Everyone needs to have some kind of motivation here or there. You might need to have motivation to clean your house, motivation to reach your weight loss goals or even motivation to find a better job or to reach your dreams.
When you no longer are motivated to do things, it is a time of struggling. You might need to sit down and make a plan on how to get more motivated.
Not every idea of reaching your motivation will work and there are some strategies that are better than others to help you reach your goals.
You need to figure out why you are having troubles reaching your goal and then make a plan to know how to motivate yourself.
Why Is There No Motivation?
Sometimes you just have a lack of motivation but other times there are other reasons why you are not motivated. One example is being a perfectionist. If you are a protectionist then chances are that you are afraid that you will not reach your goal or be able to finish a project without mistakes. Once you realize that you don’t have to be perfect, your motivation will increase.
There are other times that not being motivated can cause you to procrastinate and not get things done. The more you wait to finish something, the less motivation you will have. If you want to get things done and do better, you have to learn to stop waiting and to find motivation.
There are other reasons that you might not be motivated such as:
- Being uncomfortable. When you feel uncomfortable or you get bored with something, it can cause you to not get it done.
- Doubt can make you think that you will not be able to get something done anyways and this can cause you to struggle.
- If you feel that you have too much to do, this can cause you to lose motivation.
- When you have no commitment to what you want to finish, it will be easy to miss out on your motivation.
- Mental health issues can cause you to miss motivation such as being depressed or having a lot of stress in your life.
These are just a few reasons why you might not have the motivation that you need to get things finished. Fear and other things can hold you back. You have to figure out what is affecting you from getting things done.
Pretend to Be Motivated
You might be able to make yourself feel motivated by changing how you are thinking and acting. If you pretend that you are motivated, you will change your emotions and make yourself believe that you are.
Do not sit around on the couch all day or stay in your pajamas but get up and get moving. Get dressed and take some kind of action to get your work done.
What would you do if you were motivated right now? What would you be wearing and what would you do to increase the motivation?
Choose the Opposite
When you are trying to be motivated, there are many reasons why you will feel that you don’t need to do anything. Maybe you think it will be too hard or that you will not be successful. Thinking these things will cause you to never have the motivation to finish things.
Think about the opposite. If you think you will fail, think about how and what would happen if you were successful. If you start thinking about how you will never finish a job, imagine, and think what will happen if you do.
Choosing to think of the opposite will help you to be able to get things done and to feel motivated. Things can be better than you think if you change your mindset.
Be Compassionate to You
Having self-compassion can help you to be more motivated to get things done. If you are having a hard time in your life, having compassion for yourself can help you to feel more motivated. If you fail, being kind to yourself can help you recover and accept who you are.
Having this compassion for yourself can increase your mental health and help you to reduce stress and to feel better in your life.
Instead of being angry at yourself when you mess up, talk kindly to yourself and forgive yourself for your mistakes. Do not have a pity party.
Talk to yourself like you would talk to your best friend. Doing this would help you to see that you can be kind and caring to yourself.
Learn to help yourself and encourage yourself by talking to yourself politely and lovingly.
10 Minute Rules
When there is a job or something that you hate to do, and you have no motivation, take ten minutes to get it done. Give yourself ten minutes to do the task and then if you don’t want to do it anymore, stop doing it.
Doing this can help you to get started and can motivate you to finish things. Sometimes getting started on something is the hardest part of the job.
Go into Nature
Take time to go outside and go for a walk. Go in nature and let your motivation run wild. Going in nature can help you to stay calm, help you to have more energy and to calm your mind and body.
Instead of going shopping or into a crowded place, find a garden or the woods to walk in. This can help you to escape the daily things of life and slow down.
Tasks with Enjoyment
The way that we respond to our emotions plays a role in how motivated that we are. If we feel that task is too hard, it will cause us not to feel motivated.
We will feel happier when we do something hard or something that we don’t want to do with something fun.
For example:
- Go for a walk but listen to music while you do.
- Talk to someone that you love while you clean your closet.
- When you are typing or working on a computer, light a candle.
- If you have to travel for business, eat at your favorite restaurant.
- Turn on your favorite movie while you do the dishes.
Make sure that you are doing fun things that you love but make sure that the fun doesn’t distract you from getting things done.
Make a List
When you don’t have a list and you have mental list of the things that you have to get done, this can become overwhelming. Stop doing this and make a to-do list. Doing this can help you to focus on what is important and to get things done.
Put the most important things on top and when you can see that you have gotten things done off of your list, you will feel more motivated.
Have Self-Care
Motivating yourself can go hand in hand with self-care. Think of the things that you need to do to take care of yourself.
Create a plan to take care of yourself and have a strong mind and body:
- Have fun.
- Get enough sleep.
- Work out every day.
- Deal with your stress.
- Stop doing bad habits.
Reward Yourself
You can always create a reward list to reward yourself when you get things done. This will help you to be more motivated and to reach your goals.
If you have a paper to write, try to take breaks every few minutes. Reward yourself with a piece of candy after you work for half an hour. Once you get a page done, take time to have some free time.
You can reward yourself with small rewards and you will see that you are more motivated than you imagined yourself to be.
Don’t let your rewards cause you to mess up on your motivation. If you are working out, don’t reward yourself with sweets.
Get Help
Motivation can be lacking but if you find that you have no motivation at all, you might need to talk to someone professional. You may need to figure out why your lack of motivation is hurting your life. Find out what is causing you to suffer like this and how you can fix it.
Talk to your doctor and let them find a professional that you can speak with. This can be caused from mental disease or depression. Try therapy or medicine if you need to so that you can get your life back on track.
Conclusion
Everyone lacks motivation here and there. The way that you deal with your lack of motivation can either help you to move forward or hold you back even more. There are ways that you can get your motivation back and have a fulfilling life.