Reason 1. Expecting quick results
One of the main reasons for loss of motivation is a person’s desire to immediately see the results of his work. Here's how it usually happens:
Sergei gained an extra 20 kg and decided to go on a diet. He threw out everything sweet, fatty and starchy from his diet and prepared for a miraculous transformation.
Every morning he eagerly stepped on the scale and wrote down the result in a separate notebook:
- What is all this going on, huh?! - Sergei begged on the eighth day. — Is there any sense at all from these diets?!
In the evening he went to a cafe and bought two eclairs.
We always expect some results from our efforts. And this is normal: after all, this is why we begin to act. The problem is that serious results usually require a serious investment of time. Judge for yourself:
- An athletic physique does not appear after a dozen workouts.
- The craving for nicotine does not disappear in two or three days.
- There are often no visitors to the site in the first weeks, or even months.
- We won't be able to read Moby Dick after a month of English classes.
But people often try to discern progress almost from day one. They eagerly examine their figure in the mirror (“What if the muscles have already grown?!”), constantly monitor the statistics of their blog (“What if I’m already like Artemy Lebedev?!”), try to read complex texts in English (“What if I Will I understand everything now?!”).
But progress is still not visible, and disappointment in one’s goal gradually grows in one’s soul.
What to do?
1. Get ready for the marathon right away. Find out when you should expect tangible results in your case, and keep this deadline in mind from the very beginning.
2. Introduce a “moratorium” on checking results. If you feel like you might give up on your goal, set a time limit during which you won't check your results. That is, do not look at blog statistics in the first three months, do not step on the scale in the first month of the diet, etc. This will help you not to lose motivation ahead of time.
3. Be guided by the principle: “do what you must, and come what may.” If you put in the right effort, do it conscientiously and regularly, the results will not go away. All you need is to simply “hold out” for a certain time (see point 1).
Is it worth looking for motivation if you have lost interest in only one activity?
If a person has lost interest in his activities, then first it is necessary to identify the root cause of this condition. Perhaps he has ceased to receive the return that he had before, or has lost interest in this area.
If he is plunged into despondency: he is no longer interested in what is happening around him, he feels a loss of strength and lack of energy, he is haunted by apathy and blues, then he needs to seek psychological help from a specialist.
Perhaps this condition was caused by a long lack of rest and heavy loads. Then you need to take a vacation and change your surroundings. This will help restore your strength.
If you have lost interest in only one type of activity, then you should reconsider your attitude towards it and, if necessary, find new incentives.
If you cannot do this, then you should think about changing your field. You can try volunteering to understand which activities are most suitable and where you would like to express yourself.
Reason 2. Unpreparedness for serious efforts
Another “popular” reason for loss of motivation is a lack of willingness to put in the effort to achieve a goal.
Nikolai was going to become a video blogger. After watching other people's videos on YouTube, he decided that in general there is nothing complicated in this craft: just put a camera in front of you, say something smart into it and... Whoosh! You are basking in the rays of fame, and donations and advertising revenues flow into your pockets like a river.
Inspired, Nikolai made several videos about his favorite computer games and his favorite dishes. But after two months he was severely disappointed: there were virtually no views and subscribers, and he failed to monetize the channel.
Nikolai realized that the world is unfair, YouTube is biased, and viewers do not understand anything about correct content. A month later, he deleted his channel and sold the camera on Avito.
It didn’t even occur to Nikolai that a successful video sometimes requires whole days spent working with the material. He did not suspect that video shooting, editing, choosing a topic, presentation method and channel promotion are complex sciences that can take years to comprehend. He didn’t expect that viewers wouldn’t just want to subscribe to another channel, and YouTube wouldn’t just provide him with views.
Alas, people often see only the external attributes of success. Therefore, his brain involuntarily takes the shortest route to the final result, ignoring all potential difficulties:
As a result, a person rushes towards his goal in a relaxed manner, not expecting to encounter any resistance along the way. The very first difficulties come as a complete surprise to him: he quickly loses motivation and gives up.
What to do?
