This Will Fundamentally Change the Way You Look at Motivation

Look, we get it. Yeah, you’re already motivated. You wake up, you do your thing all day, and then you go to bed and repeat for the next day.

But what happens when that’s not enough? When the weight of your responsibilities of savage quotes to say to your ex start to pile on top of one another like a bunch of ill-gotten gains? When everything seems impossible and life has brought you to a place where every footstep feels like a mile across burnt sand? We’ve been there before too. At some point in our lives we’ve questioned why each step feels like so much effort it’s almost unbearable.

1. It’s not willpower.

There is a big difference between self-motivation and thinking you’re motivated because you’ve decided to do the things necessary to get over your own atrocious procrastination. You could have chosen to be motivated but you didn’t. You see, willpower is like a muscle. It can only grow in strength if it gets used up, and there are only so many times it can be used before it needs a break. When that happens, your motivation just isn’t enough to keep it going anymore, so you don’t do anything and go back to sleep.

2. It’s because you have the wrong mindset.

Motivation is the product of your mindset. You have to focus on the process and the end goal at the same time, and that’s what gives you the drive to achieve them both. But if you let yourself get overwhelmed by everything you need to do, then your motivation starts to slip. Instead of focusing on what gets you closer to success, you let your attention drift away from it and towards more immediate concerns, like how tired or stressed out you are at that moment in time.

3. It takes a different approach for each person.

It’s the same for everyone. The work and the challenges are the same, but where you place your focus can completely change how you approach them. You will have different triggers, different challenges, and different rewards at every stage of your journey. Some people get inspired by challenges, like those who see their goals as proof that they’ve put in enough hard work. Others appreciate what lies ahead as a challenge to overcome, inspiring them to attack their goals with energy and enthusiasm.

4. You can never use ONE method of motivation to be motivated all the time.

There are times when being motivated just doesn’t work out that way. Maybe you need to focus on something else for a while so that your mind doesn’t wander off into the sunset for days at a time. More likely, you just run out of steam before your motivation is strong enough to take you the rest of the way. There comes a point where, should you want to continue moving forward, you have no option but to push through it and forge ahead by force of will alone.

5. Motivation isn’t as simple as doing stuff because you’re going to be awesome at it.

That kind of motivation can get you pretty far in life as long as you keep yourself going at all times in order to stay focused and achieve your goals. It’s a good approach, and we all need it.

What you need to do is work on finding deeper reasons why you’re doing what you’re doing. Not because your dad will disown you if he finds out, and not because your significant other will poke out your eyes with a burning stick if you don’t make partner at the firm by the end of the year, but because working towards achieving goals or standards is rewarding in itself. 6. Your motivation won’t take over for everything else that isn’t going well in your life. You can’t just go through life saying I’ll just be motivated enough to achieve my goals, and at no other point will I ever be motivated again. Things are going to go wrong.

6. Focus on how you can achieve your goals, not how hard they are.

There’s always a way to face any challenge, even the ones where everything seems like it’s against you. You have to find something worth focusing on in order to keep yourself motivated, and that can change depending on what’s going on at the moment. You may have a beautiful vista in sight, but if you’re facing a monster in your path then you’ll need to focus on that instead.

7. Motivation means taking action.

Tell people what kind of person you are, not what kind of person you’re trying to be right now only under special circumstances when everything is going swimmingly well for you. Some of your motivation will be a result of your perception of yourself, but most of it happens because you took action. If you feel empty and unfulfilled, go out and do something that makes you happy.

Summary:

It doesn’t matter if you’re motivated and you don’t need motivation. Build yourself up by always focusing on what you plan to achieve, and keep yourself motivated by doing those things because they make you happy and proud of who you are.

Motivation is a real thing that works, but it’s not the same thing as optimism or confidence. You can be an optimist and not be quite as motivated as someone with more realistic expectations of what life has to offer them. You can be confident and not be motivated at all because your confidence level isn’t being created out of anything more than sheer force of will alone.