I have no desire to do anything!!!
I have no motivation to do anything but sleep, watch Netflix, eat, scroll my socials, rinse & repeat.
Sounds like you?
It often feels like we need to rummage our brain’s lost and found box to find any will or motivation.
And worse, we associate a lack of motivation to mean that we’re as lazy as a sloth that’s taken a double dose of Nyquil.
If you find that you have no motivation or energy to do anything, that doesn’t mean you’re lazy. It means there’s a bigger emotional issue that’s being badly ignored, like ghosting someone after a blind date.
And it sneakily masks itself into believing that you’re the problem.
This especially resonates with people who identify as a grade-A hard worker.
So what’s the real reason behind this?
And how can you find the living will to do what you keep telling yourself you’ll do?
I’ll wait till you seat yourself comfortably in a reading chair.
Why do I have no motivation at all?
If you’re a workaholic who gets on a high when you’re constantly kept busy, it’s especially frustrating when all of a sudden that motivation can’t be found like an ERROR 404 page.
There are 3 insanely common reasons why you have no will to do anything…
1. You’re acting out of trying to avoid failure (instead of looking on how to succeed)
Let’s face it. Motivation is easy when you know that you can (and will) reach the outcome you’re after.
But it’s a totally different story when you think you’re going to struggle to get there, ending up making you feel as useless as the first and last pieces of toast.
Your brain buzzes at you like a raging mosquito, because it’s sensing that it’s under threat.
An internal tug of war erupts, where your little army of motivation soldiers surprisingly retract - raising their white flags to announce their defeat.
And so your need to reach for the remote or scrolling on TikTok becomes a coping mechanism to not have to deal with that anticipated struggle.
Social media, Netflix and "lazing around" become heavy boosts of dopamine your brain binges on, like a kid with a budget-free spree at a candy store.
2. Feeling you’re not good enough or will never measure up
Inner critic, meet me. Me, meet inner critic.
Your inner critic is like that Whatsapp group you always wanted to leave but can’t seem to get out of.
It lives in your brain, following you like a celebrity stalker watching your every move and criticizing you for it.
Avoiding whatever "you think you should be doing" becomes inevitable, because you have an internal belief that no matter what you do, you’re gonna suck at it.
That inner critic exhausts you doubling your dose of melatonin actively putting you to sleep to avoid the discomfort of feeling like you're not good enough.
3. Your brain is trapping you to stick to the familiar
Your brain has one job and one job only. To keep you safe.
It’s your body’s operating system. Your brain senses safety when everything around you is the same. And I mean EXACTLY the same.
It doesn’t matter what you strive for, even if it’s a better living situation, a more profitable business or a healthier body.
You haven’t lived the reality that you imagine yourself being in. So your brain will fight against it because it isn’t familiar.
And on the merry-round you go - wanting to get out of feeling stuck, but ending up like the evergreen boat in the Suez canal.
How can I get motivation back?
Alas! Understanding the cause will help you (in the great words of Chumbawamba) get back up again.
You gotta have a heart-to-heart convo with yourself and ask these questions:
1. Do I believe I can do it?
And no I don’t mean the “believing in yourself” crap. I mean, do you think you have the actual skills and knowledge to do it?
Yes? Yay, awesome. You’re already a step ahead.
No? That’s ok. So what do you need to acquire that knowledge or skill?
Can it be found in a book? Youtube video? An online program? A mentorship?
The good news is that you have full control on expanding your knowledge and what you’re feeding your brain.
Figure it out and get it done because when you feel more knowledgable, your motivation will start to shine as bright as a hot summer’s day sun.
How can I monitor my progress?
Motivation is as fleeting as invisible prank ink. Just as you’re writing, it disappears at the end of your sentence.
If motivation was a goldfish, how can you reel it in a fisher’s net? SIMPLE! It’s by having some sort of confirmation that you’re progressing.
It doesn’t even need to be the last stop of the journey. But just by knowing that you’re closer to “getting there” is all the push you really need.
Think like a parent who’s on a road trip with impatient kids constantly asking “are we there yet?”. They only settle down when you give them your arrival’s time estimation.
And that my friend is what you gotta do for yourself.
Motivation is like being stuck at your unfulfilling desk job feeling tired & drained, watching that clock like a hawk but surprisingly getting more energized when you're counting down the minutes till you can leave!
Figure out a way to be like your apple watch! What kinda “push notifications” can you enable that helps you feel you’re on track and gives proof of progress?
What’s the best & worst that can happen?
Create realistic scenarios here!
You need a best case scenario and a worst case scenario.
When it comes to your worst case scenario, we need to add another layer. What can you do about it?
Here’s an example:
Best case scenario: I become a world renowned artist by being published in a magazine
Worst case scenario: I practiced all this time & spent a lot on supplies, with no recognition to show for.
What can you do about it?
Spend more time studying other artist techniques (+ less on supplies)
Take a course
Ask someone who’s achieved what I wanna achieve
Reaching out for collabs for reposts
By having some sort of action plan, you’re already pumping your motivation like a heavy set of dumbbells.
