5 Steps For Staying Motivated Even When Your Friends & Family Aren’t

In life, there may be times when negativity seems to surround you, which may in turn cause you to feel hopeless. When that happens, many go through their day being filled with negativity and they begin to accept it as a way of life. While you can’t always control what happens to you, you can control how you respond to it.

Things don’t always go our way in life and it’s just something that we have to adjust and grow from. However, staying motivated can be tough when you’re in a toxic environment where your friends and family members may not have the same mindset as you. At this point, you really have one of two options. Be stronger than them and find other avenues for motivation or give in and allow their mindsets to take over.

Here are 5 steps for staying motivated even when your friends & family aren’t:

1. Feel What They Feel

When disappointing or upsetting things happen, some people get overwhelmed with negative emotions, while others try to avoid those feelings all together. Neither alternative works very well because getting stuck in anger or frustration can paralyze you while pretending that you’re not feeling anything can have long-term negative effects on your health and mental state. Successful people find the middle ground where they allow their feelings to be felt before slowly moving through them. Often times, giving yourself a little time to grieve, get upset or feel sad is absolutely okay.

2. Control What You Can And Stop Worrying About What You Can’t

Some things are within your control, while other things are not. Learn to recognize the difference. Refuse to worry about circumstances beyond your control. Don’t allow yourself to become so emotionally entangled that it paralyzes your progress. Things may not always work out perfectly, but the sooner you get over them, the quicker you move on to your next victory. Only you can control your own actions and reactions.

3. Surround Yourself With Something New

When your environment isn’t the most supportive or motivating group, you may need to surround yourself with something new. I’m not suggesting to leave your friends or family members behind, but I’m just saying that it may be best to expand your supporting cast. By doing this, you may be able to surround yourself with like minded individuals that’ll keep you on your toes and ensure that you stay motivated.

4. Set Attainable Goals

The biggest key when it comes to goal setting is to set goals that are easily attainable. If you’re trying to shoot for the moon immediately, chances are you’re going to be met with disappointment rather quickly. If you want to stay motivated, you need to create a bunch of short term goals that lead to your long term one. By doing this, you’ll stay motivated as you celebrate your short successes along the way while having a clearly outlined plan for the future.

5. Distance Yourself Temporarily 

When you’re in a toxic environment where you feel that you’re being held down, the best thing to do is to remove yourself from the situation. As I was going through my entrepreneurial journey, I always tried to change my friends and family members to think the way that I did. However, that was far more strenuous and tough than it was to just separate myself from them temporarily. By doing this, you are alone with your thoughts and nobody is holding you back.

Conclusion

Not everyone is built or raised with the same mindset, which will cause for various environments to provide or take away motivation. In this post, I discussed 5 steps for staying motivated even when your friends & family aren’t.