Lacking Motivation?

Do you have things to do but can’t bring yourself to do them? Your problem may not be motivation.

We all struggle with things we have to do and don’t want to. We procrastinate.  And then we chide ourselves for not being motivated. But what if the problem isn’t motivation? What if the problem is understanding.

I am a big fan of critical thinking and one of the most important questions you can ask yourself when diagnosing a “motivation” problem is why. Why don’t I want to do this?  Why do I need to do this? Do I need to do this?

By asking yourself why – you will either figure out - if I don’t do this something bad will happen. Or if I don’t do it, nothing bad will happen.  I find that reminding myself about the cost of failure is an excellent motivator.

Sometimes, by asking yourself why you realize, nothing bad will happen if you don’t do whatever it is. And if nothing bad will happen, perhaps you can get away with not doing it at all!  There is NOTHING like taking an unnecessary task off your plate to make you feel better.

But what happens when you figure out – yeah – you still need to do it but you still aren’t motivated and fear of failure isn’t enough to get you moving. Well, you can then ask yourself another important question.  How can I do this differently? How can I get this done in a way that isn’t a drudge? Can I outsource this task? Can I get it done a different way?

I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I do know that asking them is the first step to solving the problem.

Critical thinking, it’s a practical everyday life skill. Learn how to do this better and to find more motivation in your life with the online course – Planning for Personal Success: A Humanist Approach.

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