Are You Struggling With Motivation?

Struggling with motivation can be a hard thing to recognize and even harder to overcome. Lacking motivation can affect your life in many ways: it can put a strain on your relationships, cause your work to suffer, increase stress, among other things. There are a few different things that could be the cause of your lack of motivation like depression, feeling stuck or stunted, etc.

In this article, I am going to share a few signs you can watch for to determine if you have a lack of motivation and why you may be feeling that struggle.

Signs of struggling with motivation

It can be hard to recognize that you have a problem with motivation and even harder to admit it and work to improve it. The following are common signs that motivation is a problem for you.

You’re easily distracted

Sometimes called "Shiney Object Syndrome," everyone gets distracted from time to time, but this is taking it to a whole new level. If you’ve found yourself being distracted by any and everything all the time, you’re clearly struggling with motivation.

You don’t want to do things

While everyone has things they have to do that they don’t want to do, you may find yourself strongly not wanting to do anything to the point that you find yourself unable to do anything. If you find yourself never wanting to even do something to further or better yourself, you might be struggling with motivation.

You can’t finish anything

If you find yourself constantly starting tasks or projects that you never finish, you might be

struggling with motivation. Without motivation, it can be hard to stick to a task or project all the to its completion.

Why are you struggling with motivation?

It can be difficult to pinpoint the reason why you’re struggling with motivation. For each of the reasons listed below, we’ll list questions you can ask yourself to help you determine if it’s your source.

Depression

Do you find it difficult to motivate yourself to do even the things you love, let alone the things you dislike but need to do? Is it difficult for you to feel motivated to even get out of bed? Have you found it difficult to feel happy more often than not?

Feeling Stuck

Do you feel like you’re just going through the motions in your life? Do you feel like you’re just spinning your wheels and not getting anywhere professionally? Do you feel like you aren’t being challenged with what you’re doing? Are you frustrated trying to find purpose in your career path or life choices?

A lack of motivation could be connected directly to the lack of value in doing something and a lack of value for it is typically connected to "why" you are doing it. Not knowing your why may be an indicator that purpose is missing. - Vince Morales

Being in Over Your Head

Have you been feeling like you’re becoming overwhelmed increasingly easily? Do you feel like there’s no possible way to get stuff done so you just don’t try? Does each task seem so insurmountably impossible that it sparks panic within you?

How to fix it

As you can imagine, noticing the problem and admitting to it is only half the battle. You have to work on the problem to change your behavior and start feeling more motivated. There are a few things you can do to work on your motivation.

● Find something to inspire you - a reason to be motivated

● If depression is the source, talk to someone or seek professional help

● If you feel stuck, try to challenge yourself or take a risk to take the next step

● If you’re in over your head, try to delegate

Do You Know Your WHY?

Get clarity on your Why. If you don't know your why for doing something, then why are you doing it? A lack of motivation could be connected directly to the lack of value in doing something and a lack of value for it is typically connected to "why" you are doing it. Not knowing your why may be an indicator that purpose is missing.

Values Congruence in Your Career

Values congruence in the context of a career is simply your values lining up with your job, company, or industry. It is virtually impossible to find meaningfulness in those contexts if your values are not lined up with your job, company, or industry. You can get a six-figure job and be initially excited about a job that doesn't line up with your values, but at some point, your unhappiness will intensify because of values incongruence. People have a strong need to do what they value. A person who works for a weapons manufacturer but, deep down inside their heart, they want to be digging wells and providing water to poor villages will likely experience the intense values incongruence. There is no longer any meaningfulness in their current job or industry.

Struggling with motivation can be detrimental to your work, your life, and your mental health. It can cause stress, depression, frustration, and more. I hope this article has helped you to identify if you’re struggling with motivation and why.

If you are interested in coaching in the area of motivation, don't hesitate to contact me.

Live like a lion!