It all happened to us to be in the middle of working on something and start feeling unmotivated. And the more unmotivated we become, the harder it is to get back on track of what we were doing and reach our goals. We find ourselves in a slump. But the truth is, slumps are a normal part of the process. We just need to acknowledge these slumps and break out of them.
Why are You Unmotivated?
There may be periods where you feel that your energy declines, or your productivity level is just not the same as when you started. You may notice that you are no longer getting the results you’re aiming for. When you feel this way, it’s a sign to stop and get to the root cause of what is really happening.
7 Steps to Refuel Your Motivation and Sustain It
There are many reasons on why you could become unmotivated about something. You maybe found out that your project is not that exciting anymore, or perhaps it became more complicated than you expected it, or maybe you just started doubting yourself and the choices you made. In any case, the following points can help you reassess where you are at and reboot that motivation to keep pursuing the things that you really love doing, and that could bring you that satisfaction and fulfilment that you want.
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Turn on your self-awareness.
Turn on your self-awareness and tun-in to find out what’s really going on. What has changed? Be aware of the factors that steal your energy and motivation. Are you tired? Are recent life changes or personal problems affecting your work?
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Choose only to do things that you love.
Pause and re-align your goals and tasks with your core values. Everything that you do should be consistent with your values or at the very least, lead you to them. Find out if one or many of what you value in your project is not in alignment with the core values of what you are doing or what you are trying to achieve.
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Turn off your inner critic.
Negative self-talk depletes motivation. Turn off that inner voice that says, “I can’t do it” or “I’m not good enough for this.” Everyone, even the toughest of leaders, has moments of self-doubt, but we have a choice to either let them consume us or overcome them.
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Don’t compare with other people’s choices.
Stop comparing yourself and what you do with others. Doing so distracts you from what you should be doing: working towards your goals. When you use other people’s choices and achievements as your benchmark, it also leads to more self-doubt.
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Break down your to-do’s in small, enjoyable tasks.
Tackling big goals can be daunting and overwhelming. Trying to get them all done in a hurry will only burn your energy fast and bring your crashing to the ground. To keep your energy up, be realistic with what you can achieve in a day, week, or month. Break up your goals in small, achievable tasks.
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Celebrate the small and big milestones.
Pause not just to reassess where you are, but also to celebrate your milestones. Recognize your achievements.
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Visualize your positive outcomes regularly.
When you’re starting to feel demotivated, go back to step 1 and visualize your desired outcomes. Why are you doing this in the first place? The answer to that should be ingrained in your mind. Having visual reminders will also help inspire you when you need a motivational boost.
Summary:
You can recover from demotivation.
- Find out why you’re feeling demotivated.
- Re-align your goals with your values.
- Stop using other people’s choices as your benchmark.
- Break down your goals into smaller, achievable tasks.
- Celebrate all milestones, both big and small.
- Visualize your positive outcomes regularly.
