Even those who do what they love at a job they love, surrounded by diligent, diligent and sensitive colleagues, are not immune from surprises in life in the form of lack of motivation.
Even those who receive a substantial reward in dollar terms for their shed bloody sweat are not protected from falling into a space of chaos: without incentives, excitement, motivation.
In such situations, it is extremely important to find a lifeline from the pit of indifference, indifference and insensitivity. How to find motivation and continue to create comfortably in life, work carefree and organize competently, this cheat sheet will help for those who have temporarily become inactive, inert and difficult to get up.
Reasons for loss of motivation
The desire to preserve life is inherent in us by nature. The instinct of self-preservation is one of the most powerful, present in most living beings, including humans. Loss of motivation is an unnatural condition that must be dealt with. If for some reason there is no motivation for life, a person should consult a psychiatrist, since this is one of the symptoms of depression. Lack of motivation to survive can be a symptom of other mental illnesses. In this case, the specialist will prescribe special medications and prescribe therapy.
Lack of motivation may also be a sign of chronic fatigue syndrome. The main symptoms are apathy, constant fatigue, and reluctance to do anything. In this case, you need to rest first. It is advisable to take a vacation for this purpose.
Motivation to live may temporarily disappear in severe stressful situations, for example, after the loss of a loved one or divorce. In this case, the person not only does not want to do anything, but there is also psychological discomfort. It will be useful to contact a psychologist who will help you find strength and meaning to move on with your life.
Small targets
Whatever we want to achieve: write a book, lose weight, improve relationships with a loved one - the strength of our desire directly affects its implementation.
Many of us seriously limit our dreams and goals, which eats away at our motivation. We tell ourselves and others that we don’t need meteoric success. This is a rather dangerous worldview. It weakens not only the ambition and diversity of our goals, but also the effort we are willing to put into achieving them.
How to fight
The rule of multiplying by 10 will solve this problem. Its essence is to set goals that are 10 times larger than what you want, and put in 10 times more effort to achieve them. This principle will help you try different approaches and do much more.
Motivational literature
How to find motivation on your own? It is worth reading some literature. Sometimes ordinary quotes about life that can be found on the Internet are enough, but books have a greater impact. There are good motivator quotes about life in Osho’s books. The wise words of the master manage to change people’s attitudes towards themselves, the world, relationships and much more.
For many, someone else's positive example becomes the motivation for action. You should read inspiring literature. An excellent choice would be Nick Vujicic's autobiography, Life Without Borders. The story of a man born with a rare diagnosis of tetra-amelia (congenital absence of both arms and legs), but who found the strength and opportunity to live happily and fully, motivates action. The vitality of this man is admirable and inspiring.
The famous psychologist Viktor Frankl also has good motivational books. This man survived imprisonment in a concentration camp, but retained the will to live and the desire to help other people. If you suffer from a lack of desire to live, you should familiarize yourself with his autobiographical works.
Believers are often motivated by religious texts. It makes sense to read the Lives of the Saints. You can learn a lot of useful things from such books describing the life path of saints.
If you have no desire to study serious literature, it will be useful to read a light story with a happy ending. Sometimes reading a light story about how life is good can be motivating. This will be especially effective for people with chronic fatigue syndrome, since such stories calm the nerves and help restore energy. Motivation to live arises after reading books by Jojo Moyes, Cecilia Ahern, and good works about animals.
Finishing maneuvers
- We alternate mental stress with physical activity.
- We don’t take on a mountain of difficult tasks at once, but solve all the problems gradually.
- We find inspiration in creativity.
- We draw strength from the bosom of nature.
- We restore energy with a good night's rest.
- We eat healthy foods and drink enough fluids.
- Don't forget to smile at your reflection and praise yourself for the results achieved.
- Visualize our own goals.
- We build a “pedestal of honor” for ourselves, recording positive deeds.
- Let's get acquainted with success stories from other people's lives.
The main rule. We don’t get carried away by other people’s “crutches”, but find our own inner core and ideas for motivation.
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Spiritual and physical practices
Another answer to the question of how to find motivation is a variety of spiritual practices. They help you think about life and find new meaning in it. Practices like yoga disperse apathy and laziness. It has been scientifically proven that the more activity a person does per day, the more strength and desire to live he has, so moderate physical activity can have a significant motivating effect. In the absence of movement, a person, on the contrary, often feels tired.
Meditations during which a person turns to himself can be useful. An excellent option would be special trips for several days with a group under the supervision of experienced trainers.
It will be useful to turn to positive thinking techniques. The ability to enjoy life has a positive effect on the nervous system. Optimists are less susceptible to depression.
A professional psychologist can help you find motivators. By choosing the right words, a competent specialist is able to point in the right direction.
Cardio exercises have a good effect: running, swimming, rollerblading, skiing, cycling. The load should be selected individually. If there are no contraindications, you can add strength exercises.
If you lose the desire to live, it will be useful to go on a trip. A change of place often has a beneficial effect on an overloaded nervous system. The new environment encourages activity and exploration of the place.
Incorrect body language
Let's imagine what a person who lacks motivation might look like. How is he worth? How does he sit? Does he have good or bad posture? Are your shoulders back or down?
Now imagine a motivated person. Does he keep his head straight or constantly down? Does he sit with his back straight or hunched over?
You may have heard of the “fake it until you make it” principle. For example, to become more confident, you need to pretend to be so - and gradually it will become part of your personality.
It's the same story with motivation. Repeating the posture and gestures of the inspired person you just imagined can help increase your enthusiasm.
