You Can’t Rely on Motivation, but It Helps Sometimes

“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.”

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

I often end up feeling drained from the simplest activities in life. I feel tired from writing, from taking care of myself, just from getting through ordinary days. But when I feel that fatigue creeping in, I have two thoughts.

My first thought was that I shouldn’t be getting so tired of such ordinary things. I’d start to beat myself up and tell myself I was being pathetic for not handling things well that should be easy. Then the second was that thinking like that isn’t productive or good for my mental wellbeing. Self-depreciation doesn’t have a place in forming a routine of discipline or making the most of motivation when it pops out of nowhere.

Your mindset about tasks may be dampening your sense of motivation.

Mindset matters so much when you're feeling demotivated. It's incredibly easy to mentally make a mountain out of a molehill. Hyping up an easy task in your head as something difficult or more time-consuming than it is always spells motivational disaster.

I’m trying not to be so unnecessarily hard on myself and change my mindset a bit. I try to change the way I approach the tasks tiring me out. If it’s writing, I’ll try not to hype it up in my head as something I have to do.

I’ll remind myself that it’s something I want to do, even if it is a fair bit of effort. I’ll remind myself that it’s a good thing to work on. I’ll also remind myself that it does take some effort, but it’s worth that effort. That slight shift is often enough to give me more of a “job well done” feeling rather than an “I’m totally exhausted” feeling.

Fatigue might just be more in your head than an actual physical feeling.

“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”

― Lou Holtz

Changing the way I think about fatigue first occurred to me on a very ordinary day. I was writing a poem, quite an ordinary thing for a writer like me who uses poetry as an outlet. I wrote a piece when having a bad day, ended it on an unhappy note. When I went back to it, I thought about editing it when I typed it up. I considered twisting it to end on a more upbeat, motivational note.

I paused, thought about it more, and decided to leave it as is. We all have bad days sometimes. However, when you're feeling tired and rundown, it's a signal that you need to take a look at your habits and patterns. Things like getting enough sleep always need to come first. But if you are taking care of yourself and still feel exhausted, it's more of a mental fatigue than a physical one.

We all have times where we start to doubt ourselves or what we’re working toward.

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

― Viktor E. Frankl

We have times where we feel like we’re sitting in a dustpan and all our efforts to keep moving forward are just trivial.

The important thing is to let those feelings happen then move forward from them. Pretending doubts don’t exist doesn’t help us in the long run. At least, that’s always how it works for me. But then I try to address my doubts and figure out where they’re coming from. I remind myself that I am putting the work I with my to-do lists and my I-am lists. Bad days happen, but how we bounce back from them is really what matters.

You need to include rejuvenating activities in your typical days to stay motivated.

For me, it takes a lot of analysis to figure out what is rejuvenation relaxation versus what is procrastination. I do a lot of trivial things that don’t make me feel better. Instead of endlessly scrolling social media for 30 minutes, I’ll read whatever book I’m currently in the middle of. Instead of watching a show I don’t care about on Netflix, I’ll try drawing or go for a walk.

As I get busier and busier, I try to balance that chaotic business with good activities that actually make me feel ready to conquer a busy week. Being disciplined about what you’re working toward will help you make small, consistent steps. With those little steps, it’s easier to find yourself feeling motivated to sprint ahead a little farther.

If you make the most of sporadic motivation, you can push beyond your usual output.

“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.”

― Sam Levenson

When motivation does strike, harness it. Make the most of it. Start something, work on something, do whatever that motivation is calling you to do. It won’t last, but if you’re mindfully aware of that, it’s a little bit easier to remind yourself to make the most of it.

I need to remind myself to keep pushing, keep writing, keep working out. I will always remember the importance of practicing self-care and giving myself a break when I truly need it, but I’m notorious for stopping too soon. I have that awful inclination to give up when things aren’t going my way. That’s when I call on discipline to keep going. I don’t want to fall to false weaknesses that I impose upon myself.

Knowing your limits and resting properly will also help you feel more motivated more often.

It’s important to know your limits and not go too far overboard when chasing something. We all need to take care of ourselves. Proper care will help you have the energy to be disciplined with whatever it is you’re working toward. But with myself, I’ve come to realize that I tend to get cold feet far too soon. I entertain the idea of giving up when I’ve barely started. I tend to turn away when I really need to be a little stricter and work a little harder.

But if you recognize your limits and take care of yourself before you reach them, it's easier to maintain a certain level of motivation, determination, and discipline. It's always important to take care of your body and mind when working toward a goal.