 Are you prone to procrastinate? Or you are always ready to pick up any task?
Are you able to gear yourself into action without difficulty? Or feel that someone should help you get started?
Ever wondered why some people appear ever ready to do anything anytime? They are always charged up and motivated to act. On the other hand there people who appear paralyzed by inertia. They have to always drag themselves to put on the semblance of performance.
The following techniques are going to work on the majority of people, including those who are deep in the rut. But remember lack of motivation is all mental and rarely physical.
1. Use Physical Energy to Pump Yourself Up
It’s difficult to feel motivated when you are sitting idle. Particularly, if you are feeling low and depressed indulging in physical activities helps tremendously. Stand up and clean the room, do laundry, take a shower, go out for a long walk or swimming – do anything but staying idle.
Do you know that physical workouts stimulate the brain also – through neuromuscular connections? Every muscle of your body is connected to the brain through tiny microscopic connections where brain and muscles communicate. So when you stretch, contract or twist muscles, you are also sending stimulating impulses to your brain.
Massage is a great vitalizer – Europeans know it well. Americans have yet to learn to appreciate this great art of relaxation and motivation. If you have never experienced the cathartic effect of massage, you are missing something very important.
If you overcome the initial mental block, physical activities are great antidote to laziness.
2. Change Your Environment
Monotony and routine are two worst de-motivators. They are sure to sink you in the rut if you keep doing the same thing over and over again.
So take time out to clean and reorganize your desk and desktop, groom yourself, change the location of your bed, shift to another room in the house, add something new to your surrounding, etc.
When the environment is different or fresh your alertness and interest is kindled, and along with that the motivation as well.
3. Motivational music
Music is a great motivation booster. While there is music specifically for boosting motivation level, you can try any music that helps you gear up. One can also try brainwave entrainment audios; they can not only help you relax you but can also lift you mentally.
4. Get Busy with Simple Things
First step is often the hardest step. But once you get going, it becomes easy to continue. So just start with something very simple or even trivial. For instance, delete unwanted files from the computer or reorganize files into proper folders or download a software you had been postponing for a long time; send emails to friends. Think when was the last time you bought a new T-shirt. This may be a good time to do it.
More often than not this gets the ball rolling, once that happens the rest comes easy.
5. Create a “To Do List” and Do It
“To do list” is a very simple tool hence most people overlook its importance. But those who use it know its efficacy. List down all tasks that need attention – grocery shopping, replacing garden hose, changing a faucet in the bathroom, selecting a birthday gift from Hallmark, and so on. When the list is ready, start working out each item.
Don’t forget the most important step – striking out that DONE item from the list! Yes, this step gives you a sense of achievement that is highly motivating.
6. Learn to Shed Mental Baggage
Often people get preoccupied with resentments, expectations, and assumptions that drain their energy and put them in depressive mind frame. They are so lost in their mental talk and burdened by mental baggage that they are hardly free to do anything in the present moment.
The ideal solution to this problem is developing mindfulness. It helps you shed the mental load and be the natural self you actually are. This allows you an unconditional acceptance of the present situation and to be a part of it. And all barriers to actions disappear. You may like to read this story on dropping mental load.
Now you become one with what you are engaging in. It doesn't matter what it is or how important or trivial the task is. If you are cleaning dishes, you are doing it with total presence. If you're taking a walk, you are one with every step. And if you are eating an apple, you are really eating the apple! This is mindfulness.
More Resources
Self Motivation Techniques
Self Motivation Handbook
Motivate Yourself |
