For better or for worse, I'm a first-born kid with a Type A personality. I've always been focused on achieving goals. I've conditioned myself, as Nike says, to "just do it." Recently, I hit a motivation plateau. A couple of large personal and professional goals I set weren't tractioning. It was a scary feeling. I started to have a crisis of confidence. Some serious negative self-talk creeped into my brain. I finally stopped and pondered, "Why were my normal motivational tactics failing me?"

I had become 'unconsciously incompetent' at motivating myself.

I decided to go back to learning basics. Specifically, the 4 Stages of Competency. I soon realized I'd become "unconsciously incompetent" at motivating myself. Turns out, motivation is a skill you always need to improve upon. Similar to enhancing your physical conditioning using muscle confusion, if you want bigger results in achieving your goals, you must shake up your self-motivation tactics. The light bulb went off. I needed to give my motivation a serious makeover.

I developed my very own customized 'motivational cocktail.'

Six months of serious commitment resulted in me determining a recipe for success. Like any good recipe, it's all about the ingredients i.e. the information, tools, and resources. Quality and consistency are key too. I put together a custom mix of motivation and made sure I had access to it 24/7. Why? Bigger goals require constant motivation. Fighting against the fear, doubt, and scolding your brain throws at you all day (and, sometimes all night!), means having access to your 'motivational cocktail' at any given moment. It's like an energy drink to help you fight back against the fatigue of negative self talk. Here's the four-step process I used to get my motivation back on track:

Step 1: Find New Sources

I needed to identify people who were talking about motivation in a different way and offering fresh insights and perspective. I located resources that fell into one or more of the following categories:

  • Storytelling - stories to help me visualize my ability to reach my goals.
  • Performance Conditioning - systems and techniques to build better habits.
  • Inspiration - people who had it far tougher than me and achieved even bigger goals.
  • Nurturing - positive, with an emphasis on gratitude to keep me upbeat.

I found some excellent people who provided a much-needed confidence boost. They include:

Alden Mills - Navy SEAL who started a fitness company that almost failed. He wrote a book for his four kids on how to be Be UNSTOPPABLE.

Dr. Isaiah Hankel - PhD who had a career crisis in the final stages of earning his degree. He is now an expert in Black Hole Focus for goal achievement.

Shane Niemeyer - Former junkie who went from jail to becoming an Ironman. Today, he is an executive coach, husband, and about to be a first-time dad.

There's a saying, "We are the company we keep." I had to surround myself with experts who could provide me with the above. Since I couldn't follow them around all day in person, I used their books, videos, and social media presence to immerse me in their motivational teachings.

Step 2: Carve Out Time Daily

I committed to making even better use of my time. I've always been an early-riser (5:30am), but I had been using that time of day to do things that weren't vital to my success. Now, I use the morning to focus exclusively on my goals. This includes mental conditioning, physical exercise, and a mindful review of my action plan. I've lost over 20 pounds and ran my first half marathon since implementing this approach. This has provided a huge source of energy and confidence to help me stay motivated.

Step 3: Create Social Media Toolkit

I reprogrammed my Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram accounts to focus on feeding me constant streams of motivation. I'm always looking for more experts to follow with approaches to motivation and success aligned with my goals. My social streams are filled with quotes, insights, accomplishments, and new information I can access instantly. When negative self-talk hits, I immediately jump on social media to knock it out. Great example: this video of Shia LaBeouf's motivational speech makes me laugh!

Step 4: Build Support Team

This was the hardest part for me. While I LOVE helping other people with their motivation (Heck, it's what I do for a living.), I'm guilty of not seeking help when I need it. It was time to admit I was struggling. I personally reached out to half dozen people I respect and admire and explained my situation. These folks were amazingly generous with their guidance. It felt good to let out everything racing through my head. Better still, their objective observations provided many Ah-ha Moments. I was able to reprogram my view of why I wasn't succeeding. With a different story in my head, I got yet another enormous boost of confidence.

The process above has done wonders for my motivation. The goals I set are tractioning and my mental and physical energy are much improved too. I encourage you to build your own motivational cocktail and see what new levels of achievement you can reach!