15 things we should tell ourselves more often to stay motivated

Life isn’t always easy… Some mornings we get out of bed on the wrong foot, some weeks seem never-ending… we’re in a “temporary” rough patch that has now lasted five years… I want to move forward but I feel stuck… I think I’m making progress but I don’t know where I stand… we lack motivation.

Marc Chernoff, of Marc and Angel, offers a series of thoughts he believes we should tell ourselves more often, sometimes to remind us of things we already know but forget at certain moments.

And it’s no small matter. A mind can be trained to become more positive if we feed it positive thoughts and keep repeating them. The reverse is also true: if we load it with negative thoughts, that is exactly what it will give us back.

See also: 3 things you overthink that keep you from moving forward in life

1. I can’t control everything that happens to me; I can only control how I respond to it. My response is my power.

2. I won’t get stuck on what I could have done or should have been. Instead, I’ll look at what I can do and who I can be by acting differently, starting right now.

3. I have to accept whatever comes my way; the only thing that matters is finding the best I have to give.

4. Making mistakes is always better than pretending to do everything perfectly.

5. I’m never as good as everyone tells me I am when I win, and never as bad as I think I am when I lose.

6. I’ll think less about handling my problems and more about managing the way I think. I’ll keep a positive attitude.

7. A challenge only becomes an obstacle if I bow down to it.

8. I’ll get back up. Again and again. The faster I recover from setbacks, the faster I’ll get on with my life.

9. I won’t try to hide from my fears, because I know they aren’t there to frighten me. They’re there to tell me that something is worth it.

10. There’s a big difference between rewarding fatigue and empty exhaustion. Life is too short. I’ll invest in the activities that move me deeply.

See also: How to find the bright side of life’s painful changes

11. If I don’t have time for what truly matters, I’ll stop doing the things that don’t.

12. I’ll focus on making myself better, not on thinking I’m better than others.

13. I’ll be too busy working on my own grass to notice whether yours is greener, longer or bigger.

14. My next step in the right direction doesn’t have to be a big one.

15. Every small victory is worth celebrating. Every step of the way. It’s the small things done well that make for a great, exciting life.

Remember that one of life’s greatest gifts is the fact that it is often hard. Because in dealing with life’s difficulties, we build invaluable strength. That strength allows us to fulfil our deepest purposes.

It is precisely because life is hard that we are able to make it great. It’s because life is hard that we are able to rise above its difficulties. We are able to make it different and to leave our mark on the world.

See also: 17 steps to survive the worst moments of your life

Featured image: Pittsburgh City Photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.