10 Ways to Motivate Your Motivation
Great news! There is no reason to beat yourself up about not being motivated anymore. Yey! First of all, you don't need to be motivated 100% of the time to be successful. You just need to put some measures in place to allow yourself to get motivated or muscle through the moments of no motivation. In short...
You have to be motivated to self-motivate. What? I guess that means you have to at least want to be motivated! Strangely, not everybody does...
But YOU want to be motivated!
It feels good to get things done.
You love putting your head down on your pillow after a productive day.
You want to help other people.
You want to feel like you are a productive member or society.
You would rather clean out your closet then watched TV all day, for goodness sakes... That is, unless it was a GOT marathon.
But even cleaning out your closet takes some motivation.
Being prepared for moments of lack of motivation takes preparation.
Just the sound of that sentence sounds laughable. You have to be motivated to be motivated. Blah!
On your next productive day, plan ahead and put some of these measures in place.
When you're feeling unmotivated, do one of these things.
10. Call one of your most motivated friends.
If you are the most motivated person you know then you might have to make the hard choice and go get some new friends. You might be one of those people whom everyone calls for advice and motivation. Well... it's your turn. Call someone you respect and just tell them you need some motivation.
9. Read a book or listen to a motivational audio.
Make your car a classroom on wheels. Always have a motivational/educational CD or podcast to listen to. Don't complain by saying "But I have to have my music on the way to work". Sorry, you don't have time for that during this season of your life. Go get a Tony Robbins series and listen to it over and over. You should be doing that whether you are naturally motivated or not.
8. Take a break.
If you need a break, take a break and don't beat yourself up about it. But if you've been on a break, this is not your answer to motivation!
7. Review your business plan and why you are building your business.
Just refresh your desire. Maybe your business plan needs some tweaking to get you focused again. Take a look at your reasons for tackling your business and get yourself fired up again!
6. Make a list of all the other things you need to do.
Sometimes just making a list of the other things in your life you need to accomplish will get your mind off of your 'unmotivated self' and allow you to focus on being productive somewhere else in your life. Just the sheer focus in another direction is likely to bring back your desire and motivation to work your business. The grass is always greener on the other side so do something on 'the other side' for a bit.
5. Go for a jog.
Exercise releases endorphins that make the brain happy. It helps that big, lazy muscle between your ears start flexing. Your thoughts start rolling and clarity and motivation appear and begin to drive you to get going again.
4. Do something nice for someone else to help motivate and inspire them.
If you can't be motivated or inspired yourself, go ask someone else how you can help them with their business or life. Give them some advice or critique their latest blog post. Help them with a business problem they've been trying to overcome. Simply offer up your services so at least someone can get some work done if you can't! Anyone would appreciate that.
3. Go to a conference or local small biz seminar.
I've never been more productive than the week following an amazing business conference or seminar. Being around like-minded individuals for extended periods of time is motivating by itself. Not to mention all the great education you will receive. Education is many times, motivating. Helps you see your mission and direction more clearly. Sometime lack of motivation is a direct result of the lack of clarity or a path to follow.
Oh, and don't complain about the cost of traveling to a conference! The benefit more than outweighs the cost every time... that is if you participate and don't just go to the pool at the hotel to float around the lazy river.
2. Go to your day job and work on your business at lunch.
The crazy part about motivation is that sometimes all you have to do is get in the car to head to your day job and all of a sudden you are motivated to turn around and go home to build your side business. All I can say to this is, "whatever it takes, do it!"
Then work on your business (because you're motivated) at lunch or take a 2-hour lunch and head home from the office an hour later. That way you don't get home and say you're tired from such a busy day and lose your motivation again. Motivation can be a fickle thing!
1. Always have something else on your schedule
I think this is the most important. The easiest way to get your motivation back is to always have another appointment or meeting scheduled on the calendar. That means there is always something to prepare for, get excited about, show up for, tell someone else what project you are working on and why. You will never quit if there is always something else on your calendar.
Wow! That was long. Maybe a list of 10 is too many.
Not all of these will resonate with you so pick a few or go find your own. Then put your own personal motivational plan in place so you never stop reaching for your dreams.
With gratitude,
Allison
