The Trick to Finding Motivation
When I was first told I was going to be furloughed three months ago back in April, I didn’t really mind.
In my view, the positives of the situation heavily outweighed the negatives. I knew a lot of people who had sadly lost their jobs due to Coronavirus, so I was, and still am, incredibly grateful to be eligible for the scheme and to work for a company who were quick to do their best to protect their employees. But in all honesty, I was also relieved to have a break. It’s no secret that the long commutes to and from London were exhausting, so I welcomed the opportunity for some rest with open arms, while my bank account welcomed the savings that would have otherwise gone on train tickets. And I could finally unashamedly spend more time focusing on myself, exploring the different hobbies and interests that I had long forgotten about as the priorities and responsibilities of adult life took over my time.
While things have been very strange and the uncertainty has been tough to come to terms with, for the first couple of months I was actually pretty ok. I even wrote a post about the sense of comfort I had found in this quieter life and how I didn’t really want lockdown to end (update: I’m still a bit nervous about it but I’m more than ready for life to start up again – even those commutes don’t look so bad anymore if it means a change of scenery!).
Unfortunately, I hadn’t considered the one simple thing that can occur when you suddenly lose your routine, direction and sense of purpose.
The loss of motivation.
At the beginning of lockdown, I fully embraced all the different projects I could now fill my time with. I could paint, I could bake, I could sew, I could blog. I could re-learn piano. I could re-learn French. The list went on and on and on. While it was fun hopping from one project to the next for a while, the novelty of this new-found freedom began to wear off and along with it went my motivation. Without the pressure of creating something because I had to, it all just seemed a bit pointless.
I guess that’s what happens when you live in a society that revolves around career progression and instant gratification.
I’m not alone in this sudden onset of apathy. My friends have all expressed the same feelings, even those who actually have to be productive for work or studies. Productivity versus lack of motivation has been a big talking point throughout lockdown. While some have thrived over the past few months, using the opportunity to start up a new business from home, or strictly follow Joe Wicks’ 90 day plan (and actually finish it), or learn a whole new language, others have been faced with the shame and guilt that they’re not doing enough. The unrealistic expectation of consistent productivity during a global pandemic has been widely criticised, and instead we have been urged to feel no shame in doing little more than binge-watching Netflix.
While I fully support the importance of being still, and agree we should absolutely feel free to storm our way through a box set if we want – I’ve lost count of the number I’ve finished over the last 3 months – when it transforms into consistent inaction then it can become a problem, especially when we’re suddenly expected to do a complete U-turn and have unwavering motivation as soon as the world starts up again.
After experiencing firsthand the negative effects that inaction can have on self-confidence, self-esteem, and ultimately mental health, I’ve placed huge importance on the idea of having a sense of purpose. By suddenly not having the clear-cut purpose of my job, and then losing any sense of direction within the uncertainty of the pandemic, I’ve struggled to maintain the balance between creating a new purpose during lockdown and finding the motivation to even just leave the house.
So what can we actually do to motivate ourselves? And how do we find motivation during a time when we no longer have a clear purpose or incentive?
As I’ve done many a time during these last few months, I turned to the self-help books in the hope that I would find the answer lying somewhere within those pages.
When I picked up Mark Manson’s hugely popular “The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck” (which, by the way, if you haven’t read go and buy it immediately – it’s the wake up call we all need), his simple answer to my problem blew my mind.
I literally just had to do something.
One of the problems with motivation is that we believe we need it first in order to take any action. But more often than not, this results in doing nothing.
“I don’t have the motivation to do a work out today, I’ll do it tomorrow”
“I know I need to write my essay but I just don’t have the motivation for it right now”
“I should really wash my clothes and tidy my room but I just can’t be bothered”
Unfortunately, if you’re expecting to wake up one day and suddenly have the magic motivation that will make going for a run or starting that essay or tidying your room so much easier and more enjoyable, then you’re probably going to be waiting a while.
The thing with motivation is that you often have to actually do something first before it can be achieved. It doesn’t just appear from nothing; you need to work for it.
“Action isn’t just the effect of motivation; it’s also the cause of it” – Mark Manson
With this in mind, Manson uses the “do something” process, where you “harness the reaction to that action as a way to begin motivating yourself”. Rather than following the popular assumption that motivation and action only appear if we feel enough emotional inspiration towards something we want, just the act of doing something itself can create the inspiration and motivation to achieve more and take further action.
Simply put, “Action -> Inspiration -> Motivation”.
Be honest, isn’t it a lot nicer sitting on the sofa with a piece of cake and a nice cup of tea than doing a high intensity workout? I know which one I’d rather do. So how do people find the motivation to exercise when it’s so much easier to just do nothing instead? It’s simple. They just do it, not because it’s easy, but because exercise releases endorphins, boosts our mood, and helps us look and feel fitter, and it’s that reaction from working out that makes it more appealing and creates the motivation to do it again. And inevitably, the more you do it, the easier it will become to motivate yourself to get up and do that work out again.
Similarly, I don’t know anyone who has ever effortlessly written an 8,000 word essay knowing exactly what it is they want to put to paper. It’s so much easier to just put it off for another day. Or maybe never. But if you just sit down at your laptop and write something, anything, (seriously, it can be absolute waffle), then somewhere along the line it will eventually spark some inspiration as to what it is you’re trying to say. And just like that, you’ll be motivated to continue writing page after page. I’ll admit, I really didn’t have the motivation to write this blog post to begin with, but I forced myself to write something until an idea formed and here we are!
This process can also be applied to the simpler actions in life which have, for some reason, turned into mammoth tasks during lockdown. Something as simple as just making your bed every morning could spark the inspiration that you’d like a tidier room, which creates the motivation to actually tidy your room. Or just going for a walk around the block could spark the inspiration that you’d like to see somewhere beyond your own town (don’t we all?), which then creates the motivation to find some walks further afield.
The truth is, maintaining motivation is bloody hard work and it can take a lot of effort to achieve. It’s been even harder during the pandemic when life has been put on hold, the future is uncertain, and everything is accompanied with the feeling of “what’s the point?”. Staying inside, watching Netflix, and forgetting about everything else feels safe, easy and comforting. But doing that every day isn’t healthy, and the longer you sit with inaction the harder it will be to find the motivation you’re seeking.
If you’re struggling to find the motivation or the inspiration to do anything right now, don’t lose hope. You haven’t failed. The truth is, everyone is struggling, even those who make their workouts look super easy or those who promote how successful their new venture has been since the start of lockdown. But it’s important to not give up or accept that you’ll never find the motivation to achieve more. All you have to do is just take that first step. Do something. Anything.
Because even the smallest step is one step further in the right direction.
