I acknowledge that I’m not always going to feel motivated
Hey! I am sure you know by now that always-motivated is a farce! Self-motivation is work. So here are 5 things I do to get myself back on the grind.
1. I quit bitching about how tired I am
No! I actually bitch about how tired I am, just right before I kick myself in the heel to remind myself that nobody cares! We all face obstacles. How you deal with your obstacle defines who you are and determines how successful you are in life. So do I go on this route or do I stop myself right there and then JUST MOVE FORWARD?
2. I ask myself the BIG WHY
What is the WHY of my tasks. You see, without a strong reason motivation would surely die. Sometimes we forget the ‘reasons’ so we need to once in a while come back to the blueprint, remind ourselves why we even started in the first place. About two years ago, I started learning to use Sketch for my design work. I had used Photoshop for 8 years of my life. However, I saw the benefit of using this new software tool for my design work so I started learning. Many times I dumped my learning to continue with what I was more used to. I had lost inspiration for learning this new tool. I had to ask myself the BIG WHY. Why did I start learning this in the first place? I wanted to be amongst the league of amazing world class Interface designers who used this tool. That was a plausible reason for me. That was my wake up call.
3. I take some time out
Truth is sometimes what you need is a time-out. Instead of trying to beat that inspiration out of you. Maybe you should just switch off your computer, watch a movie, sleep, call friends, take a shower. What happens when you truly take time-out(and this means totally forgetting about the demotivation) is that when you eventually come back to whatever it is that got you demotivated in the first place, you see things from a fairly fresh point of view and can more easily than not surmount it.
4. I do some serious course correction
Am I really doing what I should be doing? Is the direction I’m taking with this task/with life what I initially planned? Are there better ways to achieve this objective?
5. I go back to the drawing vision board
I believe everyone should have a vision board. Going back to the vision board more times than not, is the only thing or the final thing to get me back on track. There’s a lot of power in visuals. The fact that we can visualize the future, an event, etc is one thing we should be totally proud of. Animals can’t visualize, trees can’t either but we can. In times when I don’t feel up to it, I just go back to my vision board, live in the moment I envision for my future and then I am once again gingered.
What are the things you do to keep yourself motivated?
