It’s important to keep your passion alive to fuel your purpose.
Use these strategies consistently to feed the flames:
Keep in mind that success breeds more success. Celebrate your small victories. Nothing is too small. Share your achievements with others who appreciate your work and mission. Make a list and mark off each step as you complete it.
Find your tribe. If there are others doing similar work, either locally or online, connect with them. There’s nothing more stimulating than groupthink and people with a shared mission supporting each other. The synergy leads to more passion. Even a bit of healthy competition can be a good thing. Plus the motivation you will get from seeing how others share your passion can pretty significant.
Revisit your goal and action steps to see your progress. When it seems to take forever to complete a step toward your goal, remind yourself of the journey. Seeing your progress can be powerful, so create a clear path and reasonable steps. Don’t shy away from using whatever tools work for you. Are you a list kind of a person? Then create a checklist or use a planner. Are you more of a digital gal? Use your alarms or reminders on your smart phone or tablet. Do you need an accountability partner? Then hire a coach to keep you on track and in check or enlist one of your support systems to help you.
Goals and actions should be just out of reach, but attainable. Ensure your action steps are not too ambitious. If necessary, break them into smaller pieces that can be attained more easily. We want to stretch, but action steps should be within reach. Also get to the why underneath your why. What is really important about your goal? What makes it meaningful? Knowing that is what’s going to push you when you experience days when you just don’t feel like it.
Find external reminders of why you do what you do. Call, email, or visit someone who benefits from your mission, or someone who could benefit. Seeing or talking to others who want what you offer confirms your mission and rekindles the flame.
Stay up-to-date on the success of those who do similar work. When one person or group succeeds it often opens doors for others. Get Google alerts about your topic of interest or read the blogs and newsletters of others with a similar mission. Celebrate their progress, as well. Ask yourself, what about their work resonates with you? What can you glean from their success? What qualities do they have that you already possess?
Remember to feed the body and soul. In order to keep a sharp focus and sound mind, it’s important to tend to your body and soul. Remember to eat, sleep, and move so you have the physical energy to stay the course. Replenish your soul in any way that works for you – just do it regularly.
