If you are like most humans, then you know that motivation can be quite the tricky thing. It is so elusive that we will spend millions of dollars on self help books and going to listen to motivational speakers and seminars and conferences.

Yet with all of the time and money put into these efforts, we still can't seem to achieve our goals. So why is this so difficult?

Motivation can help you achieve anything you desire but how do you motivate yourself to achieve your goals?

It's not simply a question of saying I am motivated, if this was the case everyone would achieve their goals and fact is most do not.

To achieve positive motivation and more importantly keep motivated you need to channel two character traits.

Desire

The first road to achieving goals is to have the desire to achieve them. Many people however are frightened of desire. Why?

According to the website Motivational Speakers, they conducted a survey at a recent seminar their speakers spoke at and many of the attendees admitted that they feared failure and being disappointed.

Quite simply they feel that they may not achieve and will end up disappointed. In this case desire can be termed dreaming.

To have desire you need to not only want something but feel you are able to achieve it.

You need desire then burns within you and you can then channel it into action.

Realism = Belief

To have desire and then motivate yourself to a goal requires realistic aims to give you the belief that you will achieve and believe is a massive motivational tool.

Many people simply set un-realistic goals that are impossible to achieve and get de motivated quickly as they don't really deep down believe they can achieve it.

The goal is simply too daunting and they cannot maintain motivation to reach it and quickly give up.

The key here is to make goals realistic and set several smaller goals that lead to your ultimate goal.

Break your ultimate goal into sub goals.

For example, you want to run a marathon but you have never run one before so you cant achieve it straightway so you set small sub goals of varying distances in time frames.

When you reach a sub goal tick it off, reward yourself and move onto the next goal.

This will keep you motivated, you will see know you will be working toward your ultimate goal in steps and keep in mind the longest journey always starts with one step

According to the editor of Motivation Ping, “You cant achieve everything you want”.

No one can. You need to be realistic about what you can achieve and make sure that it is something you know you can achieve.

If you make your goals realistic and achievable, you can achieve a better life for you and your loved ones.

Staying motivated

When you have set your goals, Write them down and focus on how your life will improve and make sure that you visualize the end result, before you work toward your goal so that you can see and the benefits that will be a consequence of your action.

Keep in mind

Motivation can sometimes be hard to achieve but if a goal is realistic you can do it.

Also keep in mind that if you fail to set realistic targets and goals you will never be able to channel your desire into action.

In fact, your desire will really just remain wishful thinking and dreaming.

There is nothing to stop anyone motivating themselves to achieve goals that will make their lives better and you can do it to if you adopt the right mindset.