If you want to achieve a goal or a make a dream a reality, then what you need to do is figure out what steps to take and take them. It sounds easy but the fact is that most people fail to accomplish their real goals in life. There can be a lot of different reasons why this is the case but one of the reasons is the lack of motivation. Knowing how to increase your motivation during the times when you don't feel like doing anything is critical to your success. This article will give you three tips on motivating yourself.

The first thing you can do is to focus on goals that you really want to achieve. Although this sounds silly, you'd be surprised how many people go for goals that they don't really want all that much. If you are pursuing a goal just to make someone else happy, it can be hard to obtain and even if you do obtain it, you might feel a bit empty. Your goal shouldn't be to impress others. Choose a goal that you truly want to achieve and you will have a much easier time motivating yourself to take action.

A second thing you can do is to give yourself consequences for not following through. For example, if your goal is to hit the gym 5 times a week, it can be easy to just skip a day or two. However, if you set it up where skipping a workout will cause you more pain than to just get yourself to the gym, then you will be likely to follow through on your commitment. You can do things like make a bet with a friend where you will pay them $50 or some other amount that will make you think twice about staying in bed instead of hitting the gym.

A third tip is to start small. Many people jump into a goal a bit too aggressive. If you haven't been exercising for years, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to aim for running 5 miles a day right away. It may be better to start with a mile or even half a mile and build yourself up from there. You will want to pick something that is just a little bit out of your comfort zone but still easy enough for you to be consistent with it.

There are literally hundreds of different things you can do to increase your motivation so try out different things and see which ones work best for you. You can even do something simple such as reading some inspirational sayings http://www.motivational-well-being.com/motivational-sayings.html, watch some motivation videos, or even listen to songs that pump you up.