Do you lack motivation? Like you want to do something, but don't have the motivation or willpower to accomplish it? You may be feeling guilty about your lack of productivity while at the same time, you are unmotivated to do anything, which only serves to further demotivate you from taking any action to improve your condition, whether it be at work, school, or in other areas. We want you to know that having these feelings occasionally is completely normal; just make sure you never enable them to overpower you. What matters is that you can rise from the quicksand and resume walking up the stairs, which have always been a metaphor for life.
Recognize, Accept, and Cut Yourself Some Slack
It's crucial to acknowledge when you're in a rut and to stop trying to hide how you're feeling. Some of you may claim to be working so hard while compromising the quality of your work which ends up demotivating you. The first step in accepting this emotion you have is to be able to acknowledge that you lack the motivation to do anything. Forgiving yourself for this might be simpler if you were able to be honest with yourself and how you're feeling. If you're wondering why you should be forgiving of your lack of motivation, it is because you are a human. Our lives are not designed to be filled with highs all the time; instead, they are meant to be balanced out with lows that allow us to occasionally take a step back and grow as individuals.
Figure Out Why You Feel Unmotivated
Once you've acknowledged your slump and given yourself some breathing room, it's time to figure out and comprehend the root causes of your initial feelings. You may experience a rut for a variety of reasons, therefore it's important to look into these factors further so you can address them later.
Lack of Purpose
Perhaps you lack motivation because you are unsure about your life's purpose. Any decision you make is much harder than it appears to be when you don't know what you want out of life. You truly have no motivation to wake up and do anything if you don't have a clear objective in mind that you want to achieve. “So feeling like doing a lot of nothing is the general result” (Altrogge, 2021). Only when you have a rationale for why you must take action do you become motivated.
Lack of Structure or Routine
“Structure and routine help solidify habits, and habits get you going whether you feel like it or not” (Altrogge, 2021). Since you've established a routine for yourself, this would push you to move rather than remain burrito-like on the couch. Having a framework or routine in your life is vital as it keeps you going. You must act in order to feel motivated; you cannot wait for motivation to come to you. Your inspiration comes from taking action.
Unrealistic Goals
It should come as no surprise that setting your goals too high will leave you feeling unmotivated. When your desired outcome is too far ahead, you run the risk of becoming overwhelmed by the task at hand and your inability to accomplish it. It's also possible that you may become so consumed by the drive to achieve the goal that you will lose sight of who you are in the process.
Lack of Focus
Given the number of things you have to do and how distracting modern technology is, it is easy to lose track of time and fail to pay attention to what you need to do. Being disorganized might cause you to lose focus and feel inadequate for the task at hand, which demotivates you more and keeps you from making progress. Knowing when to concentrate and when to work on other things at the same time is crucial.
Self-Doubt
It is easy to lose motivation when you don’t genuinely believe in your qualities and capabilities. When you’re filled with self-doubt, you've already determined that you won't succeed and want to prevent that inevitable failure, making the tasks at hand even more challenging. “You believe what you tell yourself. If you tell yourself you’ll fail, you will. If you tell yourself you’re good at something, or you enjoy something, you instantly feel motivated and begin looking forward to doing it” (Altrogge, 2021).
Surrounding Environment
Your environment, whether it be the actual work you are in or the people you are surrounded by, has a significant impact on your life. Your physical workspace has the power to energize or deplete you. An untidy atmosphere, for instance, does not inspire you; rather, it causes you to think about other things instead of concentrating solely on the task at hand. The same is true for the individuals you choose to be in your life; if your surroundings are generally negative and unsupportive, this will only serve to diminish your motivation further.
Take It One Step At A Time
You may find it difficult to deal with your lack of motivation, but it's necessary to do so slowly and steadily. Eventually, you won't even realize that you've gotten out of your rut.
Find Your Purpose
Ask yourself what you truly want and discover your why so you can get out of your unmotivated slump. In order to inspire yourself, have a clear rationale for what you're doing. Remember that after you have discovered your purpose, it need not be a lofty goal; it could be something as simple as wanting to graduate, support your family, or live independently. Anything goes as long as it enables you to put your words into action.
