Positive Imagery
There is something called a vision or magic board that can constantly reinforce what you want in life. This is a fun and powerful exercise that will help keep your goals literally in sight. What you do is look for photos that represent or depict how you would life to look like. You can get these images from Google, magazines or many other sources. Simply paste them on to your vision board and put it in a prominent place where you’ll see it at least once a day.

As they say, seeing is believing. And believing is a precursor to achieving. So you need to get the vision in your mind and reinforced by your physical vision. Talk about a right brain/left brain collaboration!

I have a vision board that I put together with Photoshop. I pasted in the photos and words and then made several copies of it. So I have one in my desk drawer at work and home, and in my suitcase. So it’s almost impossible for me to avoid it. I laminated it as well. So I can travel with it if I want without it getting destroyed.

Be creative with your vision board. After all, it’s your vision!

Get it on Paper
Another motivational positive approach is to write it down. Get it out of your head and on paper. There’s something powerful about setting a goal and committing it to paper, It’s important to get things out of y our head and on paper. The goals will seem less daunting, you’ll be able to prioritize them, and set benchmarks and timelines for them as well.

I keep two to do lists. One is a daily list and the other is a life goals to do list. The daily to do list identifies small, mundane things to do. The other list identifies big goals such as where and when I plan to travel, when I plan to offer my mentoring program, etc. It’s important to identify target dates, quantities, resources needed, etc. The more specific the better. And if you can tie your big goals into your daily to do list, you’ll be more likely to achieve them.

For instance, if you want to retire in 2012 with two million dollars in the bank, what do you have to do to make that happen? Breaking your goals down to realistic tasks and timelines will make them more meaningful and realistic. If you can’t do this, then your goals are probably pie in the sky.

Some people believe that just by visualizing and wishing for something to happen that it will. Well, they may be right, but my experience is that I am most successful when I prepare for things and work for them, as well as believing that they will happen.

So yes, use the vision board, but also break down your goals into tiny chunks so that you can do the day to day things to make them happen.

But as we all know, taking the easy way is not always the best way in the long run. And most of us will be here for the long run. Even if we are not, there is a philosophical question as to how you want to live your live. Do you want to have lived it always taking the easy way or the right way? And I want you to define the word right for yourself.

I will not be so presumptuous as to suggest the right way for you. But the bottom line is that before you start any self improvement program, you need to decide what is right for yourself and then take responsibility for getting there. And that is the first motivational strategy I have to offer. You have to first decide which way you want to go. Up or down?

If you decide up, then what aspect of your lifestyle will you choose? And once you have chosen the aspect of your lifestyle you want to change, you need to choose the specific path you want to take to get there. Your choice has got to be the first motivational strategy your employ. Do not do it for someone else. Do not deal with something you do not want to. Otherwise you are not being true to yourself and will either be less successful or more importantly not be true to yourself.

This article is going to give you some ideas to get on the path you have chosen. You have to take the actions to make it happen. But by using some of these motivational self improvement strategies, hopefully your journey will be easier.

My favorite motivational technique is to ask myself how some behavior or circumstance is working for me. If it is functional, makes me happy, leads to success, makes me healthier, or is otherwise positive, great! But if actions taken by me lead to illness, unhappiness, or negativity in myself or others, then it is definitely NOT working for me and needs to be changed. It is only when I have come to the realization that something is not working for me that it gives me the incentive, the motivation, the inspiration to initiate change.

Another self improvement motivational technique is to make change as fun and enjoyable as possible. Exercise can be a drag. And going to a gym is simply not for me. So I identified exercises that I can do at home, that would not be a living death for me. For instance, I do fast walking, interspersed with some sprints almost every day on my treadmill. To prevent myself from being bored out of my mind, I watch television, that has a DVR and cable hooked up to it, and I get lost in the program while I am getting healthier. I also have music close by, so that when it is time to start running, I will get extra motivation by listening to a favorite energy music CD I prepared.

So make your self improvement program enjoyable. Pick things that you can either enjoy or tolerate and they will soon become habits. If I do not work out every day, I feel as though something is missing in my life. Now that is a habit that I can live with! And so can you if you choose to.