Do you need to wake up early to be successful?
Millionaire Richard Branson and Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO would say yes. But Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit appears to find rolling out of bed at 10 a.m. works just fine.
So, it’s safe to say that you don’t need to wake up at a specific time to achieve great things. But you do need to wake up motivated.
Motivation is the secret power behind amazing ideas and marvelous creations. It’s what separates those who dream of doing something and those who turn dreams into reality.
We know you’re the kind of person who’s ready to make their dreams come true. (We can tell because you’re reading this article.)
You’re ready to accomplish, complete, achieve, and compete. You’re ready to learn how to harness the power of motivation and tap into it from the second you open your eyes each morning.
So, let’s get to it. Here are several tried and true ways to get and stay motivated each day.
Intrinsic Vs External Motivation
Humans have two sources of motivation.
Intrinsic motivation is a pressure that comes from within. It can be called drive, what spurs us, or our spark. No one but you can create it.
External motivation comes from sources such as community and laws. Getting up to go to a job you hate because you’ll be fired and broke if you don’t is an example of external motivation.
What It Means to Wake Up Motivated
When you wake up motivated, that’s about intrinsic motivation. It’s about focusing your energy on what you want. You don’t waste time or energy on worrying about the past or imagining all the things that could (but likely won’t) go wrong.
The science of motivation tells us that the brain chemical dopamine plays a role in building and maintaining motivation.
Researchers found that people with high intrinsic motivation have high levels of dopamine in the brain’s reward center.
This helps explain how breaking big goals into smaller, more quickly attainable goals is an effective technique. Reaching a goal can give your brain a hit of dopamine, which feels good. Your brain wants more so you work to achieve the next goal. And the next, and next, and so on.
In some ways, you can say that go-getters are hooked on the pleasure of success.
When you have goals and you’re motivated to reach them, you are living your best life.
Get Proper Rest
When you’re super pumped about working toward your goal, it can be tempting to run in high gear all the time. There will be days when that’s necessary.
But it’s not the way to wake up motivated each day.
Getting proper rest helps your brain process information, experiences, and ideas in the most effective way. It gives your muscles and systems (e.g. digestive, nervous, and autoimmune) time to relax, repair, and restore so your body can remain strong the following day.
A popular current term for proper rest is sleep hygiene.
While each person can fine tune the specifics, the general principles of sleep hygiene are:
- Limit caffeine, alcohol and nicotine, especially 3-4 hours before bedtime
- Keep your bedroom dark
- Don’t look at screens for the last hour before bed
- Wake up at the same time each day
- Refrain from eating for 3 hours before sleep
Good sleep habits help you wake up motivated because they give your body and mind what they need to stay strong as you tackle your goals.
Know Your Daily Goals
It can be tough to wake up motivated if you don’t know what you’re supposed to that day.
Successful people do more than go to sleep knowing what they need to accomplish the next day. They know why they need to do those things.
Most days will have a mix of small tasks and major activities. All must have a purpose that contributes to your goals. If they don’t, you risk losing motivation.
Small tasks are things like buying groceries or walking the dog. These can help you stay motivated because they often contribute to health and happiness.
Examples of major activities are proving value to investors and completing a product prototype. Knowing that such activities are stepping stones on the way to reaching ultimate goals primes you get to work as soon as the alarm clock rings.
Practice Gratitude
One of the biggest challenges people face is how to stay motivated in the face of disappointment or failure.
First, you have to accept that setbacks are a natural and necessary part of success. Nothing goes exactly as planned and it’s often the unexpected outcomes that lead to the best results.
But knowing that isn’t always enough. Practicing gratitude is also an effective way to get motivated and stay that way each day.
You only need 5-10 minutes before sleep to gain the benefits of gratitude.
Get a pen and notebook. The physical act of writing helps deepen the effect of the exercise.
Without looking at what you had written the night before, jot down three things from your day that you’re grateful for. There are no restrictions on what those things can be.
But here are some examples to illustrate the range of sources of gratitude:
- People you encountered
- Pleasant or surprising experiences
- Nature
- Your home or environment
- The state of your health
- A TV show that makes you laugh
Listing what you’re grateful for helps create a mindset that looks for more gratitude.
Expressing gratitude before you go to sleep helps you be motivated when you wake up.
Positive Affirmations and Self-Talk
To stay motivated when things don’t go your way, tap into the power of positive affirmations and positive self-talk.
Positive affirmations are short statements that get your attitude back on track. Make them personal for the greatest value.
Examples of positive affirmations are:
- I am stronger than I’ve ever been.
- Today, I will not let my fear of failure guide me.
- I choose to be happy.
- I deserve the success my hard work brings.
Writing your affirmations on sticky notes and placing them on the bathroom mirror or on the back of your phone can improve motivation throughout the day.
The power of positive thinking can also be gained through what you say to yourself.
Avoid negative terms and labels like “loser” or “stupid”. Instead, if you make a mistake, say “How can I do better next time?”
Also, try replacing “I have to” with “I choose to” when thinking about the items on your To Do list. If activities feel imposed, motivation can wane. But if you remind yourself that you’re choosing to do these things so you can reach your goals, motivation increases.
Do What It Takes to Wake Up Motivated
We’ve outlined some fundamental techniques to help you wake up motivated.
You’ll also discover ways unique to your circumstances or project that strengthen your motivation each day.
The key is to stay aware of what fuels your inner drive. Then give yourself more of that fuel to reach your greatest goals and achievements.
And the best time to start? Today. Start today and have a better tomorrow.