5 Ways on How to Stay Motivated in February

I don’t know how but we made it to February! But, whilst February may be the shortest month , it does not mean you need to be achieving any less. Motivation is a factor that will fluctuate throughout the year but we can still play a HUGE part in deciding how that goes. Below are my top ‘5 Ways on How to Stay Motivated in February‘. (but can be used throughout the ENTIRE year!)

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5 Ways on How to Stay Motivated in February

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‘Feel Good’ Ways to Stay Motivated in February

1. Create a ‘Listen Only When’ Playlist

Music plays such a large part of everyone’s life and can have a significant impact on our moods. You most likely already know the genre or artist that gets you pumped up and motivated to SMASH your goals – use that to your advantage!

First, make sure to name your playlist something that will hit home and get you motivated. For example, I have created a playlist called, ‘YOU’VE GOT THIS‘. Instantly I am being hit with positive vibes. Then, fill your playlist with all the songs that you like listening to and make you feel good. For example, my playlist is jam-packed with Miley Cyrus. (Her ‘Bangerz’ album has got me feeling like a boss walking to put those dumbbells away haha)

Now, this is the tricky part. Only allow yourself to listen to those songs and playlist when you are working towards SMASHING your goal. Yep, I’ve made it so I can only listen to Miley Cyrus at the gym. But, it actually works. I link those songs and playlist with me feeling strong in the gym and it makes me motivated! Make sure to let me know in the comments if you do this and what songs are in your playlist.

2. Celebrate Yourself

In general, ‘we‘ aren’t celebrating our own progress enough. Concentration is on the end goal and ‘we‘ don’t stop to celebrate progress. But, we aren’t going to be part of ‘we‘ anymore!

As I explored in my, ‘The Science Behind Motivation: Intrinsic Motivation‘ post, being intrinsically motivated plays a HUGE part of achieving a goal. But, as I will be exploring soon, extrinsic motivation has a part to play here too.

Think back to where you started off, whether that be back in January or longer, and then see where you are now. You have made AMAZING progress and that deserves celebrating! So, cut yourself some slack and give yourself credit for what you have and are doing.

3. Get Outside, Breathe and Smile!

It is, unfortunately, likely that if you are working hard on achieving your goal then at some point you will get into a rut. Maybe even hit a wall. This happens to the best of us so it is important to try not get disheartened. Instead, take a step back for a moment. Maybe this is a perfect time to use the point above and celebrate yourself.

Alternatively, going outside, breathing and just smiling can have such a significant impact on your mood. Being outside, with nature, and smiling will release ‘happy hormones’ and can help you re-frame your perspective on your goal.

As I mentioned in my self-love guest post on Charlotte’s TakeaPaws blog, I would highly recommend spending time finding a breathing technique that works for you. (Yes, I know, I didn’t know there were several ways to breathe either) If you are looking for somewhere to start then I would recommend this Yoga with Adriene alternate nostril breathing video.

Strategic Ways to Stay Motivated in February

4. Make Goal Alterations Where Needed

It is easy to sit there in January and set yourself this huge goals that you want to achieve basically now. The motivation of New Years may just get you by on working towards those goals. However, you may find yourself beginning to struggle as you enter February and that is okay. Actually, it is great because this is a prime opportunity for you to make some goal alterations!

Start off with asking yourself, ‘are my goals SMART goals?‘. If you haven’t heard of them before, or need some help, then I wrote a whole post on how to set SMART goals up and how they help you achieve.

Did you set yourself one HUMONGOUS goal? Try working backwards and splitting that goal into smaller goals. This will help with motivation as you will continue to feel a sense of accomplishment when you SMASH the smaller goals!

However, sometimes you might find that you have gone about setting your goal all wrong. You might not actually want to progress on the goal the way you set it out and that is also okay! Making alterations to your goals is normal, as our perspectives change, and it is actually healthy as you don’t want to be held down by an old goal.

5. Do Something a Little Different

Maybe you have SMASHED your way through January, working hard and progressing towards your goals. Then, suddenly, in February that motivation goes on the decline and your left thinking what you did wrong. The answer to that is, nothing and it is likely to be something that you AREN’T doing!

Just because a certain approach worked before doesn’t mean it will work now. Have a think, what could you change up? Do you need to implement some progressive overload into your gym routine? Or maybe you need to put your goal on hold and try something new! You will be surprised how different activities can ignite your drive and motivation for your original goal!

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And there you have it! I hope my top ‘5 Ways on how to Stay Motivated in February‘ have helped and you take something away to action. I would love to hear how you implement them in the comments below or tag me on Twitter/Instagram! Also, please feel free to ask any questions.

Until next time my friends!

-Millie 🙂

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You may also find these posts interesting and useful!

5 Ways to Set Yourself Up for Fitness Success

The Importance of Routines – 3 Reasons You NEED Routines

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