1. Get ready for a “serious fight.” Be prepared to work hard or learn a lot. Be prepared for everything to go against you:
- Customers will not want to buy anything from your online store.
- Readers will not be eager to read your wonderful blog.
- There will be bad weather during morning runs, etc.
If you are ready to overcome difficulties, they will not come as an unpleasant surprise to you.
2. Try to put in a little more effort than necessary. This approach makes it easier to overcome obstacles and reduces “environmental resistance.” You can read more about this technique in the article “The Principle of Super Effort.”
What is demotivation
Lost motivation, what does this mean? It is logical to assume that lack of motivation (demotivation) is the opposite of motivation:
Demotivation is the lack of motivation to action, the inability to actively satisfy one’s needs.
Motivation doesn't just disappear. If you remember, there are certain conditions for the formation of motivation. Same thing with her disappearance. Do not rush to blame yourself for laziness and mediocrity, give up or completely bury your grandiose undertakings. Here's the main idea: if you don't have the motivation to do something, there is a specific reason for it .
There is no one pill for all diseases, and there is no one universal cure . First you need to make a diagnosis, then create a treatment plan. Why did you lose motivation? That's a good question!
Reason 3. Too difficult
Unfortunately, difficulties themselves can kill any motivation.
To feel more confident, Arkady decided to learn how to fight. He called several sports clubs in his city and eventually enrolled in a karate section.
The very first training session turned out to be so exhausting that after it Arkady barely made it home. Throughout the next week, his body ached and shouted “Guard!”, and the very thought of visiting the dojo again made him panic. Arkady miraculously managed to go to two more training sessions, after which he asked himself:
“Did I really sign up for this voluntarily?!” Why did I need to turn my life into constant torture?!
He hid the kimono away in the closet and bought a gas canister.
Nothing can be done about difficulties: they are inevitable. Sometimes we cope with them without any problems (and even with pleasure), sometimes they require us to exert all our strength, and sometimes they are completely insurmountable. But, one way or another, they are always there.
If everything in this life was easy, we would be surrounded by extremely happy people who have achieved outstanding success in all their endeavors. This does not happen: it is the need to overcome obstacles on the way to the goal that makes such an idyll unrealizable.
What to do?
1. The most important thing is to change your attitude towards difficulties. To stay motivated, see them not as a source of suffering, but as a challenge.
Overcoming difficulties is always a great opportunity to prove yourself, feel the taste of victory, and gain a legitimate reason for pride and self-respect. Think about the fact that many people have never found the strength to do what you are doing now.
2. Remember that over time, overcoming these difficulties will require less and less effort. That is:
- The longer we abstain from nicotine, the less we need it.
- The longer we train, the easier we bear the load.
- The longer we study a discipline, the better we understand it.
Our mind and our body are capable of getting used to, if not everything, then a lot. All we need is to give them time.
3. Focus on “getting through it.” Time is on your side: you will either get used to the difficulties and feel relief, or you will achieve your goal. The main thing is not to give up and not give up.
4. As a last resort, try simply reducing the load. That is:
- Learn not ten foreign words a day, but five.
- Run in the morning not three kilometers, but one and a half.
- Write not 2 thousand words a day, but a thousand.
Moving towards your goal slowly is better than doing nothing at all. When you get used to a light load, you can gradually return to the indicators that you planned at the very beginning.
Instability
Our body is dynamic, there is never an absolutely identical state. In the morning there is one set of hormones, in the evening another. The mood can swing from anger to laughter. And all these feelings and emotions are the work of the internal substances of the body.
It is impossible to have constantly high motivation, even for 1 month. Unless you have a task there that takes 20 minutes a day, or it is vitally important, as if you have nothing to eat tomorrow! So time passes, the body changes, all sorts of unforeseen things happen and motivation temporarily shifts.
Reason 4. Overestimation of your capabilities
Another common reason for loss of motivation is the choice of means of achieving a goal that do not correspond to a person’s capabilities. Simply put, it is an attempt to “bite off more than you can chew.”
One day, the musicians from the group “Cool Band” realized that to further promote their work they needed a video clip. But where can I get it? The bass player spoke first:
— Guys, let’s start by just posting a high-quality recording from a concert or rehearsal?
