – which can be a big help when you’re pursuing goals or facing a difficult task.

Once you get used to using joy as a motivator, you’ll likely come to enjoy the process so much that it will take less and less effort to employ – and you’ll have no trouble at all keeping your motivation consistently strong!

If You Couldn’t Fail

Have you ever wondered what you would do with your life if you truly couldn’t fail at anything?  How would such an insight change your life?  Would you move toward your goals with stronger purpose and relentless determination?  Would you laugh at obstacles and challenges?  Would you ignore negative comments from other people in your life?

Imagine that anything you wanted right now was available to you, and there was NO POSSIBLE WAY you could fail in your attempt to get it.  How would that have changed the goals you’ve set in the past, and how might it change your current goals?

If you’re like most people, this exercise may help you realize a few things:

• You’ve been playing small.  You may have doubts about your ability to achieve the goals you really want, so you settle for smaller goals that you know you can handle.

The problem with doing this is that you’re not working toward goals that really keep you motivated.  The smaller goals you’re setting may be “nice” but they’re not what REALLY get you fired up!  As you know, staying motivated is easier when you’re working toward something that’s vitally important to you.

• Failure isn’t your biggest fear – success is!  One common reaction many people have to the questions asked in the beginning of this article is the realization that they still wouldn’t go after bigger goals because the thought of achieving them is more frightening than failing!  Staying where you are might seem more appealing than going after big goals because at least your current situation is familiar and comfortable – if not very satisfying.

Of course, nothing will change if you don’t find a way to believe in your capabilities!  A funny thing happens when people achieve an important goal – they realize they are capable of handling much more than they ever suspected before.  They realize that their fears were groundless and they’re grateful that they pushed forward despite them.

• Failure doesn’t exist until YOU say it does.  When you look back at your past failures, you’ll probably notice a couple of things: failure occurred when you refused to try; and failure occurred when you quit trying.

How many times have you done those things?  This realization can be life-changing if you allow it to be!  Think about the goals you’ve set in the past, and ask yourself if you refused to try or quit trying at any point.  Most likely your answer will be affirmative.

Now take a moment to think about your current goals.  What if you simply began working toward them and refused to quit?  What would happen?  Only you can determine whether failure is possible for you – solely based upon your willingness to keep moving forward or not!

Give Yourself a Boost!

When you’re having trouble staying motivated it can often seem like an impossible task to pull yourself out of the slump.  Most likely you either sit immobile with a blank look of boredom on your face or you find other non-essential activities to distract you.  Of course, these two choices don’t help you get anything accomplished, do they?

Instead, why not try some of the suggestions below the next time you’re feeling unmotivated:

• Put on some music.  Upbeat music is one sure way to get your emotion and energy flowing again!  Turn it up loud, groove to the beat and even dance around if you feel like it.  In no time at all you should be feeling pumped up and ready to get moving again.

• Laugh.  Laughter is like a miracle drug for the blues.  Not only does it make you feel more alert, it also releases a flood of those fantastic feel-good endorphins in your body.  Spend a few minutes reading or watching something funny, and then allow those good feelings to stimulate your motivation.

• Wash away lethargy.  Showering can immediately perk you up and make you feel more energized again.  Try using a fresh-scent shower gel or soap, and turn the water temperature a bit cooler than you normally would.  Scrub your hair and body with vigor and imagine that your feelings of “blah” are being washed down the drain.

• Get some fresh air.  A brisk walk is another great way to get some positive energy flowing again!  Focus on working your muscles and burning off any sense of sluggishness you may feel.  Breathe deeply and feel your body being flooded with life-giving oxygen!  Imagine your brain perking up and your body being energized, and in just minutes you should be feeling focused and productive again.

• Breathe!  Speaking of breathing deeply, it can work as a powerful wake-up exercise even if you’re not working out at the time.  Simply sit quietly and take several slow, deep breaths.  As you inhale, imagine that you’re taking in invigorating energy, and as you exhale imagine that you’re releasing lethargy and stagnation.

These are just a few ways you can get yourself feeling motivated again, but there are many others too!

When it comes right down to it, motivation is simply the willingness to take action and be productive.  Whether you’re working on your goals, trying to get chores done at work or around the house – just deciding to get up and get moving can be the most powerful motivator of all.

Detox Your Mind

Are negative thoughts and beliefs preventing you from moving forward with your goals and dreams?  If so, detox your mind!

Detoxification most often refers to the process of removing toxins from the body to achieve better health and well-being, but most people don’t realize that their minds can become incredibly toxic too.

