In the second part of this post, we are going to review the target symptoms of low motivation and then address what actions you can take in order to combat them. It may be difficult at first to get the hang of these methods, however with practice and consistency you will be up and going in no time!
Here are 5 Ways to Boost Your Motivation:
- Feeling disorganized and out of control. You are lonely and bored. – Combat this with an activity schedule. Plan your day one hour at a time and record how much or how little you enjoyed it. Remember, doing anything is better than just laying down and feeling bad about yourself.
- You procrastinate because the task seems too difficult or unrewarding. – This one is easy. Before you begin a task, simply record on a scale of 1-10 how difficult or unrewarding you believe it will be. Once you complete the task, re-rate it and see how off you were. Save this as motivation for the future.
- You feel as though there is no point in doing anything when you are alone. – Schedule activities that have the potential to create personal growth or satisfaction. Similarly, to number 2, record how satisfying you think it will be and then compare it to how you feel when you are with others.
- You give yourself excuses for avoiding things. – Challenge yourself to combat these excuses with more realistic rebuttals until you run out of excuses.
- You have difficulty modifying a habit, such as smoking. – Make a list of the positive benefits of changing the habit and then attempt to visualize your new life after inducing a state of deep relaxation.
These are a few direct and distinct actions you can take in order to combat low motivation and create a sense of productivity and positive change in your life. We are often our own worst critics. The worst thing we can do is waste our precious time worrying and fighting ourselves.
If you are going to spend time thinking about the subject, why not apply some of these techniques before you give up entirely? It may not work every time, and that is ok! Just remember, that simply acting towards a goal will provide more motivation to accomplish it.
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About Shelton Piland:
Shelton is a Resident in Clinical Social Work and provides services at our Fredericksburg location. She graduated from the University of Mary Washington with a B.A. in Sociology. She received her Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University. Throughout her time at VCU she has worked with elementary, middle school, and high school students in the Spotsylvania Public School system. To learn more about Shelton, visit here.
