Have you ever made big plans, only to fail to act on them? Or maybe you started with a bang and kept your motivation for a few days, but suddenly lost interest. Happens all the time.
It’s easy to lose motivation after the initial excitement wears off. If you want to be successful, it’s important to keep going, because the work isn’t going to get done itself.
Understand why you lose your motivation:
- The planning phase is more fun than the execution phase. Sitting alone at night and making plans for the future can be an exciting time. Everything seems possible, because you’re only limited by your imagination at that point.
- However, when the sun comes up in the morning, it’s time to actually get busy. It all seems a little more daunting and less enjoyable when it’s time for the rubber to hit the road. Sometimes it’s more appealing to make a new plan and avoid the work of achieving anything. Resist!
- You lose track of the end result. Remind yourself of the prize at the end of your journey. Visualize how it’s all going to be when you’ve reached your goal. You should feel an immediate boost of motivation. If that end result doesn’t really get you jazzed up, then maybe this isn’t a true interest.
- Your goal doesn’t suit you. Many of us choose goals that are acceptable to the world at large. It might be buying a huge house or a fancy car. Maybe your goal is totally mismatched to your real desires or temperament. Ensure that you’ve chosen goals that match your interests and abilities. Are you wanting something you really want – or are you wanting something others think you SHOULD want?
- You feel uncomfortable and aren’t dealing with it effectively. Of course, it’s uncomfortable to do anything new. Whether it’s creating a new income stream, beginning a workout routine, or a new diet, it’s going to be uncomfortable. It’s important to deal with this discomfort effectively.
- Expect to feel uncomfortable. Have a plan for working through it. If you’re making changes to your life, discomfort is the norm. Sometimes you have to push through discomfort so that it becomes the new comfortable.
- You have too many negative thoughts. Negative thoughts are paralyzing. Negative thoughts will make you rationalize that you should quit. Though it doesn’t always feel like you have control over your thoughts, you do. You can choose what you want to think about.
- Take control of your thoughts. Catch yourself early in the process of thinking negative thoughts and redirect your focus to something more positive. It takes time to develop this ability. The key is to notice quickly that your thoughts are going off the rails. Sometimes I feel the voices in my head are having an ongoing argument and it’s my job to silence the nay-sayer and encourage the positive thinker.
- You’re stuck in your old habits and routines. The older you are, the more challenging it can be to break out of your old patterns. We find comfort in our old routines, and our brains become hardwired to repeat them. You’ll need to create new habits and routines if you want to change your behavior and your results.
- Identify one habit that is getting in your way and one habit you need to create to attain your goals. Put your time and energy into dealing with these two items. When you’re successful, tackle two more.
Which of these six reasons applies to you most often? Is there another reason you fail to sustain your motivation? Motivation and willpower can be highly variable.
Expect that your motivation will falter and be prepared to deal with it. Focus on creating habits that will take you to your goals, because habits reduce the need for motivation and willpower.
I love this! I am going to print it out because this is ME! Wonderful tips and I will try to remember them when I start losing my motivation
I think I lose motivation when it’s easier to stay put where I am than to make the effort to change and move onto something else. Sometimes it feels easier to settle for “good enough” rather than challenging myself to do bigger and better things.
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂
I think I get overwhelmed and find everything too daunting, so give up! Lots of interesting thought processes here in your post. Thanks for the ideas and motivational support 🙂 Have shared for #mlstl
You’ve brought up some great discussion points, Christine. Sometimes it can be a challenge to determine if your goal isn’t suited to you or if the fact that you are uncomfortable and your negative thoughts are tricking you into thinking the goal isn’t right. Once you’ve thought things through, it’s time to quiet your mind and listen to your heart and your gut. I sometimes fall into the very first category you mentioned–planning is funner than the execution. In that case, as you mentioned, it’s important to keep the final result (your why) in the forefront of your mind. Thank you for the food for thought. #MLSTL
Hi Christine it is difficult not to keep motivated when sometimes we aren’t making the progress as fast as what we wish. I also like your point about wondering if the goal is the right goal. Sometimes we are working towards something that we aren’t really passionate about and haven’t really thought through what we want or don’t want. How will it affect the other areas of our lives etc. Thanks for sharing and linking up at #MLSTL and enjoy your weekend.