How To Achieve Your Goals When Motivation Is Lacking
Have you ever had days, weeks, or even months when you just lack motivation? Yeah, me too. This could be work/job motivation, training/workout motivation, staying on track with your nutrition motivation, etc.
1. The first thing you should ask yourself - "Does this goal excite me"? and are you passionate about it? If the answer is yes, then keep on trucking. If you're not excited about it or passionate about it, maybe try to figure out if that goal is worth pursuing. If it's not, that's okay.. you just have to reevaluate.
Personal example: I have goals currently involving my business with nutrition coaching, my website, and growing my blog. These things genuinely excite me because I'm passionate about nutrition and helping people reach their goals. By helping people reach their goals, I'm reaching mine!
2. Try to figure out what is causing you to be unmotivated.
Has your routine changed? Are you confident? Do you not like the environment you're in? Is it toxic? Are you around unmotivated people? Maybe try changing some of these things up and see if it makes a difference. I'm a creature of habit and all about routine but sometimes a change is good. :)
Personal example: I have been dealing with a lack of training motivation the past coulee of weeks due to basically all of the things above except the confidence one. I don't lack that, however my routine has changed a little as well as my environment, and have previously been in toxic environments that I had to get out of. Change is hard but you can't grow in a constant state of complacency.
3. Is it a priority? If something is a priority, you will make sure it gets done even if it isn't the first thing you do in the day. You will make time for it.
Personal example: God, My family, my training and nutrition, my business, and my schooling are my priorities. I make time for all of these things/people every single day. They are my non-negotiables.
4. Is your goal realistic? I'm going to have a topic on realistic goal setting in the future to get more in depth, BUT if your goal is broad or unrealistic, you might need to sit down and break down the goal a little further to be more specific.
Personal example: If I am struggling with reading my Bible everyday, a goal that is probably unrealistic at first would probably be to read it everyday for a month. It doesn't sound like it would be hard, but to someone that already struggles with that, it's hard. A more realistic goal would be to read it 3x a week for a month. You don't want that to turn into a chore! I want to want to read it, not feel like I have to.
5. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and push through it! Achieving a goal is never easy.. that's why it's a goal in the first place, right? It'll take time and hard work. Some days will be easier than others and some days will be hard. Some days you might even want to quit. Anyone can relate to that. You're not the only one!
Personal example: In my training the past week I have not felt the greatest mostly due to awful sleeping issues I've been having. I know when to scale back and to be smart if I feel like I'm under recovering but for the most part I can still push through. No matter what, I'm always so happy after my session and glad I accomplished that for the day.
Pushing through when motivation is low isn't something that just happens. It's a process and something that must be worked on which then forms into habit. Sometimes you may not be able to push through the low motivation and that's okay until it becomes a consistent thing. Then it becomes a problem of whether or not this goal you're pursuing is really something you should be pursuing. If your lowered motivation is due to things such as low energy, sleep deprivation, bad nutrition habits, etc, then you need to change those things. Once you get that spunkiness back, I assure you your motivation levels will come back too.
When my motivation is low, it's almost second nature for me to just push through it. I can't say that I have ever personally dealt with periods when I let my lack of motivation cause me not to keep doing what I need to do. I think this attribute comes from wanting to be my best self every single day. I know that if I'm slacking off in any area of my life, I'm not becoming a better person and it's especially not honoring to God, which leads into another reasoning for this attribute. My favorite Bible verse is Colossians 3:23 which says to work willingly at whatever you do as though you are working for the Lord rather than for people. Fulfilling my duty here on Earth is what God has called me to do. If I'm not doing that, I'm doing Him a disservice. All of that is to say that if I am doing everything I can every single day to better myself as a person, take necessary steps toward my goals, and in doing so I am ultimately doing what the Lord is calling me to do for my life, that right there is enough motivation to keep me going through any trials.
Take it slow, set small and smart goals, believe in yourself, and enjoy the journey to achieving your goal(s)!