My top 10 motivational tips for success - Jag Singh

Time management: How we manage our time determines our future. If we are spending most of our time indulging with Netflix marathons, then we are not investing it correctly. Start your day with a written list of things to do. On it, include the most productive things you can do to get you closer to your goals. Once time has lapsed, it can never come back. Time doesn’t stop for anyone, so ensure that you make the most of it.

Goal setting: Where do you see yourself in five years time? 10 years? Chances are you will be exactly where you are today unless you take those bold steps and decide what it is you want in your life and how you are going to get it. Write down all the small actions you can take that will lead you towards the attainment of your major goal. Give yourself deadlines. Make both short and long-term goals, then monitor them regularly.

Avoid procrastination: We all know what we should be doing to achieve our goals, but sometimes we just keep putting it on the back burner and leave it for another day. Most of the time that day never comes. So do it now. Rather than talk yourself out of doing something, talk yourself into doing more. Don’t be your worst enemy, be your best friend and stop making excuses. Keep telling yourself, ‘come on, get up! Let’s do this right now’.

Have fun: Put the hours in and work hard, but make sure you set time aside for undivided attention to relax with your loved ones, friends or even just ‘me’ time. This is so important and will help you unwind. You need to get your ‘head out of the office’ sometimes and have a break. If you are working hard, I am sure that you must have earned a well-deserved break and it will do you a world of good.

Visualisation/imagination: With the hectic lives some of us lead, today we barely get a chance to spend a few minutes on our own. But it is important to do so. Find a moment and just chill out on your own. During this time visualise your future. Let your imagination go wild. Use the ‘eye’ of the mind and see everything you want to achieve already in your possession. Follow this process every day and you will be sending messages to your brain that will help your mind magnetise you towards your success.

Persistence: Starting anything is easy, but maintaining it is the key. Did you know it is estimated that 90 per cent of people who start the gym in January leave by April? You must remain persistent and become the 10 per cent who stay. Sometimes you will feel defeated, tired and as if you don’t have any more energy left to continue. This will be the test. Get up and keep moving. Your persistence will play a major key role in your quest to achieve success.

Role models: Once you have decided exactly what it is that you want to achieve, find someone who is already a success in that area. Find out how they started, what challenges they had and how they overcame them. Learn what actions they took to get where they are, then mirror them. You can use the internet, books and films to find your role models. You can have as many role models as you want. Learn from them and imitate their behaviour accordingly.

Go easy on yourself: If you fail at doing something or make a mistake, go easy on yourself. Don’t beat yourself up for days on end. After all, you are trying your best and that’s what counts. If it’s not working find another way, speak gently to yourself and motivate yourself to try again rather than put yourself down. At times when things don’t turn out as you expected them to, don’t worry, shrug it off, smile and try again.

Believe in yourself: If you don’t believe you can do it deep inside then you won’t. You must believe in yourself 100 per cent. Once you begin to take action, watch your confidence grow accordingly and your belief will get stronger. Using powerful self-affirmations daily is a great way to become confident, such as ‘I believe in me’, ‘I can do this.’ If you have even one shred of doubt that you can’t do it, guess what? You won’t. Believe you can and you will.

Never give up: I love the proverb, ‘How do you defeat a person who refuses to be defeated?’ If you are truly serious about achieving your dreams you must have the ‘refuse to be defeated attitude’. Your determination needs to be iron strong and despite what obstacles stand in your way, you must find a way to get through them, jump over them or move sideways. It doesn’t matter how just get past them. Defeat is not an option. Keep moving forward.

Jag Singh is a freelance writer and motivational speaker. He supports campaigns including anti-bullying, mental health and child protection. He is also an expert in effective sales, business and team management. Twitter: @jagsingh_ican, YouTube: @motivate70 and jksd100.wixsite.com/jagsingh