Do you ever find yourself completely lacking in motivation? Do you find yourself disappointed and stripped of all enthusiasm? You wonder why you have lost your productivity and how to convince yourself to get the task at hand done. I have five steps to recapture your motivation for you in today’s post.
We all have moments when we don’t feel like it. Plain and simple. It does not matter why, we don’t want to do it. Whatever, it, is. Bye Bye Motivation.
When we are excited about something the motivation comes easily. Our passion fuels our drive and we find beautiful flowing forward momentum. When we are inspired it all seems so simple to us, the task at hand is effortless.
We do not need to motivate ourselves to begin a task or project we enjoy. Unfortunately this is seldom the case with less enjoyable , yet necessary tasks. When we are lacking our motivation how do we move forward? Use these five steps to recapture your motivation.
Five steps to recapture your motivation:
Answer Your Why
A great way to renew your drive to do something is to take a minute and identify your desired end goal. It’s hard to have motivation without reason. Ask yourself what moves you? What are you working towards? Focus on the important end result. What are you looking forward to? What is your reason for what you are doing?
Give yourself strong positive answers to identify your Why. In my intro to my Goal Setting Series I shared 3 quick tips to set and accomplish goals. My number one tip was to identify your desired end result. This is important in answering your Why too. Do not give a passive vague answer for your Why. For example if you are facing a messy living room, the couch pillows askew, toys littering the floor. There’s clutter on the coffee table and yesterday morning’s half full cup of cold coffee. Yes, it is messy and you want it to be clean. Yet, the need to clean is not your Why.
Your Why that motivates you is: A clean, fresh, happy environment that you can feel relaxed in! Now you have a strong end result, a Why, that leaves you feeling satisfied. You don’t have to have motivation for the actual task itself. Instead, find motivation for the reward that comes from accomplishing your task.
Get inspired
Take the time to be filled up. Find your sources of inspiration and go to them. Get refreshed, renewed, and rejuvenated often. It’s difficult to feel motivated to do anything if you are burnt out all the time. When we lose focus of our passions we get trapped by the idea of the work itself. Make a list of all the things that inspire you, get you fired up, excited and bring you joy. Work these things into your schedule, make time for them. Of course, when we like what we were doing we are more motivated.
Let’s be honest, though, not everything inspires us. Use the things that bring you passion and joy to fill you up so that you have energy to do the things that you need to. Then go get filled up again by doing the fun things, the adventurous things, and the relaxing things!
Get started and once you are on a roll, keep going! Like any task you do not feel like doing, beginning is the greatest challenge. If you stop it will be that much harder to get going again. Sometimes you have to start a task and give yourself time to get immersed in it. The longer you stick to it you will start to find a rhythm and flow.
When I write I give myself a goal of writing for an hour straight. Even after an unfruitful 40 minutes I keep writing. When I reach that hour mark the creative juices start flowing. Everything I write after that I like better than all the things I had written in my first hour! Now that I’m on a roll motivation takes over and I want to keep going.
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” Walt Disney
Get a fresh perspective
If you are lacking in motivation you have stopped seeing things with clarity. Do you feel overwhelmed, stuck, unsure of how to achieve the task? Change your setting. Sometimes a simple change of venue can inspire you. It could be a ten minute walk around the block or working out of a coffee shop for an hour. Anything that gives you a change of space and pace.
If your task seems too imposing, break it down. Split your project into smaller more manageable pieces and tackle one at a time. When you are stuck spend some time away from the problem. Then come back to it with fresh eyes and finish your task.
“Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.” – Roy T. Bennet
Celebrate Your Successes
Celebrate every single success! No matter how big or small they are. Create a culture that grows motivation. When we celebrate our wins they inspire us to keep on going. Build on the excitement of succeeding, on positive feedback and good results. Give yourself rewards.
Don’t spend too much time focusing on what doesn’t work out. Learn from it, improve from it and move on! Invite others to celebrate your successes with you too.
I hope these five steps to recapture your motivation help you start to find your forward momentum! What keys to finding your motivation have you found useful?
xoxo Naomi
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Such great tips!! There is so much power in just doing! I’ve got to get out of my own way. 🙈