Lazy Summer: Staying Motivated

There?s just something about summer that screams ?be a lazy turd.? It?s a time of year when many people are working less and vacationing more. School?s out and the grill?s on. Whether you?re on break from college or skipping work to hang with Snooki at the Jersey shore, summer is the time of year to just chill out and let the sun do the real work, right?

Get off your ass!

The problem with hanging in Miami and/or chilling in your air conditioned basement playing ?Mortal Kombat? for three months is that it?s less time actually working toward your goals. Everybody deserves a break now and then, and taking a vacation is a great way to reboot after a hellish semester/work year. Letting yourself go from June to September, however, is not the way to go if you actually have goals you wish to accomplish.

Say you?re trying to start a new business. It?s sweet to hit up the beach every week, but not really conducive to actually getting a company off the ground, now is it? I actually just got back from a week-long vacation and am having a hard enough time as it is catching up on work.

Rather than spend the summer in your man-cave sipping down Dos Equis and playing ?Skyrim,? your time might better be spent working toward the stuff you?ve been wanting to accomplish.

What better time of the year to feel motivated than when the sun?s shining and you?ve got a barbecue to attend every other weekend? I can say without a doubt that I?m at my happiest during the summer. When you live in upstate New York, you really appreciate days where you don?t need to wear a parka. Use the feel-good nature of summer to your advantage and pursue your dreams while you?re in good spirits.

Not only will you be in better spirits during the summer, but those you?re trying to influence/impress will as well. Whether you?re looking for a business partner or somebody to start a kickball league with, what better time to meet people than when they?re in vacation, party mode?

Staying motivated is crucial in maintaining a healthy level of self-confidence. When you?re not working toward something, how do you feel about yourself? If your biggest goal during the summer were to pick up chicks and see how many Code Reds you could down in a 24-hour period, how would you feel about yourself? Not that great, I?d assume.

The summer shouldn?t be a vacation from manhood. When it comes to personal success and achievement, treat summer as you would any other season and stay active to an extent. Work toward your goals no matter how hot it gets or how tempting it might be to hang out at the beach all day and ogle girls.

Make it the best summer possible and balance fun with commitment. You?ll find that you?ll be in better spirits by keeping busy. Besides, even pool parties and 12-packs of beer get boring after a while. I?m not making that up.