How to Motivate Yourself When Hard Times Part1.

When you are not feeling well physically, or when you are feeling depressed after a bad day, are you reluctant to do anything?

You know in your head that you have to do it, but you just can’t move.

You don’t feel motivated.

You feel disappointed in yourself for not being able to do what you need to do, and you feel even more sad because people around you seem to think you are a lazy person.

But when we are not feeling well, or when we are mentally drained, we want to take a rest.

Causes of lack of motivation include depression, anxiety, fatigue, burnout, and other mentally overwhelming conditions, as well as doubts about yourself that you are incapable of doing anything.

In such situations, we sometimes wait until we feel motivated to move, thinking that since we cannot move now, we will move when we feel motivated.

However, motivation does not come to us just randomly.

So it is not uncommon to feel even more disappointed and even helpless with yourself for not being motivated to move at any given time and not being able to do what you need to do.

Managing to get motivated to make a move is important to prevent the painful situation from getting even worse and to make you feel better as much as possible.

If you are in a difficult situation right now and suffering further from a lack of motivation, let’s see what you can do to start doing something about it, even if only a little.

◎Know extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.

Extrinsic motivation? Intrinsic motivation?

When I first heard the term, I thought, “What on earth is that?”

Extrinsic motivation is the motivation to do something in order to receive a reward or avoid a punishment, rather than sincerely “wanting” to do it.

It is used when you are motivated by what you can gain by doing something, or to avoid something unpleasant.

For example, although you don’t like your job, you work for the paycheck; you study to get good grades; you do something you want to say no to when your friends ask you to do it because you don’t want to be treated badly; you do whatever you are told to do because you don’t want to argue with your parents; etc.

Intrinsic motivation is something you enjoy doing and that in itself satisfies your feelings, so it is a motivation that you feel that you “want to do it.”

For example, working in a restaurant because you enjoy hearing people say that your food tastes good, backpacking to different countries because you enjoy interacting with the locals, studying history because you are interested in it, and so on.

The examples show that extrinsic motivation gives a negative image and intrinsic motivation a positive image, but of course extrinsic motivation is also an important factor in being motivated.

No matter how fulfilling your work is, without a salary, you cannot actually make a living.

It is better that someone gives you praise for a job accomplished than that you do not receive any recognition for achievement.

It makes all the difference in the sense of accomplishment and the energy to move on to the next step.

That is why external factors are important.

However, if it is more intense than the intrinsic motivating factor, or in the absence of intrinsic motivation, it becomes more difficult to maintain that motivation.

This is because our own feelings are not included in our extrinsic motivation.

If you ignore your feelings and keep doing something just to get a reward or to avoid a threat, stress can build up before you know it with thoughts like, “I actually have something I want to do,” “I don’t enjoy doing this every day,” “I have no ability to do anything but do this” or so forth.

If the study or work you are doing now is something you have no choice but to do because someone tells you to, or you are doing it only for money, it would be better to quit it and find something new that satisfies your feelings.

Quitting your studies or job may not cause you to collapse immediately, but there is a big chance that you may have a mental breakdown due to the continued stress.

If you have a mental breakdown, not only will you not be motivated, but it will not be easy to get back on your feet.

Of course, if you have other goals and are just saving money to achieve them by working for a better salary, it is more or less okay if the time frame or process is set by you.

However, even if that is the case, stress still builds up, so I think it is important to do things within your control, and to do things that are intrinsically motivating and fulfilling to you.

When you are having a hard time with depression, fatigue and other difficulties, think back to what you used to do to forget about time and have fun, or what you used to do to refresh your mind.

And do it at your own pace.

If nothing comes to mind, try something that you might be willing to try anyway.

You may find something new to be enthusiastic about.

Then you will be motivated in many directions from there.

Check out the next blog for other ways to get motivated.