How to fight
Movement leads to motivation, which means if you want to feel a surge of inspiration, begin to control your body. Observe yourself and pay attention to how you usually move and behave when you are passionate about something.
Then everything is simple. Whenever you feel yourself losing motivation, repeat these gestures and your brain will quickly follow your body.
Where to look for the desire to live
Where to find motivation? To ensure that motivation does not disappear, you should find the meaning of life for yourself and make plans. You should have a far-reaching goal that motivates you to take certain actions. It’s good if this is your own aspiration, and not an idea imposed by society. A person motivated to succeed often has a plan for bringing these projects to life.
There are many resources in spiritual development. It is useful to spend part of your time in prayer and meditation. The motivation for life that religion provides is very significant for a sincere believer.
You definitely need to find time for a hobby. Any activity that brings pleasure relieves the nervous system. Development in an area of interest can become one of the motivating life goals.
A good way to motivate yourself is to find inspiring people. There should be several such role models so as not to lose inspiration due to disappointment in the idol.
Stress
Have you ever felt so tired and exhausted that you said to yourself, “Screw it, I'm giving up,” and stopped moving forward? Whatever the reason for such burnout, it is difficult to maintain motivation under stress.
How to fight
The rule of multiplying by 10 is, of course, good, but it must be used wisely. If you've jumped into overdrive and lost your strength, carefully lower the bar to the golden mean between your grandiose plan and your current capabilities.
If the problem is that you've taken on several tasks and don't know how to handle them all, tackle them one at a time. Everyone knows the proverb: “If you chase two hares, you won’t catch either.” It is always better to focus on a single task and solve it brilliantly than to be scattered on several at once and not finish any.
Practical methods
How to develop motivation? Keep a diary of achievements. In a difficult moment, realizing how much you have already done will give you strength to move on. Many successful people also keep a goal diary, where large tasks are broken down into small steps that will tell them what to do at each specific moment. This simple step will allow you to avoid disappointment if you fail to implement your plan for a long time.
You should constantly discover something new. These could be new places to travel, hobbies, practices and much more. It is useful to constantly expand your circle of acquaintances. You should choose positive-minded people for communication, since the environment largely shapes your living space. Depressed people who have lost their motivation for life can negatively affect your worldview and attitude towards yourself. On the contrary, communicating with a motivated person can increase the desire to live.
How to motivate yourself? Start inspiring the other person. In the process, there is a high probability of finding something that will help you specifically. A word spoken to another is better stored in the head, forming the person’s own experience.
Children often provide the impetus for life. Caring for a small child prevents you from sinking into depression and forces you to constantly do something. But you shouldn’t make a child the only meaning of life. It should be understood that parenting is not the only area in life. It is imperative to find time for your own development and relaxation, to enjoy life.
Blurry goals
Motivation is chaotic and fleeting. It is difficult to keep her on one task for a long time. Let's say you set yourself quite reasonable goals: for example, get up early in the morning, exercise more, eat right. At first you will be overwhelmed with motivation, but very soon you will notice that it is fading away. This happens when goals are too general.
How to fight
Set specific goals for yourself, or even better, make a step-by-step plan for achieving them. For example, get up at 7:00, exercise for an hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and eliminate sugar from your diet. Such detailed points will make you more attentive and allow you to stay motivated for a long time.
Another effective method is to ask yourself the right questions. For example: “What should my life be like for me to call myself successful?” A detailed answer will help you understand which direction to move.
Visualization
Everyone understands perfectly well that following a plan step by step is not enough when there is no complete picture. Therefore, you should periodically present the end result. It is advisable to do this in the brightest colors and incredible manifestations. This way, your motivation will only become stronger.
In addition to visualization, you can enlist the support of like-minded people. When people pursue one goal, it is easier for them to achieve the final result. They exchange experiences, support each other, give valuable advice, and so on.
Dream big
Practicing psychologist-consultant Olga Samsonenkova explains that motivation can be external and internal. The first group includes income, status, circumstances, and the second group includes a person’s internal choice and reasons for acting.
To gain inner motivation, allow yourself to make big plans and dream about incredible but desirable things. Moving towards a global goal makes it easier to look at local failures and serves as a source of inspiration. For this:
- Describe in detail your desired future on a piece of paper.
- Make a wish map.
- Place the visualization of what you want in a visible place.
A vivid vision of future success is a great motivation for work.
Make a plan for every day
Plan what you will eat, drink, how you will perform daily rituals (wash your face, brush your teeth, etc.). Be sure to write down what you need to do every day to get closer to your goal.
- The plan structures the chaos in the head.
- It will relieve stress: you won’t reproach yourself again and again for not cleaning your room again, or not getting closer to your dream again. Unfinished tasks kill energy, you get lost and drown in them, and instead of active actions, you engage in useless activities.
- A plan will increase motivation: writing down actions on paper will allow you to see how much you have already done and how much more you have to go.
- A plan will free your thoughts. You will stop remembering what needs to be done. Each time this takes a colossal amount of energy. Determine your to-do list once and carry it with you, rather than trying to find it in your head.
I use Trello.com for planning. I write down all my worries here and what I should do about them. I plan my day from start to finish. In the checklist, I note what has already been done and how many tasks need to be solved per day. This is surprising, but I began to notice that I was moving towards my goal much faster, getting stuck on social networks less, and finding time for important things.
Trello.com can be used both on a desktop PC and on a smartphone connected to the Internet. Here's an example of what it might look like:
In each card you can create comments and lists of important things to do. You may not be able to accomplish everything you set out to do. Plans can change suddenly. You can’t reproach yourself for abandoning the plan. I almost never have time to do everything I want. But even in this situation, I get much more done than when I had no plan.
