Staying motivated is a struggle — our drive is constantly assaulted
by negative thoughts and anxiety about the future. Everyone faces doubt
and depression. What separates the highly successful is the ability to
keep moving forward.
There is no simple solution for a lack of motivation. Even after
beating it, the problem reappears at the first sign of failure. The key
is understanding your thoughts and how they drive your emotions. By
learning how to nurture motivating thoughts, neutralize negative ones,
and focus on the task at hand, you can pull yourself out of a slump
before it gains momentum.
Reasons We Lose Motivation
There are 3 primary reasons we lose motivation.
- Lack of confidence – If you don’t believe you can succeed, what’s the point in trying?
- Lack of focus – If you don’t know what you want, do you really want anything?
- Lack of direction – If you don’t know what to do, how can you be motivated to do it?
How to Boost Confidence
The first motivation killer is a lack of confidence. When this
happens to me, it’s usually because I’m focusing entirely on what I want
and neglecting what I already have. When you only think about what you
want, your mind creates explanations for why you aren’t getting it. This
creates negative thoughts. Past failures, bad breaks, and personal
weaknesses dominate your mind. You become jealous of your competitors
and start making excuses for why you can’t succeed. In this state, you
tend to make a bad impression, assume the worst about others, and lose
self confidence.
The way to get out of this thought pattern is to focus on gratitude.
Set aside time to focus on everything positive in your life. Make a
mental list of your strengths, past successes, and current advantages.
We tend to take our strengths for granted and dwell on our failures. By
making an effort to feel grateful, you’ll realize how competent and
successful you already are. This will rejuvenate your confidence and get
you motivated to build on your current success.
It might sound strange that repeating things you already know can
improve your mindset, but it’s amazingly effective. The mind distorts
reality to confirm what it wants to believe. The more negatively you
think, the more examples your mind will discover to confirm that belief.
When you truly believe that you deserve success, your mind will
generate ways to achieve it. The best way to bring success to yourself
is to genuinely desire to create value for the rest of the world.
Developing Tangible Focus
The second motivation killer is a lack of focus. How often do you
focus on what you don’t want, rather than on a concrete goal? We
normally think in terms of fear. I’m afraid of being poor. I’m afraid no
one will respect me. I’m afraid of being alone. The problem with this
type of thinking is that fear alone isn’t actionable. Instead of doing
something about our fear, it feeds on itself and drains our motivation.
