I love what I do. But sometimes, like many of you I am sure, my motivation can be lacking. And I struggle because I am doing what I love! When the energy, excitement and creativity that I had is waning and I start questioning myself and wonder whether maybe I have got it wrong, and all the work that I have put in so far is not worth it and I am not doing what I should be doing with my life, I need to stop and intentionally work through the process I have outlined below. We are all part of the human race. Changes in emotions, self-doubt and lack of motivation are all normal. What is important is how we manage them. So I hope that you find this helpful.
Finding your true path
First you need to figure out whether the path you have chosen for yourself is the right one. If you have already looked at this and made the choice that it is, or changed to one that is right, then trust in the path you have chosen for yourself. Often it will have not been an easy path to take, and trusting the intentional effort you have put towards it, is the start to pushing you through this dip. If however you are not on the path that is right for you, I suggest that you read my article to see if you might want to work on this first.
Take responsibility
It is important to recognise and acknowledge when you are in this dip, and take responsibility for how you approach it. If you wait for others to intervene or something to happen that will change how you are feeling, you may find yourself in this space for longer that you need to. And when you are in a dip for too long, it can become your norm.
Confront your inner negative voice
Why do we listen to that little voice that feeds our self-doubt, and our lack of confidence in ourselves? Confronting the negative self-talk and understanding what that voice is saying, will allow you to take control. Write down what your inner voice is saying to gain clarity. Ask yourself where that is coming from? Is this inner voice from lack of confidence? Fear of what others will think? How realistic is this inner voice? Once you understand this you can address what is going on.
Positive Thinking
Although positive thinking alone will unlikely change your motivation, it can certainly help by putting you in the right mindset to get going.
Some people find writing down what they are grateful for helps to change their thinking to a more positive mindset. It is about focusing on the good things in our lives that may otherwise often be overlooked. Being intentional or making a conscious decision to be grateful often increases happiness and motivation.
Intentionally adding a regular activity that increases the feelings of motivation or happiness can also help. For example, a 10 mins of daily guided meditation, or an evening walk, or a regular time to read a book of interest can also put you in a positive mindset. Whatever works for you, make it regular and commit to it.
Intentional Actions
But there also needs to be intentional action. In other words intentionally making changes or doing something different than what you are doing now, will help push you through this dip and onto the other side.
Intentionally focussing on adding an activity that takes you towards where you want to be, could just be the start. For example, if my motivation is at a low for looking for a new job, my intention might be to commit to spending one hour every Saturday researching possible options. Or if my motivation is at a low for getting fit, my intention could be to commit to a daily walk after dinner.
Small Steps
Whatever you choose, it doesn’t need to be hard or big. It just needs to be a step towards where you want to be.
Trust the process – take responsibility, understand what your self-talk is about, put yourself into a positive mind set and add in an intentional action to increase motivation by making a small step towards where you want to be.
The important thing is to start. See you on the other side!
If you would like to have a conversation about where you are in your career today, contact me today.
