How To Find Motivation When You Need It Most (7 Ways That Surprisingly Work)

It’s human nature to seek the easiest or simplest way to accomplish something. Think hitting the snooze button or watching another episode of your favorite TV show. So much easier than, say, cleaning the house. The good news is you can find motivation when you need it most.

But it can be really hard to find motivation, sometimes. When you find yourself dragging to get things finished at work, knock out your to-do list, or even crawl out of bed, you may need to get creative to drum up the energy or inspiration to get back on track.

Think of your motivation like a muscle that you need to exercise to strengthen.

When you want to become stronger, you develop a workout routine with different exercises to achieve the results you want. Running straight to the gym and trying to lift the heaviest barbells is not going to work because your muscles haven’t been conditioned to handle that level of weight yet.

Finding motivation is the same. Rather than pressuring yourself to be instantly super-motivated (spoiler: it will not work), it makes sense to test new motivational techniques in small steps which will lead to a sustainable increase in motivation over time.

When you approach your quest to find motivation the same way as exercising and strengthening muscles, you’ll see results that last. Much like the way many trips to the gym will lead to muscle increase, many small attempts at building motivation will lead to motivation increase!

Why do motivational levels dip?

It’s normal to have good days, okay days, and bad days. Some causes for the lack of motivation are:

Past Trauma

If you’re burdened by trauma (especially trauma that hasn’t been explored or discussed with a mental health professional), finding motivation can be a challenge. Trauma responses cause people to lose focus, energy, and desire: a combination that dampens motivation.

Stress and Anxiety

When overwhelmed by stress or anxiety, we tend to respond by shutting down completely. We experience feelings of total disconnection or disinterest when faced with our to-do list, leave alone getting to the bottom of what is causing the anxiety. . As a result, dealing with anxiety drives motivation away and nothing is accomplished.

 A Lack of Sleep

Not getting enough sleep drains motivation because we don’t get the rest we need. Consistent quality sleep is necessary for the body to repair itself and prepare for the next day. When you deprive your body of the  opportunity to heal and relax, you’re putting yourself in a situation where you’ll lose motivation quickly.

Insecurities

Suffering from insecurities can make motivation disappear. Let’s say you feel insecure about your appearance. You lose the motivation to dress well and look good. Negative thought patterns emerge from the insecurities, making you think, why bother. And motivation is lost.

A Negative Environment

Spending time with toxic people or unpleasant environments makes their bad vibes rub off on you. It can also deplete your motivation. So when everything feels bleak or miserable, you are not motivated to do anything.

Feeling Lost

When you have no purpose in life, finding motivation to do things can be hard. The lack of direction makes you feel lost because you don’t know where you are going or how to get there.

Lack of Control Over Yourself

Not having a sense of control over your life can make your motivation plummet. For example, if you don’t find time exercise, follow a healthy lifestyle by eating healthily or getting regular health checkups, or if you do not set boundaries, or do all the things you need to do to stay balanced, finding motivation can be tough because you feel a loss of control. When you have no control over yourself, it is pretty hard to find the motivation to do anything else.

Can You Strengthen Your “Motivation Muscles”?

The short answer? Yes. Finding motivation is possible. You can strengthen and increase your motivation just as you would build muscle through an exercise workout. Based on your preferences and needs, you’ll need to figure out what strategies work best for you.

Here are 7 ways to find motivation that are proven to work

1.    Implement more routines throughout your day

Overwhelm can stop you from finding motivation, especially if you don’t have a structure or routine to your day. So begin by making a routine throughout your day to make things more predictable. When you get used to this structure, you will feel less scattered. Your energy levels will rise and you will be more motivated to do things.

2.    Identify your role models and observe their habits

One of the best ways to find motivation within yourself is to choose a role model and see how they function. How do they accomplish things? Start with someone you admire. What motivates them? How do they push through tough times when they don’t feel inspired to keep going? Watch videos where they talk about themselves. Picking up tips and tricks from people you admire is a great way to boost your motivation.

3.    Create and use a personal mantra

A mantra, or a short statement used to reinforce a belief to yourself, is an excellent way of finding motivation. This can be unique to your specific needs or situation; you can also borrow one to use as inspiration. Choose one that appeals to you.

Make it a habit to repeat your chosen mantra to yourself regularly–the more frequently you repeat it, the more you will believe it! Here are some mantras to consider.

• I can handle this situation.
• I am strong enough to get the job done.
• I can do anything I put my mind to.
• I’ve done this before, and I can do it again.
• This will get me closer to my goal.

4.    Make yourself more accountable by sharing your goals publicly

It’s easy to slack off when you’re trying to do something alone, but when you share your aspirations with others, you immediately feel more pressure to stay motivated. So next time you need to find motivation, sharing your goals publicly can help.

Sure, social media can cause many problems, but it can be useful in this instance. Share your goals, post your progress. If you are not comfortable with social media, keep your  friends and family in the loop about your aspirations. When you share your progress and growth with others, accountability will raise your motivational levels and keep you going.

5.    Break up big tasks into smaller, more manageable bite-sized ones

If you find a task too big, it can be difficult to find motivation to get started. Next time you feel intimidated by a big job, break it down into smaller tasks. Lose the all or nothing mindset and allow yourself to tackle it in steps.

Let’s say you want to clean your house. If this feels overwhelming, take up one room, or one shelf at a time.  Perhaps sweep the floors. Take a break. Unload the dishwasher. Take a break. You’ll find that you are making progress without losing motivation to go on.

6.    Trade out your negativity for more positivity

When you approach life with a “glass half empty” attitude, motivation can plummet. If you don’t see anything good or worthwhile about your life, it can be challenging to find the motivation to do anything. If everything feels so negative, you may think there’s no point trying to do anything anyway.

Learning to trade a negative attitude for a more positive one is key to building motivation. Learn to stop negative thoughts in their tracks and replace them with more positive (and more factual) positive self-talk.

For example, let’s say you have a negative thought that goes like this: I probably won’t be good at that, so I’m not going to try.

Replace this with a positive thought: I don’t know if I’m not good at that unless I try. I can always practice and get better.

7.    Create visual representations of your dreams and goals

When you are not sure about what you want, it can be hard to find motivation to accomplish anything. Consider making some visual representations of your goals to make them feel more concrete and easier to visualize.

Keep a written list of your dreams. Create vision or mood boards, which are collections of images that represent what you want to accomplish. With these visual reminders, it’s easier to picture what you want for yourself, which helps increase your motivation.

The Bottom Line

As with everything in life, finding motivation and increasing your motivational levels when you need it most requires time and patience. Take baby steps to approach motivation-boosting exercises and methods.

As you incorporate small moments of motivation-boosting habits throughout your day, your motivational levels will increase.