Staying motivated in something can be hard, whether it be your job, hobby or a relationship. Motivation is the key to a happy, creative, and productive life. It helps us connect better to the world around us and makes our lives more meaningful.
What are reasons that can cause us to get demotivated? There are as many factors that contribute to this as there are fish in the sea. Lets discuss a couple of these and their solutions.
1. I am demotivated by fear.
Fear is perhaps the biggest factor that rules most of our lives. We are afraid to change jobs, start families or buy a house. Fear also plays a key role in demotivation. We focus on a mostly imaginary outcome or worst-case scenario and that is all that we need to stop reaching for our end goal.
First you need to understand what you are really afraid of. List out these fears and ask yourself if they are really plausible and realistic. Would this really happen? Fear becomes a veil most hide behind and the real outcome is never as bad as the imagined one.
2. I am demotivated because I do not know what I want.
Some of us are lucky to know right from the start what we want. Others are not so lucky. Having only a vague understanding of what you want makes it easier to stay in familiar surroundings than venturing out into the new. Take a minute to think about you want and what you don’t want. Sometimes listing out what you don’t want helps clarify the things that you do.
3. I am demotivated because I am not challenged.
This is a demotivator that many people see at the workplace. Our careers become stale and stagnate. Too much challenge or too little of a challenge produce the same results of demotivation.
Do you have any personal career goals set up? If not, you should create short-term and long-term goals that are designed to challenge you. Take on projects that will introduce you to new experiences or drive you to understand other parts of the company. If you can’t find any more challenge from your position, it’s time to consider moving to another department or looking for exciting new opportunities elsewhere. The choices that take us out of our comfort zone are the hardest but end up being the most rewarding.
4. I am demotivated by loneliness.
They say no man (or woman) is an island and the saying can be true for most of humankind. We crave human interaction from our work relationships to our personal ones and loneliness ensues when we don’t have this.
Telecommuters suffering from cabin fever should get out and work a couple hours from a coffee shop. This simple interaction with others will supercharge your creative juices. People who lack of friends or relationships should look into activities that are shared by others. Groups like Meet Up are great ways to get out there with others who share an interest or hobby.
Demotivation is not a one-size-fits-all problem, but one that affects each of us in different ways. The good news is you can overcome it. Sometimes all you need is a scenery change or a change in your routine that will produce big results.