However, the rest of the musicians indignantly rejected this proposal:
- Come on, it's cheap! Let's do something really cool!
After thinking, they decided to shoot a professional video clip: with a plot, extras and 3D graphics.
Four months have passed. The musicians spent a lot of money, time and nerves on filming, but the video they shot looked frankly amateurish and “artisanal.” It was a shame to show it to listeners, and the group abandoned the video altogether.
You can achieve your goal in different ways. However, our resources are limited, so we may simply not be able to handle some of these methods.
Let's take time, for example. We only have 24 hours in a day, of which 8 hours are spent sleeping. At the same time, it is difficult for us to work more than 10 hours in a row, and as for mental work, even 5 hours of productive work is a rare success. All our other resources are limited in the same way: money, knowledge, skills, social connections.
Mathematics is a merciless thing. The smaller the area of effort, the easier it is for us to achieve success. And vice versa: the more ambitious the task and the more resources it requires, the higher the likelihood of failure and the likelihood that we will simply be disappointed in our goal.
What to do?
1. Having set a goal, try to look at it through the “eyes of a skeptic.” Make sure that you really have enough knowledge, time and energy to achieve it. If after this analysis you have doubts about success, try to create a more realistic plan.
2. Reduce the number of goals. Leave only what is truly important to you. When we “spread” our resources in several directions, we usually get very modest results everywhere. Remember the proverb about chasing two birds with one stone.
3. If the goal is difficult to achieve, break it down into several simple steps. For example, becoming fluent in English from scratch is difficult. But mastering a language at the Elementary or Intermediate level is a completely feasible task. Intermediate stages reduce the scope of effort and help maintain motivation to achieve the goal throughout the journey.
4. Focus on the minimum acceptable result. No matter how offensive it may sound for perfectionists, it is enough to do many things with a “C+” to get results. Moreover, “to do,” “to do well,” and “to do perfectly” are often three different tasks that can be performed alternately.
How it works? Let's imagine that we have a website through which we plan to accept orders for some services. For it to start bringing benefits right now, all you need to do is indicate your phone number and email on the order page. Only then can you add a normal application form, a tariff calculator, or some kind of online chat with a consultant.
Thalamus
This is the area of the brain that filters information from the senses. This is an attention hub! I'd say it's a cool part of the brain. How does he work? Anything itchy? Maybe your arm or neck is itchy? Think about it! This is the focus of the thalamus, it redirects the focus to what you are doing and cuts off other signals. Of course, if you are very hungry, burned, or really want to go to the toilet, then the thalamus will give up on the desire to itch.
Solution
If you lose motivation, try to eliminate distractions. For example, I often work with noise-canceling headphones; the option of light music is also good. So, out of 5 senses, one of your most important ones is immediately switched off, which means, at a minimum, you don’t hear neighbors with a drill or noise from other tables, if this is an office. Then turn off the sound on your phone, clear away everything that is in the way from the table, close the tabs, wear comfortable clothes.
There is no need to provide links to studies here, this is the physiology of the thalamus. Eliminating what might get in the way will definitely add motivation to you.
Let's move on to the most difficult, but also the most effective for motivation!
Reason 5. Waiting for ideal conditions
Alas, a person often loses motivation at the very beginning, without even having time to really do anything. This usually happens when he requires certain “ideal conditions” to achieve his goal. For example:
Svetlana Sergeevna was going to write a love and philosophical novel with elements of mysticism. She had been nurturing his idea for many years, and finally decided to get to work.
However, becoming a writer was not so easy:
- On Monday, Svetlana Sergeevna spent the entire day writing an urgent work report. There was no strength left for anything, and she postponed her literary career until tomorrow.
- On Tuesday she was tired again at work. She decided that it would be better to take up the novel on the weekend.
- On Saturday, a neighbor spent half the day hammering something with a hammer drill. The desire to write disappeared.
- On Sunday it rained all day and the mood was foul. “I’ll start next week,” thought Svetlana Sergeevna.
- On Monday, she spent the entire day writing an urgent work report. There was no strength left for anything, and she postponed her literary career until tomorrow...
