What do you do when you face continual hurdles as you drive toward your goal?
I could draw parallels and use analogues of salmon fish leaping and diving to make it upstream. The truth is, when you take on a challenge which mandates a high degree of sacrifice, motivation is likely one of the first aspects of your journey that suffers.
Pausing, taking a break, then resuming can be difficult to achieve the same momentum. So what are the factors that can affect motivation?
- Pace – setting an unrealistic pace can make it feel like a struggle… all the time. Establishing a “little but often” cadence can achieve great progress – frequently more than you will notice or realise until you’re there already.
- Focus – on your goal. Keep and set reminders of your summit as you climb your mountain.
- Inspiration – seek this out from others in your family, support network, books, or other media.
For me inspiration came in the form of music – both as an opportunity to take a break to restore mental energy, maintain physical health, and rebase focus on my goal.
The physical act of distracting my mind with something different also helped greatly to restore some balance and perspective. I found that the words used in verses for music are structured in a way to be concise and deliver a message with impact – so are an effective way of summarising thoughts that you can hang onto as reminders of your purpose.
Distracting your mind is an effective technique to aid focus which I will cover in another article.
In the meantime, and after listening to lots of my favourite songs both in passing as theme tunes to advertisments, or as part of albums I had long forgotten about, I compiled a short playlist of those where the message provided a much needed boost.
The Playlist to Keep You Moving
Total playing time: 1hr 24mins (23 tracks) – also available on Amazon Music here.
| Track # | Title | Artist | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | High Hopes | Panic! At The Disco | Pray for the Wicked [Explicit] | 03:10 |
| 2 | Unstoppable | Sia | This Is Acting | 03:37 |
| 3 | Counting Stars | OneRepublic | Native | 04:16 |
| 4 | Giant | Calvin Harris | Giant | 03:49 |
| 5 | Something Just Like This | The Chainsmokers | Memories…Do Not Open [Explicit] | 04:07 |
| 6 | Don’t Be so Hard on Yourself | Jess Glynne | I Cry When I Laugh [Explicit] | 03:31 |
| 7 | Hall of Fame | The Script | 3 [Explicit] | 03:22 |
| 8 | Work This Body | Walk The Moon | Talking is Hard (Expanded Edition) | 02:55 |
| 9 | Do Your Thing | Basement Jaxx | The Singles | 04:19 |
| 10 | Take Me To Church | Hozier | Hozier | 04:01 |
| 11 | Dakota | Stereophonics | Language.Sex.Violence.Other? | 04:57 |
| 12 | Drag Me Down | One Direction | Made In The A.M. (Deluxe Edition) | 03:12 |
| 13 | Can’t Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton) | Macklemore | The Heist [Explicit] | 04:18 |
| 14 | Sun Comes Up (feat. James Arthur) | Rudimental | Sun Comes Up (feat. James Arthur) | 03:52 |
| 15 | Come And Get It | John Newman | Revolve (The Deluxe Edition) | 03:03 |
| 16 | Flames | David Guetta | Flames | 03:15 |
| 17 | Make Your Own Kind of Music | Paloma Faith | The Architect (Deluxe) | 02:43 |
| 18 | Blinding Lights | The Weeknd | After Hours [Explicit] | 03:20 |
| 19 | Youngblood | 5 Seconds Of Summer | Youngblood (Deluxe) [Explicit] | 03:23 |
| 20 | Natural | Imagine Dragons | Natural | 03:09 |
| 21 | Holding On [feat. Gregory Porter] | Disclosure | Caracal (Deluxe) | 05:14 |
| 22 | All You Ever Wanted | Rag’n’Bone Man | All You Ever Wanted (Acoustic) | 03:06 |
| 23 | Everything’s Gonna Be Alright | Mark Knight | Everything’s Gonna Be Alright | 03:33 |
No single track in this list provided enough motivation to avoid stopping, but pieces of each resonated and were powerful to help me create a personal and unique message.
“Everything that drowns you, can make you want to fly”
“It’s not an easy road, but you’re not alone. Everyone trips, everyone falls.”
“You can be the greatest. You can be the best. You can be that one in a million. You can be a master. Don’t wait for luck.”
“You can be standing in the Hall of Fame.”
Stuck on Repeat?
No journey is ever smooth and without its rocks, ditches, and other obstacles that hold you back, or send you round in circles. The key is to recognise when you’re doing it and to take action to change your environment or your perspective.
The list above isn’t for everyone’s taste but is varied to show that the message is the critical part. Whether that’s a little voice in your head, or a talk you’ve bookmarked, or a music playlist like this one… remind yourself why the goal is important to you, regularly.
Surround yourself with inspiration that helps you build and remember your personal mission.
