Finding Motivation During The Toughest Of Moments

My personal recommendations

A s people, we often find ourselves feeling drained and unmotivated. We may feel like giving up on our dreams of turning our business or lives into happiness. It is important to remember that it’s okay not to be motivated every day.

However, there are many ways to find motivation during the hardest of moments so your business or life will keep moving forward. Today I am going to share with you some great techniques for finding motivation when you need it most.

When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.

— Elon Musk

Part I: The Process

Find inspiration from others who have done what you want to do

For instance, you may want to start a blog. Find others who have done that and learn from them. You can even reach out directly if their content is helpful.

Another strategy for finding motivation is surrounding yourself with motivated people in the way you need it. Being around other driven individuals will help boost you too.

This is due to the fact of the brain analyzing and determining if something is achievable by knowing if other people have done it as well. This is known as the social comparison theory. However, it is essential not to compare yourself to that person, everyone has a different path, and it won’t always be 100% similar.

Identify your goals

This is so important to find motivation because it helps you understand why you are doing certain things. By understanding your goals, you will be able to see better the bigger picture and what steps need to happen in order for those goals to come true. You can even write these down.

For example, if one of your main goals is finding happiness (and yes, that should be a goal!), then writing out all the small steps needed and how they contribute to feeling happy can help motivate you.

Create a plan for how to fulfill those goals

After you have identified your goals and the steps that need to happen in order for them to become true, it is time to create a plan. Remember all those small steps we talked about above? They should be part of this plan.

A good idea would be writing down these tasks on paper or even typing them out into an excel spreadsheet, so they are organized and easy to decipher. This will help keep you accountable since by putting these things down in words, you can’t make excuses anymore when organizing. Write everything down and figure out where that leads you.

Be aware of all of the obstacles and adversities you might face as well. This way, you can plan ahead on how to overcome any of these things. We all know that we will feel unmotivated some days, and others like being ready to take on the world.

Take the leap

The last tip for finding motivation is to take the leap. Sometimes it can be hard because you are afraid of failing, so do not let fear get in your way; nothing will happen if you don’t try.

By taking that first step, even though it may seem scary at first, doing this becomes less daunting and easier to accomplish other goals as well since one thing has been done already.

As Mark Manson once said, it isn’t motivation that leads to action, but action that leads to motivation.

Track your progress

Tracking your progress can be beneficial because it urges you to keep going once you start seeing any results, regardless of the size. You will be able to take note of what works and doesn’t for you, which helps with your future goals.

This can even be something as simple as writing down one thing that happened during the day, whether it was positive or negative; knowing why this occurred is essential.

Another way people track their progress is by taking pictures along the way, so they have them ready when they need motivation later on. Maybe you won’t want to take a photo every single time, but having those old ones already done can provide enough inspiration without much work involved at all.

Part II: My Personal Recommendations

Reward yourself with something small when you finish a task or reach a goal (The cookie jar method)

This tip is probably the simplest yet most effective one of them all. Sometimes we are our worst enemy because when there isn’t any insight, this can quickly lead us down a complicated road when it comes to motivation.

When you complete something small or even big (if that’s your goal), reward yourself with something you enjoy doing, like watching your favorite show on Netflix, for example. This will help motivate you just enough, knowing that once whatever task is completed, then so shall be the reward.

You do not need to go overboard and spend lots of money on expensive things just for another boost of motivation since sometimes these rewards don’t always work out how they should’ve either way. But by rewarding yourself with simple things every now and then can help motivate you and keep things fun.

Watch a motivational video on YouTube

This tip is excellent for those who are constantly on their phones or devices all the time. YouTube has plenty of inspirational videos that can help motivate you to keep pushing forward with your goals and dreams!

All it takes is about five minutes out of your day, so why not do something good for yourself today? As they say, ‘you have to start small in order to go big.

What better way than by watching a motivational video? Motivation comes from everywhere, whether through someone else’s words or even just doing something simple like taking a walk outside.

Personally, I love motivational movies and real-world speeches from history.

It’s important to note, there isn’t one specific solution since everyone is different. What works best for others may not work as well with you, but this does not mean you should give up either.

Read an inspiring book

This is one I have personally been trying to do more of. Reading books can be an excellent way for self-improvement and learning new things as well!

Whether you like fiction or nonfiction, this tip will work out better than expected. When we read, it inspires us in ways that we might not even understand at the time, but soon enough, all those hidden meanings become evident, which motivates us without much effort involved once again.

A few of my favorite inspirational books are:

• “Can’t Hurt Me” — By David Goggins
• “Unscripted” — By MJ DeMarco
• “The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F***” — Mark Manson
• “Outwitting The Devil” — Napoleon Hill

Listen to uplifting music

Music can be an excellent way to uplift and motivate yourself when you are feeling down or even sluggish. There is nothing more exciting and motivating than listening to music that will make you want to get up.

Personally, my favorite music to listen to is from 30 minutes to 1 hour long videos from YouTube. I type in the keyword “Workout Motivation Music” on the search bar. They helped me concentrate on writing these articles.

Again, remember there isn’t one specific solution since everyone is different. What works best for others may not work as well with you.

“We’re either getting better or we’re getting worse.” ― David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds

Final Thoughts

By finding motivation during the hardest of moments, life becomes so much easier. Not only does this help propel us to keep going even when times get tough, but it also provides some insight on how we can handle situations in a more efficient manner.

Boosts of motivation come from different sources, whether through tracking our progress or just something as simple as taking a break.

We all need downtime now, and then since, without that time to recharge, things become exhausting really quickly, which means no one will have any fun at all. As long as you remember your why, for increasing your own levels of motivation, then anything is possible, even if it seems like an uphill battle.

Thanks for reading! If you haven’t joined Medium but would love to, click here. By signing up for Medium through my referral link, I will receive a small commission.