One thing that is required of humans to follow through with any behavior is to believe that the behavior will lead them to a goal that is worthwhile to achieve. Often a lack of motivation is due to a person having goals they may claim they are passionate about but aren’t. It would be best to decide whether these goals align with your values. You must also determine if these goals are coming from your power within or external forces. The first step to reclaiming your motivation is determining what goal is worth being motivated for. Ask yourself these questions:
How much do I want the goal?
When I achieve the goal, what will I gain, and how will I feel?
What will I lose if I don’t achieve the goal? How willing am I to lose that?
Discipline will outperform motivation every day of the week. It is essential to rely on your routines and to create an environment that is conducive to the behavioral changes you want to make. Motivation is quite like willpower which can be wavering, therefore, not dependable. We recommend the book Atomic Habits https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299. This book teaches how to use cheat codes in human behavior to instill discipline in performing your habits consistently.
Mindset is one of the keys to reclaiming motivation; you must be sure that you are constantly engaging in positive self-talk that embraces self-compassion and accountability. You want to ensure you don’t engage in perfectionism or self-criticism. We suggest some of these affirmations as follows:
I am doing great. I am going to take a break to recharge, so I can be rested for the next adventure.
No matter what, I will get done what needs to get done.
Everything doesn’t need to be perfect; small progress is still significant progress.
Lastly, do not underestimate the power of visualization. The brain has difficulty processing reality from fantasy, and you can trick your brain into believing that your visualizations are real. When you are unmotivated, envision yourself in your most motivated state and include all five senses to make the experience even more lifelike and immersive.