Motivation for the Unmotivated!

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.

Zig Ziglar

Feeling unmotivated to exercise, get organized, eat healthier, de-clutter, plan for your next vacation or anything else?

If you are experiencing this feeling of being unmotivated-you are not alone.

As Zig Ziglar says, motivation often doesn’t last.

Perhaps you started a project and had a goal in mind.

You started out feeling very excited and motivated, yet, somewhere along the way, you may have started to feel unmotivated.

Then you slowed down or maybe even stopped getting this project/goal done and started making excuses to yourself as to why you couldn’t do it!

Now you’re starting to feel guilty, ashamed maybe even calling yourself lazy!

All this doesn’t feel good and you keep looking to find that feeling of motivation again.

You tell yourself, I’ll feel motivated tomorrow, I’ll feel motivated to do that when xy or z happens.

And, it keeps cycling in this manner…

What happened to your motivation?

What is motivation anyway?

You can find many definitions of motivation, but the essence of motivation lies in “the need or reason to do something.”

It’s a process by which activities are started, directed, and sustained so that certain needs are met.

Those needs may be emotional, mental or physical.

For example, you may feel the need to get physically healthy because you are feeling low energy, you’ve had a negative physical exam or you are tired of not being able to do some things due to physical limitations.

Motivation has goals attached to it.

And, those goals need to be inspiring. I call it the big “WHY!”

Why do you want to get physically healthy? What will it do for you?

If your WHY is strong enough, you will be inspired to set up goals and have a reason to do something to obtain those goals.

One of the myths about motivation is that it is something you need to “feel” in order to be motivated.

Or maybe you watch a motivational video and suddenly you feel motivated.

That can happen, but most likely not.

Most likely, after watching the motivational video, you may feel inspired, but…here’s the but…you think “that’s a great idea,” and that’s where it stays-as a “nice” idea.

And, we have to remember, there is a pain/pleasure aspect to motivation as well.

If writing that article seems too painful, or doing the dishes doesn’t give you any pleasure, or cooking healthy foods seems like too much of a chore-then of course, you’ll find watching a Netflix movie or even the motivational video-LOL-more pleasurable…and avoid the pain/displeasure of doing that action to get to your goal.

On the other hand, as you keep avoiding doing that particular action needed, the pain of the consequences can be a motivating factor that gets you moving!

Motivation requires action to happen first.

Then it becomes easier to feel motivated to continue.

It’s the getting started that can be so challenging.

So, how do you get started?

Here are 5 tips and strategies to get into inspired action

1. Write down WHY you want a particular goal.

For example: If you are wanting to de-clutter your office:

WHY do you want to do that?

What will you get out of de-cluttering?

Will you feel lighter every time you enter the room?

More organized?

Have more peace of mind because you know where things are and can find them easily?

2. Schedule a time to do your task, chore, action that aligns with your goal (s).

When we are “feeling” unmotivated, it can feel overwhelming to make decisions about when to start and what to do.

By scheduling a time, you are deciding “this is when this is going to happen,” instead of waiting for motivation to suddenly appear or feeling to indecisive and therefore giving up.

3. Set up a routine or a ritual that triggers/cues you to what you are going to be doing.

Routines and rituals encourage habits and you are establishing a positive habit of action toward your goal.

Examples:

Make a cup of soothing tea to signal it’s time to start.

Drink a full glass of water

Meditate for 5 minutes-envisioning yourself in an oasis of calm.

Dance around to energize yourself!

4. Keep a journal

Writing in a journal about what lights you up about your goal, connects you to that big “WHY” you want to achieve your goal.

It will act as a reinforcer and inspire you.

Keeping a journal of your feelings will also expose that “negative” voice that wants to keep you from being in action.

You will have the opportunity to see the pain/pleasure syndrome that is stalling you and…

By shining the light on that negative voice, it won’t be able to hide and you can address it-through writing in your journal.

Exercise

Exercise/moving our bodies for even just 10-15 minutes clears our minds, brings on the endorphins and gets us more mindful.

If exercising is one of your goals that you’ve lost your motivation for-then you’ll definitely want to schedule it in as well as go for the ritual/routine method to support you in simply moving!

Exercising will have you feel more positive about yourself, which ties back to wanting to be in action to reach your goal.

Now that you’ve learned that motivation requires an action of some sort and isn’t about waiting for it to appear, what action or actions are you ready to take?

I’m all ears! Comment below! or email me!

And, if you need more support in getting motivated, if you want help getting rid of that negative voice that says go watch Netflix instead of de-cluttering your office, or going for a walk, or cooking foods that work well for your body…or whatever you need motivation for,

I would encourage you to enroll in the Summertime Mode Special of 2 Sessions.

I’ve been there myself, I’ve come out the other side and I’ve helped many clients get to the other side of being unmotivated to being motivated and in action.

We can nip it in 2 sessions-or if you need some deeper work, want to uplevel your life on several levels-than buy a few of them.

You can use them til the end of December, but you must purchase them by July 27^th.

It’s a heck of a deal that will make a heck of a difference in your life-no doubt about that!

Undecided?

Then take an action step that’s simple and easy:

Give me a call or email me and we’ll talk.

I am a great listener-and my big WHY is all about helping to make a difference in others’ lives.

That’s what motivates me.

So, let me help you-LOL! And we both win!

Warmly,

Jackie