How to become (and stay) motivated

Overcoming the emotional hurdle to get stuff done when you’d rather sit on the couch isn’t always easy. But unless you don’t want to get stuff done in your life and you have no interest in what direction your life is going motivation is a must.

Even for the most motivated out there, there are always times when you do not want to keep up with your high level of activity and you just want to sit on your couch and forget about the world with your popcorn and do nothing. We understand you. However, there is one trick that you can use to avoid that these moments become more than just a stumble. ROUTINE! It might not be new to you, but this is it. The more times you do something, the more ingrained it becomes into your behaviour to the point where it becomes part of who you are and what you do.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and go back to basics. What to do when you lost motivation to pursuit a goal and you do not know how to get it back? 

1. Go Back to “Why”

There was a reason initially that drove you to start that project, lose that weight, begin that business, whatever it is you are doing…if you lost sight of it, remember that why.

If you can’t figure out why, then there’s a good chance you shouldn’t bother with it in the first place.

If you need to, write it in the mirror or the fridge, anywhere in the house where you can look at daily so that you remind yourself constantly of your reason.

2. Go for Five

Start working for five minutes – Often that little push will be enough to get you going.

You will not feel motivated every day, sometimes all you need is to just start doing it, once you get going, you swing back into the flow of things and productive runs back into your veins again.

3. Shake Your Body

Get your body moving whether it is outdoors or indoors it does not matter. Just shake it real hard as if you were extremely motivated to do something. This ‘faking it’ approach to motivation may seem silly or crude but it works. It will move the energy in your body and once you are ‘pumped up’ you will feel the need to release it so it is likely that you will end up doing what you were meant to be doing anyway.

4. Take Baby Steps

If it seems impossible to work on a project for you, you can try to focus on the next immediate and easiest step. Do not look t everything that needs to be done before that project is over or that business is up and running, just thing of the next small thing you can do right now that can get you closer and do that. 

5. Deconstruct Your Fears

Is it fear of failure or fear of succeeding? Is it the emptiness you might feel when you reach the end line? There are literally a Universe of fears out there that we come up with every day to stop us from doing and being our best versions of ourselves. 

Know that your fears are only there trying to protect you but not trying to stop you. Have a mature approach, thank the fear for the warning, but let it know that you will do it anyway. 

Easier said than done we know, you might need a few attempts, but it is worth trying. 

7. Get an Accountability Partner

Find someone that will hold you accountable but more than that, someone that will pick you up and keep you going on your worst days. Someone that can listen to you, or maybe that is going through the same process as you. Sharing the load can make everything much easier.