6 Keys to Find New Motivations and Turn Your Life Around

During the first weeks of the year, it has become very common to create plans for the next 12 months; a stage of our lives that, although it may be defined in a somewhat arbitrary way, we want to dedicate to improving both personally and, in many cases, professionally.

Taking advantage of the motivational push of New Year’s resolutions is usually exciting, especially if we get to work from day one and begin to get involved in our transformation into that ideal “I.” However, if we do not know very well how to face that task, the chances of running into frustration are high especially if our plans are ambitious.

If you are in a situation where you do not feel satisfied with your personal or professional situation and you want to do something about it, here you will find several key ideas that can make it easier for you to reach your goals and turn your life around. These are simple principles, some of which psychologists use to help our patients and clients when they face challenges to progress in aspects of their lives (not necessarily related to disorders).

Key ideas to turn your life around

Investing large amounts of effort in a project is counterproductive if we waste these attempts for not knowing how to measure our strength or define our short-term objectives. This is part of the reason for the psychological assistance that experts in human behavior offer: to prevent motivation from being wasted by not having a master plan with which to establish our progress. It’s a bit like training your voice to sing: if when trying to use it we notice that we are always forcing it, something is wrong, and the technique must be modified.

Here you will find several tips to improve the technique with which you promote your personal or professional development, to reorient it towards what works. They are simple, but you must keep in mind that for them to work you must be consistent with them, and that depending on what your needs are, you will require the help of a psychologist to accompany you in this process, whether or not you have diagnosable disorders or syndromes.

1. Analyze the current situation

First of all, we must bet on realism and knowing how to describe the current situation, to be aware of what we can work from. The most advisable thing is to create a SWOT: a four-part table in which you can write down, in brief terms, what your strengths, your weaknesses, your opportunities and your threats/risks are, taking into account which aspect of your life you want to progress.

2. Map out your desired situation

Now is the time to define your arrival box, the state you want to be in in a few months. It is important that you try to define it by going to the specifics, without falling into the use of very abstract concepts. For example, do not resort to “I want love”, but rather “I want to spend more and better time with my friends, my family, meet new friends”, etc.

3. Look for achievable goals in the short and medium term

It is important to have goals for months ahead, but as long as you can subdivide them into other short-term goals. Create a calendar in which these challenges are distributed with a certain periodicity (for example, with at least one mini-goal each week) and that allows you to visualize your achievements following an ascending difficulty curve.

For example, if you want to learn the fundamentals of a new language to expand your professional profile and you have study material, you can set the goal of reaching Saturdays having studied a new chapter.

5. Establish an action plan

Now is the time to see in its entirety what you want to address as your plan to turn your life around, and add things to it, take away others and make some corrections. For it You must make an estimate of the available time you will have and your energy level with which you will leave week after week.

6. Take care of yourself

It is very important to be in good physical condition to perform well, given that personal and professional development involves going through challenges. It is very important, above all, that you get enough sleep and eat well since if this fails you may have problems with fatigue, lack of concentration, etc.

7. Create a distraction-free environment and a progress routine

Finally, It is recommended that you create a workspace where you will make your progress and where you will be subject to few distractions. If you want to create your own company from home, reserve a corner of your home to be your studio, away from noise and television screens. If you want to learn to play an instrument, do something similar, having all the necessary training material on hand. Follow this philosophy of creating specialized work spaces so that nothing derails you from your goals.

Need help?

If you notice that you are having difficulties achieving your goals, we recommend that you contact UPAD Psicología y Coaching, our psychological assistance center in Madrid. Here, whether in person or online, we can guide you to promote your change for the better.

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