I’m sure you’ve been there. You have a goal in mind that you are excited  about reaching. Maybe you finally decided to lose weight or you are inching  towards the place you want to be in your career. But as the time goes, so does  your motivation and drive.

We all need motivation in order to complete our goals  and insure our success. Motivation is the fuel that lights that fire in the  heart and enables us to propel past obstacles and seize our goals. But in order  for that to happen you must sustain your motivation. Here are three ways to have  everlasting motivation.

Set Viable Goals

One reason most people do not reach their goals is because they put  themselves in a position to fail. Think about planting a sunflower seed in a  spot in your backyard where the sunlight does not shine. No matter how much  water or fertilizer you give to seed it will not grow because it was never put  in a position to grow. If your goal is to lose weight or to make more money then  you should put yourself in a position that makes that possible.

Your goals  should also have a solid foundation. The slab that your goal sits on should be  deep rooted and unmovable. For example, let’s say you want to have a better  body. Your goal should never be to lose weight for the summer or an upcoming  special occasion. Because you may develop a better body, but what happens when  the summer is over or the occasion has passed? In order to stay motivated you  must give your goals a fighting chance. Review what you want to accomplish and  make sure that you’ve made success possible.

Finish Line Vision

In order to maintain your motivation and to complete your goal, you must look  past your obstacles and see your success. I always use to wonder how martial  artist could break wood boards and concrete bricks with their bare hands. Just  the thought of punching a cinder block makes my hand hurt. But there is a unique  tactic that is applied that you can use to stay motivated. Before one of these  experts drives their fist into a solid object, they visualize an imaginary  target that is past that object.

In other words instead of focusing on the board  and what your hand is going to smash, look past the board to where you hand is  going to be. The mind will be so focused on the target that it will continue  through any obstacle until it reaches that target. If you see your goal and have  the finish line as your focus, you will naturally progress in that  direction.

Reset the Bar

You must challenge yourself in different ways in order to keep the fire  going. Believe it or not one of the biggest motivation killers is progress.  Sometimes when we have a goal, and we see immediate progress, we have one of two  reactions. We either get so excited by the progress that it makes us want to  accomplish more, or we become so content with our improvement that it causes us  to slow down. Setting little goals along the way may give you a boost and  raising the bar will keep you climbing. New challenges bring new motivation and  new motivation breeds new success. Have confidence in your ability to surpass  your own achievements.

The greatest athletes, musicians, and leaders realize that they are their own  competition. In order to gain success they must find that fire that burns inside  and harness it to propel them to their goal. Once you learn how to light your  fire and keep it lit, you will graduate from acceptable to excellence.