A few weeks ago I wrote an article listing six ways to stay motivated. While the tips are very helpful, what do you do when you lose motivation? Let’s face it, it happens to all of us. We lose our stride, we forget our purpose or we just flat out lose interest. People lose their motivation for a number of reasons. Burn-out, not knowing what to do next and fear are some of the primary reasons. It's totally normal for people to lose the motivation they once had. However, if you ever want to reach your goals, it's how you bounce back that's important.

Staying motivated and getting re-motivated are two different things. With the first, you often start a project with enthusiasm and energy. With the second, all that enthusiasm is lost. The energy? Well, that's gone too. So what do you do to get it back?

Here are a few things to try:

Trust the process
You may find that you aren't reaching your goals as fast as you'd like. You have to remember that the journey is just as important as the end result. If you don't learn to trust the process and take it one day at a time, the goal will seem impossible. Then you’ll find yourself giving up. It can be easy to start off strong, going full speed and then lose steam midway. Only then do you realize you have been overworked with no reward. What happens many times is you wind up overwhelmed. Instead of moving forward, go back a few steps, fix a few mistakes you may have made due to oversight. Then, move forward.

Change Your Pace
When someone first starts a project full of enthusiasm and motivation, they may put the pedal to the metal. They’ll go all out, often without a brake or anytime for review or reflection. This is a big mistake. Not allowing time to stop and evaluate where you stand currently can lead to problems. It can lead to missed opportunities, mistakes and burn out! Often times one can't see the full picture unless they take a step back and view it from a distance. This can also serve as a great reminder of how far you have already come and gives you the ability to measure the success you have already gained. This technique is also going to allow you to recharge.

Refocus and Rest Goals If Necessary
Now that you have committed to consistency and have looked at where you stand, how far you’ve come and what still needs to be done, you can take an honest look at your goals, where your focus was and if any changes need to be made. Sometimes, we forget to make the adjustments necessary as life happens and circumstances change. We can’t stay on one path if we hit a roadblock. As the roadblocks arise or we hit a fork in the road, we need to be adjusting goals accordingly. The end goal may stay the same but the steps to get there will change along the way.

So many of us go through lulls on our journey, whatever the goal. It is human nature to lose confidence, motivation or interest. Those who are successful are the ones who see the obstacle, such as losing motivation and do what it takes to get back on track. It’s ok to lose focus. Those who succeed know how to get it back.