It’s summer. It’s hot. No one really wants to do anything except perhaps go to the beach.

But soon it will be autumn and quickly after that it will be Christmas – so there’s practicing to be done and tunes to refresh and other tunes to learn – and to do all that you have to stay motivated.

And if you’re joining me on the Reading Challenge, staying motivated to read all those dots is essential. Likely, you also set goals at the beginning of the year and making progress on those means you have to stay motivated!

Here are five ways to stay motivated while its summer (or any time really):

1. Have a goal – keep the end in mind. You might be tired of hearing me say this but it is essential. You won’t be able to stay motivated if you forget where you wanted to go.
2. Take it in small steps. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! Identify the small tasks that make up the path to your goal and use those small steps to make progress.
3. Sit a lesson from someone (or someone new). Few things are more motivating than having a lesson.  If you’re not taking regular lessons, participate in a workshop.  If you have regular lessons, take a lesson from someone else to gain a fresh perspective on what you are doing most of the time.  There are still summer workshop opportunities and the autumn workshops are just around the corner!
4. Believe in your goal – and yourself. If you think you will fail, then you certainly will. Have faith in yourself and your work,
5. Be kind to yourself. Listen to your self-talk. If what you say to yourself is something you wouldn’t dream of saying to someone else (picture your best friend), then don’t say them to yourself!