5 Ways to Boost Motivation When Feeling Unmotivated

You likely encounter occasional motivation hurdles – be it the struggle to rise early for workouts, the weariness from daily extra work, or the challenge of not being in the right mood to pen the initial words of your novel draft.

Even worse, the feeling of not wanting to do anything sidelines your goals, causing you to disregard them until motivation resurfaces for you to take action. This cycle can often prolong, leading to weeks, months, or even years of neglecting your goals.

Does Motivation Consistently Bring Forth Our Utmost Potential?

Motivation can be confusing. On the one hand, you're driven by an intense urge to embrace a healthy lifestyle, forsaking everything for a jogging routine. On the other hand, solely depending on the prospect of a spontaneous incentive may not be a foolproof strategy for achieving your goals. What steps should you take next?

Motivation Proves Unreliable In The Majority Of Common Strategies

Motivation is simply an emotional state. It isn’t clear like emotions. You may sometimes feel motivated, but it may suddenly disappear like sand scattered by the wind. Can one truly depend on motivation, given its inherently unpredictable nature? And is it genuinely possible to shake off the sense of not wanting to do anything?

This is the common trap that many people fall into initially. Simply looking at inspiring images or reading motivational quotes online isn't sufficient. At best, you might feel a brief upliftment after these activities. However, if you're realistic, it's unlikely that you'll become significantly more productive just by being inspired through these motivational methods.

Based on the foregoing, it becomes evident that these approaches are not necessarily the key to cultivating lasting motivation. If you're searching for a sustained and effective drive, you'll need something different from your usual routine or conventional sources.

5 Ways to Boost Motivation When Feeling Unmotivated

If you aspire to cultivate effective motivation in every situation or endeavour, breaking away from your usual routine is essential. Here are 5 enticing tips to spark motivation and invite you to explore something novel. Their departure from the commonplace sets these techniques apart, offering a fresh perspective and serving as a motivating factor in their own right.

Experiment with one or all of these tips, and you'll likely be more motivated and empowered to take action than ever before.

1. Infuse "Mystery" Into Your Motivation

The element of mystery is an effective motivator, tapping into spontaneity and the thrill of the unexpected.

Consider jotting down at least five rewards you can indulge in when taking breaks or completing tasks. The following simple set of 'rewards' serves as an ideal example:

• Enjoying a video on YouTube.
• Eating Chocolate
• Playing a brief guitar melody during a lively music session.
• Watching an episode of your favourite Netflix show.
• Going for a relaxing walk around the neighbourhood.

As evident, the rewards range from simple and enjoyable to more substantial, with some holding a more personal significance for you.

When taking a break, you may often engage in the same routine, such as reaching for your phone and scrolling through social media platforms. But imagine being able to receive one of these rewards each time randomly.

In this case, you won't know what you'll receive; it could be a small or even a significant reward. The element of surprise adds a great deal of excitement. As things become enjoyable repeatedly, you're likely to cultivate motivation to work, eagerly anticipating the next delightful and surprising random reward upon your next achievement.

2. Add A Touch Of Spookiness To Your Motivation

Motivation can adopt either a positive or negative approach. Positively, as mentioned earlier, you strive towards a goal for the reward. Conversely, it can be negative, where you try to avoid a negative outcome. In the latter case, you only need to find suitable ways to penalise yourself when your productivity falls short of your aspirations.

Here are a few straightforward examples to inspire your ideas:

• Ask your partner to splash water on you if you don't wake up early for morning exercise.
• If you don't go to the gym after work, make it a rule to eat something you dislike, like having spinach for lunch (if you're not a fan).
• If you don't write a page of your novel after lunch, commit to locking all distracting apps on your phone for the entire evening.

In conclusion, the penalty should serve as a strong deterrent, compelling you to feel its impact and push yourself to avoid it at all costs. These penalties must be tailored to your uniqueness, prompting careful consideration. You will surely discover something that motivates you to act, just to steer clear of the penalty no matter what.

3. Harness The Power Of Peer Pressure For Motivation

This strategy proves effective when you have a support system of family and friends ready to assist you in reaching your goals. Simply ask those close to you to check in on your progress, ensuring your commitment to your objectives whenever necessary.

Imagine you've decided to begin writing your novel after a day at work. If your routine involves tossing your coat on the floor, hopping onto the couch, and flipping through TV channels as soon as you enter your home, this becomes the opportune moment for your family to declare a 'state of alert.' They might express something like:

• Hey love, wouldn't it be fantastic to complete a page of your novel today? I'd be thrilled, and if you don't, I'll whip up some spinach for you tomorrow.
• I just finished reading a book a little while ago, and I was thinking how great it would be if you finished your book, too, so I can read it.
• Every time I see you writing a book, I feel so proud. I can't wait for you to finish it.

These are mere examples of how your close circle can inspire you to resume writing or pursue any goal you have. What makes this strategy unique is its versatility, as each person motivates you in their distinctive way, showing genuine interest in your work, regardless of your current willingness to engage in it.

4. Lower Your Standards

Motivation is a common challenge, particularly when one feels that their goals are overly ambitious and intricate. When fatigue and overwhelm set in during tasks or projects, motivation inevitably takes a hit. To counter this, consider employing the '10% Technique.' When faced with minimal resistance towards a particular task, commit to completing just 10% of it and then call it a day.

Consider doing just two push-ups when facing a task like completing 20 push-ups. If you want to write a page of your novel, start with a paragraph or sentence. Also, if you're tackling room cleanup, commit to tidying just three pieces of furniture. It's a straightforward yet remarkably effective approach that is easy to implement.

The most advantageous aspect here is that by simply lowering your mental resistance to the task and enhancing your motivation, you may naturally complete more than the initial 10%. The 'momentum of the start' has the potential to propel you into achieving a larger portion than you might have initially anticipated.

5. Put Your Money On The Line

To harness this, consider putting your hard-earned cash on the line to propel you toward your goals. Make it simple by involving a friend or family member. Tell them they will earn $20 if you catch me skipping the gym after work, failing to write a page of my novel, or not waking up early tomorrow. Witnessing their enthusiasm, you'll wonder whether they're secretly rooting for your failure to pocket some cash or genuinely cheering for your success. However, this tactic is bound to amplify your drive to work diligently toward your objectives.

In Conclusion

Motivation goes beyond finding inspiration or indulging in highly enjoyable experiences; its real essence lies in nurturing the desire to pursue meaningful goals actively.

Rest assured that by implementing some of the techniques mentioned here, you'll be well on your way to becoming more motivated, empowered to take additional steps, and consistently steering your life towards positive and lasting change.