Lack of motivation, not being driven, and having a general MEH feeling towards your goals isn’t something a lot of people talk about. It’s sluggishly pigeonholed as laziness, as we put a lot of emphasis on the action itself and rarely evaluate our feelings towards it. The action is all that matters and if you don’t feel like doing it, well you’re just a lazy zero. But, is that the appropriate mindset to have? Should it be that way? Is lack of motivation just an elegant way of saying “you’re lazy” or is there something more?
I strongly feel that lack of motivation goes a lot deeper than just not feeling like doing stuff, and I think it can say a lot about you and your goals. The things you might find out once you look it in the eye don’t need to be bad, but they might be a bit uncomfortable. And they might require a reevaluation and readjustment.
Some people are just lazy, and there isn’t anything else to say about it. There is, however, another group of people, people who can get stuff done, who do get stuff done, but struggle when it comes to achieving certain goals. They aren’t lazy, they have some other problems, which this article is hopefully about to shine some major light upon.
I’m about to present you with some things that may be the reason behind the lack of motivation, and I’ll include a quick course of action for each of them in order to immediately reduce the damage, and save what wants to be saved.
WHAT’S YOUR WHY?
Do you even know what you want?
And I’m being serious.
What do you want to achieve? Do you know? Do you not know? Maybe you kinda know?
If you don’t even know where you’re headed how the hell do you plan to get there? It’s impossible.
Let’s say you want to buy a new phone. The very first thing to know is which one. Do you prefer Apple or Android? Is it an Android? If so, which one out of the thousands available do you want? Or maybe you’re more of an Apple fan. Well, that choice is much simpler. But unfortunately, setting goals isn’t as easy as picking one out of the four new iPhone models. It’s more like trying to find a great cheap Android. You really have to work for it. You have to know what you’re looking for, and you have to do thorough research.
That’s exactly how you should approach setting goals.
If you don’t have a clear image of what you want to achieve how exactly do you plan to achieve it?
One of the main reasons for setting a goal is to do something that has the potential of making us feel good once it’s achieved. The driving factor behind every goal is a WHY, and that’s exactly why understanding what’s your WHY is a crucial part of goal achieving.
Why are you working towards that particular goal? What do you want to achieve? Is it a feeling? Is it a thing? Understand what drives you, it’s absolutely necessary.
It’s much easier to find the motivation to act upon a goal once you truly understand why you want to achieve it.
ANTIDOTE
- Spend a considerable amount of time evaluating your current goal
- Identify some new, compelling goals you wish to achieve
- Write 3 most important goals on a piece of paper in as much detail as possible, and read them every day.
IS FEAR CAUSING LACK OF MOTIVATION?
It’s like a rock in your shoe, it creeps up on you, you can’t see it but it’s there and it’s making your life a living hell.
It’s also one of the main reasons why people give up on their dreams.
When it comes to the lack of motivation triggered by fearful thinking, the very first thing to understand is that it’s just your mind making assumptions. And more often than not, false ones. Being afraid that you won’t be able to handle all that you wish to achieve, or feeling like you’re not enough, that you’re not worthy of your goals are common feelings many of us have.
It’s completely normal to feel scared of new things, but living in a continuous state of fear isn’t.
Being scared of new things and allowing fear to run your life is very dangerous, and should be tackled immediately.
Have you ever heard the saying “EVERYTHING AMAZING BEGINS AT THE END OF THE COMFORT ZONE”? Well, no1 thing that keeps you stuck in a comfort zone is fear, and it’s essential to start working on eliminating it.
Being afraid isn’t something to be ashamed of, but it is something to be concerned about. If you feel like fear is crippling you, like it’s making you believe in things you don’t want to believe, it’s time to start working on making it go away.
ANTIDOTE
- Make a list of 10 things that are possible for you to do, but scare the crap out of you
- Go out into the world
- Do them.
INAPPROPRIATE GOAL SETTING LEADS TO A LACK OF MOTIVATION
Not being smart when setting goals is another thing we’ve all been guilty of at one point on our journey. We’ve all been there.
-I want to drive a Lambo.
-How much money do you have?
-$17
Well, if you set the goal that’s so far out of your reach that you can’t even see yourself getting there, then it’s not crazy that the lack of motivation appears. You don’t even know where to start, let alone see yourself actually buying a Lambo.
Setting too big of a goal isn’t the smartest strategy, because if you have trouble seeing a road map to the goal, lack of motivation is natural. How do you expect to be motivated when you don’t even know what action to take? It’s impossible.
Another mistake is setting goals that aren’t big enough to motivate you to get out of your comfort zone. Something you’ve already done multiple times shouldn’t be your goal list. It should be on your to-do list. The goal list is for things you feel challenged by. If it isn’t challenging enough, the lack of motivation is normal. Why should you feel strongly motivated to do something you already know you can do, and you have done it multiple times?
ANTIDOTE
- Write down all your goals for the year ahead
- Divide them into two columns “HAVE DONE IT BEFORE” and “NEVER DONE IT BEFORE”
- Move everything from the “HAVE DONE IT BEFORE” column into a TO-DO list,
- Choose 3 things from the “NEVER DONE IT BEFORE” and write them on a goal card
- Read the goals every day
IT’S MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE
One major reason for experiencing a lack of motivation is the fear of the things that may follow the achievement of the goal.
