Do you ever have days where life seems so hectic, overwhelming even? You know exactly what you need to do in order to move forward but you have run out of zest. We all have what I would call “dry” days right? The energy and motivation does not exist and at that moment you want to be somewhere else, anywhere else.
Perhaps you had a challenging day at work, someone upset you or you are just tired and cranky. I feel it is important to acknowledge your feelings as they are real and affect the way we are towards others. It is easier to move on once we know why we have particular feelings and what the triggers were.
I am a day dreamer by nature (inherited from my mother) and when everything becomes a bit too much, I drift off in my thoughts and picture open fields, beautiful flowers, exotic holiday destinations such as The Bahamas and Hawai. Reading the bible gives me a great sense of peace as well as taking time out to sit still and reflect.
This week as I pondered on ideas for my next blog, I struggled to motivate myself. A part of me, well all of me did not want to do it. When I have these “moments”, I remind myself that the emphasis should not be on what I feel like doing but what I need to do in order to see results. Our feelings are fickle and wayward at the best of times. If I continually acted on my feelings, my life would be very much up and down.
There are other goals I have set myself and I have made myself accountable to one or two others merely by informing them of the goals. Every so often, they will ask if I am moving any further towards achieving my goals. This keeps me in check and encourages me to strive forward. I also recently sought a career coach which is of great benefit. I identify what I would like to gain from each monthly session and bring points for discussion. I am the lead for my sessions, I am responsible for finding solutions. I get out as much as I am willing to put in.
What do you do when your motivation has dwindled?
organisedlady 
Motivation is what separates those that get things done, and those that dream about it.
We all have lofty goals, but the hard part is doing them.
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Good point William. There are those that do and those they don’t.
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My motivation may dwindle when I get over-tired or it seems like results are going backwards, which happens at times in most journeys. Sometimes all I need is a short break (walk) or rest. Sometimes it helps to think about why I’m doing this in the first place. Sometimes actions may have become diverted in the wrong direction and need to be re-oriented.
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There are times you feel your projects are not moving forward and it is easy to give up at that point. Focusing on the “why” usually brings you back to where you should be.
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Great question Phoenicia! I’m normally very motivated but ran out of gas last weekend and for a short time beat myself up over it because I have so many important goals in the works to finish by the end of the year.
But here’s what I finally realized – I pushed hard in September participating in an incentive. I surpassed my goal but never took the time to acknowledge that, or even a little down time to re-energize for the next push. So I gave myself the weekend off to just rest and read. It put me behind a day but I needed that time and I needed to create a temporal landmark instead of letting the days just blur together.
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How many times do we fail to pat ourselves on the back when we have reached a goal or even halfway through? I am task orientated and tend to focus only on the end result. Staying on track takes dedication.
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Phoenicia, when my motivation dwindles I like to take some time alone with myself sit by the sea regroup my thoughts gain back my focus and then restart what I was working on.
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Oh to be by the sea!
I can see why people relocate to live close to the sea. You can take long strolls and just look at the beauty of the sea. It is rather calming.
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Yes, it helps before during my college days sometimes I would spend hours by the sea now even if it may be for an hour or half it makes a lot of difference even reading by the sea makes me feel good.
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Oh to be beside the seaside!
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I stay motivated with work projects, but it’s another story with my creative writing. I’ve been working on setting manageable writing goals that I will increase as time goes by. That has helped. I also worked with a career coach early on in my freelancing, and that was worth its weight in gold.
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You appear pretty focused to me Jeri. I always feel it is important to be in the right frame if mind before writing otherwise you will not apply your best.
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Have to laugh over Ken’s comment–so true. When I have slept badly and don’t bounce out of bed at 5:30 with my normal zip and obnoxious amount of energy, I know it’s going to be a bad day. Since I work from home, I have the good fortune of being able to direct my energies elsewhere. Away from a hard writing project. I can work on photos for pending blogs, play around with characters for a fiction project. Or, if it’s really a tough day–chuck it all and clean the house or better yet–go play in the yard.
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I wake up just before 5.30am and generally feel set for the day. Come late afternoon I want to sleep and I
I perk up in the late evening. You probably have the shortest commute known to man!
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Am very motivated and rarely have to re-motivate myself. If and when I need to motivate myself taking a walk makes me clear my mind. Another way is to challenge myself to, like Eleanor Roosevelt, do what I don’t think I can do. That phrase makes me to rise to the occasion.
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Walking always does wonders for the mind. When I am inundated at work I take at least 20 minutes to walk around the block. I return feeling refreshed.
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I good indication of how motivated I’m going to be for the day is how long I sit around reading and drinking coffee in the morning. It seems as though if I’m slow getting going, I’m going to be moving a bit slow all day. Everyone runs out of gas now and then. If you meet someone who denies it, ask him (or her) what they’re taking.
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Why do we wait until burn out before choosing to rest.
Prevention is better than cure.
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“What do you do when your motivation has dwindled?” What a timely question, Phoenicia! Sometimes I go for a walk around the block. Movement and fresh air usually help to energize me to talks at hand.
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Glad my question resonated with you Ramona. I like your methods!
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I like to motivate myself by reading other’s work and taking classes to learn something new. It also helps to pray for direction. It’s important to have patience. Not all answers will come when you want them to be there. So, work on something else that will get you closer to your goal.
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As a blogger it certainly helps to browse other bloggers websites.
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I’m a day dreamer too. Though I also consider myself very motivated. My day dreaming tendencies don’t stop me from doing what I want, but they make it so it can take longer. Though I probably have more free time in my life than you do in yours. When I want to remain focused, I usually go work some place in public where I tend to focus better. And then I easily work without distraction (though still a little day dreaming.)
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A little daydreaming never did anyone any harm!
I feel like my time is stretched at the moment. I remind myself it is just for a season.
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