Apathy twists a stuffy sack, business becomes dull and dreary, and the whole world around – some meaningless. Does this situation sound familiar? Perhaps you have a problem with motivation. About where it went and how to get it back, the online paper writing service tells in our material.
Motivation – an essential mechanism of the brain. Mainly it is responsible for dopamine, which is often called the “hormone of pleasure. The brain produces it to reward us when we reach our goal. It helped our ancestors survive. Catch your prey? Found an excellent place to sleep? Get a dopamine cookie. It makes us feel joy, lifts our spirits, and the next time we’ll perform the task with even more zeal. Of course, everything in the modern human world is much more complicated, but the overall motivation mechanism remains the same.
However, what happens when we don’t get the dopamine cookie? If the prey turned out to be too handy and the place to sleep is damp and cold. For the brain, it’s a signal that the result isn’t worth the effort. For us, it is apathy, desolation, and discouragement. When motivation is lacking, any activity ceases to be enjoyable, and the world around us becomes gray and dull.
How do you fight this? A lot depends on the cause. Stand-alone tips like “make a plan for solving the problem, break it down into small steps” may help in some cases but will not help in others. Below we have compiled a list of the five most common causes of loss of motivation and described what and when to do.
Fear
Fear of the difficulty of a task can be demotivating. When we are afraid, part of us doesn’t want to move forward. We become less determined, more cautious. Sometimes this helps, but there are also times when fears are based more on an imaginative play than an accurate situation analysis. In such cases, they interfere with the task, forcing us to stay in a comfortable and comfortable place.
How to motivate yourself
It would help if you conquered your fears. First, name them, understand what they are, and make a list. Then ask yourself: “Why am I afraid this will happen? What is the likelihood that it will happen?” Some fears will fall away. Others will remain.
Look at the ones that remain and try to understand what they are telling you. For example, you want to apply abroad, but you’re afraid you won’t be accepted. Perhaps this means that you don’t have enough information. You need to research the topic better, understand what is required of you, whether you meet these requirements, and if not, whether you will be able to prepare in time. Include these questions in your task plan. To make it easier, break it down into smaller subtasks. That way, even the most significant task will be doable, and your brain will get a dopamine cookie after each closed item.
Incorrect goals
To understand motivation, writer, sociologist, and Harvard graduate, Martha Beck developed her model of personality. She writes that we have an “inner self” and a “social self.” The inner self is spontaneous and creative; it knows what we want. The social self is responsible for our life in society, learning to follow the rules and not break other people’s boundaries.
The social self often wants to impress others or, say, meet someone’s expectations. Sometimes, without noticing it, we set goals based only on the social self. But this is not enough for real motivation. If our inner self is not interested in the task at hand, we will perform it slowly and inefficiently.
Try to get through to your inner self. It can’t talk, so you have to listen to the body’s signals. Pay attention to how the body reacts to the goals that you set for yourself.
If at the thought of a case, the breath becomes heavy, constrained – most likely, you set the wrong goal and do not want to go to that stupid music school. Once you discover “false” plans, examine them and try to understand to what extent they are essential to you and those around you set them. Would you feel better if you stopped striving for them? Along the way, pay attention to the things that make you smile and make you lose track of time. Chances are, these are the things that are important to you. Try to set your goals according to them.
Lack of autonomy
The American psychologist Julian Rotter developed the Locus of Control theory. In simple terms, it is about what a person places responsibility for the results of his actions on himself (internal locus of control) or on external factors (external locus of control). Research has shown that people with a more robust internal locus of control are better motivated and enjoy their work more. We need to understand that achievement is the fruit of our efforts. Conversely, a lack of autonomy can discourage us from doing anything.
Think about how much autonomy you have about the goals you achieve and take a locus of control test. A high external locus of control may indicate that you lack the space to make decisions independently. Upon discovering the problem, consider what ways there are to increase autonomy. For example, you might talk to a manager at work and ask for more freedom to choose tasks or accomplish them.
Burnout
If you feel constantly tired, don’t have the energy to talk to people, and want to sleep more than you do what you love, you’re probably going through emotional burnout. It periodically occurs in those who want to achieve a lot, work hard for it and forget to rest. Empathic people who are sensitive to the state of others are also in the risk group.
Lack of motivation and strength is only one of the symptoms of burnout. They also include:
- increased anxiety
- soreness
- irritability
- inattention
- apathy
- sleep problems
- negative self-evaluation.
How to Motivate Yourself
If you have detected the signs of burnout, you should not try to eliminate them to get into a work mode. Through the symptoms, the body is telling us: “Something is going wrong. We need a change. So first of all, take a rest. Don’t wait for a vacation, but take a couple of days off right away.
Then, when the mind clears, think about what exactly caused the burnout. The problem can be a busy schedule and a low salary, excessive responsibility, and conflicts in the team. To cope with burnout, you need to eliminate its cause. So if this is necessary, think about changing jobs. Or at least to better establish personal boundaries, such as not responding to messages outside of working hours. And again, think about your inner self. Think about it: are the goals you’re pursuing set by you or by someone else from the outside?
Loneliness
Sometimes a lack of motivation can come from a lack of communication. It is especially true for those who work from home. Here again, we should listen to the signals our body sends us. If you feel a little feverish, excited, and can’t concentrate at work, perhaps this is the case. The body takes control of our motivation to distract us from our work and satisfy our need to communicate.
Take a break and spend it with friends or a loved one. You’ll be surprised at how much of a boost meeting other people can be. When the motivation returns and work is more productive, think about making socializing a more meaningful part of your daily routine.
Bio:
Jeanna Bray is a person who finds the right words and forms of presentation to convey the benefits students get when addressing PaperHelp experts for research and writing assistance. You can hardly name a top-ranked copywriting course – free or paid – that she hasn’t attended while pursuing a BA in Digital Communication.