This one runs very deep, and not a lot of people can successfully identify it, but it’s not uncommon for your mind to perform this kind of self-sabotage. If you subconsciously feel you’re unworthy, or if you feel like it’s too much it’s very normal for your mind to want you to stay at the same place where you’re comfortable. It’s not uncommon to feel scared of whether or not you’ll be able to handle the achievement of your goals.
If you want to become a business owner, and you feel scared of whether or not you’ll be able to handle running a successful business, the lack of motivation is kind of a given.
ANTIDOTE
- Concentrate on one goal at the time
- Make a list of 5 major steps you need to take to achieve it
- Divide each of the 5 major steps into 5 smaller steps
- Make your daily TO-DO lists in a way that prioritizes taking care of the smaller steps
THE CLOCK IS TICKING
Feeling like you’re running behind schedule is another big reason for feeling the lack of motivation.
If there’s one lesson life doesn’t hesitate to give us it has to be the fact that things rarely go according to plan. More often than not, they don’t follow the plan at all.
If you made a plan some time ago, and you thought that you’d be much further ahead by now, it’s no wonder you feel demotivated. Feeling like you’re behind schedule can be a major cause for the lack of motivation, and its crippling effect can mess up your whole manifestation process.
You had expected to already have the things you planned for, but for some reason, it hasn’t happened yet. You feel demotivated to take action, maybe you’re reevaluating the entire thing, you’re not sure what went wrong. The lack of motivation is bugging you, you really want the thing, but you just cannot move your ass from the couch. Then one day you feel the spark, you make the plan and it includes 4 days’ worth of work because you try to overcompensate. The day is over, and because you bit off more than you could chew, you weren’t able to get it all done, and BAM, you feel like a failure again.
Do you see the problem? It’s a vicious circle, You’d better get out of it. As soon as possible.
ANTIDOTE
- Make a monthly list of 5 important things you need to do in the following month
- Divide it into the weekly list of the most important tasks that need to be done
- Make a daily list of things you have to do each day
*Planning in such a way helps you keep the bigger picture in mind while allowing you to make adjustments to keep the plan as fresh and relevant as possible.
ARE YOU A PROCRASTINATOR?
Once you do this, demotivation is pretty much just a natural cause. If you convince yourself you’re a procrastinator then the lack of motivation is an integral part of your persona. It’s not something that bothers you or something that stands in your way, it’s you. When you believe you’re a procrastinator feeling demotivated is just being true to yourself.
But, you aren’t a procrastinator. It’s just a story you believe in that just isn’t true. When we want something, we go out and get it, unless there’s a limiting belief that stops us from taking action. That’s all there is. A limiting belief. A lie you believe in that’s stopping you from taking action.
There’s nothing wrong with you. You just need a mini software update, if you will.
ANTIDOTE
- Listen, or write some affirmations to help you eliminate the negative belief.
- Make daily lists of small things you want to get done and make yourself follow it
- Celebrate every small achievement, no matter how small it may seem. It may take quite a few of them to break the belief, but the first one is the hardest. After that, they become progressively easier.
YOU’RE CHASING AN EXPIRED GOAL
Speaking of software updates, when was the last time you’ve updated your goals?
I’m sure these crazy pandemic happenings have changed the way you see the world at least slightly. Are you going after goals of the most recent version of you or are you following goals of an old version that’s long gone?
When you look at the paper with your goal written on it, how do you feel? Do you feel in alignment with it? Do you feel like it’s not relevant anymore? How would you feel if it just landed in your lap tomorrow morning? Are your goals ready for a reevaluation? Maybe you just simply don’t want the same things you wanted back then. Are you just in a habit of doing something you don’t even like?
Do you see how the lack of motivation very naturally fits in all these questions?
ANTIDOTE
- Evaluate your old goals
- Think about what you truly want to achieve
- Make a new list of the most important goals
COMPLETE BURN OUT OR JUST A LACK OF MOTIVATION?
Do you just need some time to rest? Some time away from everything and everyone?
Everything may be perfectly fine, and the only problem is exhaustion. If you’ve been working a lot lately, or if you’ve been feeling stressed it’s no wonder you feel a lack of motivation, you’re freaking exhausted.
If that’s the case, and if the only thing you need is some time off, then just treat yourself. Maybe right now you need rest more than you need to feel motivated.
ANTIDOTE
- Breathe
- Relax
- Take a few days off
TAKEAWAY
We live in a crazy world, man. It’s not easy to navigate the difficulties of modern life, and it’s no wonder that a lack of motivation often troubles us. We put so much emphasis on achieving goals and just on doing, we buy into hustle culture and in other stupid cultures, and what’s the result? Depression, lack of motivation, anxiety, feeling lost.
F*#k all that. Take care of yourself. Get to know yourself first, make sure that you chase your own goals, instead of something you think people will find admirable. Get to know yourself, do things that matter to you, and invest your time only in things that make you happy and fulfilled.
I try to follow the rule I made some time ago. “If it makes me feel bad, it’s not for me.”
I suggest you do the same. The day you start following dreams that are in line with your beliefs is the day you stop feeling chronically demotivated.
