5 Ways to Motivate Yourself

Q&A With Shay Every Other Sunday

I have been struggling with motivation in certain areas of my life lately, particularly having to do with writing and self-improvement. It’s strange how we can be so motivated in some areas and in others it’s a daily fight where often we end up with feelings of guilt and defeat. So, I figured I’d compile a list of ways to motivate in hopes that it’ll spark that motivation in myself as well.

One of the things I’ve been realizing about motivation lately is that in order to keep pushing ourselves even for things that don’t always feel fun, we have to keep the positive impact of it on our lives in mind. I go through phases of not enjoying writing but it really isn’t the writing that I don’t enjoy, it’s all the other outside “issues” or noise that comes with it. Then my writing ends up being impacted in that I stop writing. No one can force us to be motivated, it has to be something that we want, need, for ourselves as individuals.

Q: What are 5 ways you motivate yourself?

A:

1. Drink coffee.

Okay, this might not be a motivator per se, but for a lot of people it gives them the energy they need to complete tasks. Coffee doesn’t actually wake me up anymore, but it’s a part of my routine that I look forward to and routines are important when it comes to motivation. So, if you have a certain task or work that needs to get done maybe allow a small timeframe to enjoy your cup of coffee and then say to yourself that once you’re done you will get right on that work! Sometimes slowing down before tackling something can build the motivation. Plus, with coffee, hopefully you’ll have the energy!

2. Worry about letting others down or “getting in trouble.”

I don’t know about anyone else, but I am constantly worried about letting others down that are counting on me for something. This is probably why I’m more motivated when it comes to work where I have to answer to someone. When you’re out on your own, it certainly still feels awful to think you’ve let yourself down but at least you don’t have to deal with another person about it! Maybe when it comes to motivation for writing we can think in terms of letting future readers down if we don’t get that book or story out there that they want to read! That mindset doesn’t work for me, at all really, but maybe if it’s repeated or thought enough it will start to stick. But again, motivation has to be about the individual first. I don’t know why it’s sometimes so hard even knowing that we’ll feel better about ourselves for doing the thing we said we’d do!

3. Tell myself I only need to focus for X amount of time then I can take a break.

Chances are I’ll keep going after that time is up. Or if I don’t, then I can tell myself it’s okay because I did what I set out to do. But getting to that point is where motivation is the most important. The quote (credited to many different people, not sure who is the initial source) “the hardest part is getting started” really couldn't be more true.

4. Force myself with willpower even when I really don’t want to.

This doesn’t always work, but a lot of times it does and I feel better when I won the struggle—against no one other than me. It’s kind of the same technique as number 3 above since it goes along with forcing ourselves to get started. But sometimes it’s even harder in that you have no choice but to do the work that needs to be done, so there’s no room for procrastination or skipping it for the day.

5. Remember it’s about YOU.

This really is crucial when it comes to motivation. If you’ve been working on things you aren’t enjoying and there’s no consequences for stopping or pulling back some, then do that for the time being. You can always return to them when in a refreshed place where the drive comes back. Or if you have work to do that you don’t have much of a choice about, remember the personal reasons for why it needs to be done. Whatever you are trying to motivate yourself about, reflect on the purpose, why it’s important to you or not, and tap into motivation with a different mindset or from a new angle. Unfortunately, it will never be easy, as we all know.

I don’t really believe the saying (again not sure of the initial source) “if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Sure, there are some jobs that we will undoubtedly enjoy more than others, but sometimes it’s also easier than others and sometimes work really is just work.

I know there are plenty of ways/tricks/ideas to motivate yourself, but for me personally, I’m not sure anything truly works for me beyond this list. No one can be fully motivated all the time, whether they say they are or not (maybe a select few, but still seems like a stretch). I’d love to say I’m just that driven to my dreams, etc. etc. but that hasn’t proved to be a motivator to me in recent years. Maybe at one point it was and maybe soon enough some of my motivations and motivators will change, but for now I’m kind of slogging through. Getting burnt out is a very real difficulty that we sometimes have to deal with and maybe breaks and resets are what’s needed more than motivation at times to preserve mental health. That’s something that needs introspection at the time it’s experienced—what do you need: a break or motivation?

What have you found helps most when it comes to motivation? And are you super motivated in some areas of life while you struggle in others?