How do you know if your mind is toxic?  You’ll most often feel powerless, hopeless, intimidated, frustrated, ineffective and stuck. Everyone feels like this occasionally, but if you spend the majority of your time feeling like this, you’ve definitely got toxin overload.

Here’s how to detox your mind:

• Purge the toxins.

The first step is to find a way to purge the negative thoughts and beliefs that are holding you back.  One of the best ways to do this is to write them down.  Grab a blank sheet of paper and a pen, and start writing how you feel about yourself, your goals, your dreams, and your life in general.  You might end up with statements like these:  “I feel so sick and tired of struggling.  No matter what I do I can’t seem to make changes.  I really think I’m defective somehow because I can’t do the things that other people find so easy.  I’m doomed to live a life of mediocrity and lack.  I’m powerless to change anything in my life.”

Keep writing until you’ve covered everything you can think of.

• Then, create the antidote.

All of those negative thoughts and beliefs you just wrote down are literally polluting your potential!  Unless you replace them with something more empowering, they’ll continue to control everything you think, say and do.

Grab another sheet of paper and begin writing a positive statement that directly contradicts each negative one.  However, be sure you write it in a way that is believable to you.  Using the examples from above, your antidote might look like this:  “I am absolutely determined to make better progress on improving my life.  I can make changes simply by taking one step at a time and believing in my own ability.  I am learning new and powerful ways to conquer challenges and move forward.  Other people appear to have it easy because they’ve probably been working on this stuff longer than I have.  I will eventually reach the same state of confidence and mastery.  I know I have the power to learn, grow, and make my life into something meaningful and fulfilling.”

Once you’ve got your antidote ready, destroy the toxins.  That sheet of paper you wrote all the negative stuff on?  Burn it!  Or rip it into tiny shreds and throw it away.  Those thoughts are no longer part of your life.

Then be sure to take the antidote every single day!  Read your new empowering thoughts as often as you can and do your best to internalize them as your new truth.

Remember, a tiny bit of toxins usually won’t cause big problems, but if they begin to build up over time they can wreak absolute havoc in your life.  That’s true with both physical AND mental toxins.  By taking the antidote on a regular basis, you minimize the buildup of mental toxins in your mind and automatically empower yourself to do and be more than you ever believed possible.

Courage is a Choice

Have you ever allowed fear to sap your motivation?  If so, you are probably familiar with the heavy sense of frustration that inevitably results in the abandonment of goals and dreams – no matter how badly you may want to achieve them.

However, you don’t have to allow fear to hinder your actions and destroy your goals!  With a simple shift in perspective, you can transform fear into courage and optimism and use them to your advantage.

If you’re like most people, you’re probably used to seeing the negative side of situations.  Not only do you tend to focus more on the challenges instead of the benefits in each situation, you may also hesitate to take action because of the potential negative risks involved.  Wanting to move forward may not provide enough incentive to overcome these fears, so you continuously hold yourself back and accomplish far less than you’re capable of.

However, if you learn to shift your focus from what you stand to lose in each situation and instead focus on what you might gain, you’ll probably find yourself feeling more courageous and eager to take action!

You may find it helpful to make a list of any specific fears you have and get them out in the open.  In each situation that makes you feel fearful, consider exactly what is holding you back.  What do you fear happening and why?  Are those things likely to happen, or is there only a slight chance?

Then use a separate sheet of paper and create a list of benefits you stand to gain by moving forward.  Be as specific – and optimistic – as you can.  Remember that dread and fear often seem to amplify the negative possibilities, which can make the positive benefits seem smaller or less important, so you may need to work a little harder to emphasize the positive.

Looking over these two lists should give you a more balanced view of your options and provide the clarity you need to decide whether to move forward or not.  You may decide that you have valid reasons to hang back a bit longer, and it’s okay to do that!  If you see that the possible negative consequences are more than you’re willing to accept at this time, you can either come up with less risky steps to take, or simply hold off and reevaluate at a later time.

If you do decide that the time to take action is now, you may need to work on building up your courage a bit before you do.  Remember that the only one with the power to hold you back is YOU.  At its core, motivation is largely the determination to conquer any fear, hesitation or excuse that threatens to hold you back.

Most importantly of all, don’t trick yourself into believing that you have to be completely fearless before moving toward your goals!  The most successful people in the world would probably tell you that they eventually had to resolve to move forward despite their fear and uncertainty!

Courage is absolutely a choice, and fear does not have the power to sap your motivation and strength unless you decide to let it.

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