Make Time To Motivate Yourself
Make time in your schedules for self-motivation. To ensure that you do the task at hand, designate a certain day, time, and date for it. We frequently have no choice but to follow through when we make plans to do something at a specified time and day. This would assist you in beginning to encourage yourself to get out of that demotivating rut.
Create Daily Routines
To support and push you through unmotivated times, create daily routines and rituals. With an established routine, you will have little to no room to be unmotivated for an extended period of time. “Since motivation comes from action, building habits will continuously keep you moving forward through specific actions” (Altrogge, 2021). Take small measures at first, and then progress from there. Nothing occurs overnight, it is important to create habits and actions that would help you get close to your goals.
Visualize The Long Term Outcomes
When you lack motivation, try pausing and pushing yourself to ponder those long-term results. It's easy to lose sight of longer-term goals and aspirations in the daily grind when your purpose for being involved is shorter-term objectives, which is why it is important to keep the bigger picture in mind. Always remember why you chose such actions and your purpose in doing so.
Set SMART Goals
If setting long-term objectives doesn't thrill you, you may want to reconsider them. Too-accessible goals are uninteresting and don't actually inspire us to keep working for them. Excessively challenging goals, on the other hand, might be discouraging and lead us to give up because we lose faith in our capacity to achieve them. This is why it is important to follow the SMART method in determining your goals.
Specific - Be as specific as you can get when determining your goals. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve would help you better plan how to get to it.
Measurable - When you have a measurable objective, it is simple to gauge your progress. Additionally, it makes you more eager to make headway toward the goal because it is impossible to be both unmotivated and eager at the same time.
Attainable - Set realistic goals that you can accomplish in the time frame you've chosen. If you just devote a few hours a week to growing your business, setting a goal to make a million next year is futile. Set ambitious goals that will push you to the limits of your capacity.
Relevant - Relevant goals are those that blend with your way of life or place of employment. You'll remain inspired to keep moving toward your ambitions if you set them in line with your long-term intentions and your personal and professional beliefs.
Time-Based - Set a deadline for yourself. This is related to being precise and quantifiable because you can check off your accomplishments as you go.
Know Your Priorities
It's vital to keep your priorities in mind as you work toward your objectives. In other words, try to limit your disturbances, especially when it's necessary. Have a set of working methods that help you stay focused on your tasks such as turning on do not disturb when working.
Work With Your Body Not Against It
Your body knows you best. Maintaining your level of performance is important, but not at the price of your mental and physical health. By allocating time for both personal needs and work, you may maintain a healthy balance between your personal and professional lives.
Optimize Your Environment
Establish a setting that supports your feelings and works best for you. For you to fully act on matters at your best, you must feel at ease and like yourself in your surroundings. This may be done by removing clutter, having comfortable furniture, proper lighting, and proper background noise.
Commit
Make a genuine commitment to getting rid of your lack of motivation. It is simple to operate in order to motivate yourself, but if you are not properly committed, you will soon find yourself back in the same situation. No matter how difficult and hopeless things may seem, with the right dedication, you should be willing and capable of putting what you believe into effect.
Your feelings may be too overwhelming to handle by yourself or without assistance, but we at Fidecita hope you have the best mental health care you deserve. Click here to know more about Fidecita HR Advisory’s Mental Health Care services. You can also message the Fidecita Facebook Page or email us at info@fidecita.com for further inquiries.
References
Altrogge, S. (2021). Unmotivated? 8 Proven Strategies For When You’re Feeling Stuck. Freedom Matters. https://freedom.to/blog/unmotivated-8-proven-strategies-for-when-youre-feeling-stuck/
Castle, T. (2022). 15 Things to Do When You Have No Motivation to Do Anything. Lifehack. https://www.lifehack.org/895456/no-motivation-to-do-anything
Cermak, J. (2022). Feeling unmotivated? 6 ways to put the power back in willpower. Salo. https://hellosalo.com/insights-ideas/feeling-unmotivated-6-tips-for-putting-the-power-back-in-willpower/
Garnett, L. (2016). Feeling Unmotivated? 10 Steps to Get You Out of the Funk in an Hour or Less. Inc. https://www.inc.com/laura-garnett/feeling-unmotivated-10-steps-to-get-you-out-of-the-funk-in-an-hour-or-less.html