...A month later it dawned on Svetlana Sergeevna:
- Why am I suffering? I have only ten years left before retirement. Then nothing will stop me for sure!
The problem is that ideal conditions in this world are very rare (that’s why they are ideal). This is where something almost always goes wrong:
- Outside the window, an alarm system is blaring, cats and drunks are screaming.
- Someone calls at the most inopportune moment and offers to take out a loan.
- My back hurts, my milk runs out and guests arrive.
- Viruses eat up your computer, your hard drive slows down, and you don’t have enough RAM.
- An economic crisis begins, the dollar rises in price, etc.
Moreover, over time, the “imperfection” of this world usually only gets worse. A person starts a family, accumulates debts and problems, and every year he has less and less time and health. In other words, you may never see ideal conditions in this life.
What to do?
1. Work with what you have:
- Don't have time to write a book? Write in the 15–30 minutes you can find.
- Can't go to the gym? Buy dumbbells and exercise at home.
- No time to study English? Study it on the bus on the way to work.
Oddly enough, many goals in this wave of life can be achieved in conditions of instability and even in conditions of a total lack of time and resources.
2. Use multi-step thinking. When faced with obstacles, do not rush to retreat immediately. First, think: is it possible to somehow eliminate these interferences? Read our article on single-path and multi-path thinking.
Bottom line
The bottom line is this: there is no one reason why motivation has disappeared . You need to understand yourself, ask yourself questions and listen to the answers. Knowing the reason, it is always easier to find a solution.
Of course, I have not listed all the reasons for the disappearance of motivation. There may also be loneliness, sadness from the events experienced, and more. The main thing is that you now know what to do first.
Write in the comments why you lost motivation. Perhaps I will have something to add to this material. And in order not to miss the release of new articles, subscribe to blog updates.
See you again! Yours Alexander Gorokhov
Motivation in studies and how to get it back
If you have lost interest in studying, you can use the following recommendations.
Classes at the same time
The brain adapts better to a particular activity if it occurs at the same time. Therefore, you need to do your homework strictly according to the schedule, then the process will be less tiring.
Preparation according to plan
It is recommended to draw up a preparation plan for classes each time in order to properly organize your work. This will help you not to miss important points and prepare as thoroughly as possible.
Time to rest
Taking time to rest is essential to maintaining physical and mental health. After it, productivity increases.
It is necessary to find time to relax every day.
Eliminate distractions
In order not to be distracted by various external stimuli, you need to eliminate them: turn off or put all gadgets on silent mode, close the doors in the room, ask others not to distract you from your activities, etc. In this way, you can achieve maximum concentration in a quiet and secluded environment.
Using music
During breaks between studies, it is best to listen to your favorite music, as it helps you relax and tune in to a positive wave. A person experiences elation and a surge of strength, which increases his motivation for further work.
Useless habits
The most important and common reason for lack of motivation is simply simple: inspiration cannot be felt all the time. People who appear overly motivated to us are likely just creating that impression because of their habits.
No encouragement is needed to get up every morning at five in the morning if your body is already accustomed to doing so. This means that the secret of motivation lies in the right habits. They allow us to move towards our goals automatically. Simply because we are already accustomed to doing this.
Blurry goals
Motivation is chaotic and fleeting. It is difficult to keep her on one task for a long time. Let's say you set yourself quite reasonable goals: for example, get up early in the morning, exercise more, eat right. At first you will be overwhelmed with motivation, but very soon you will notice that it is fading away. This happens when goals are too general.
How to fight
Set specific goals for yourself, or even better, make a step-by-step plan for achieving them. For example, get up at 7:00, exercise for an hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and eliminate sugar from your diet. Such detailed points will make you more attentive and allow you to stay motivated for a long time.
Another effective method is to ask yourself the right questions. For example: “What should my life be like for me to call myself successful?” A detailed answer will help you understand which direction to move.
Procrastination
She doesn't just appear. We often procrastinate because we don’t know what to do next or what task to start. Uncertainty breeds laziness and procrastination, which kill motivation.
How to fight
Take a task that you can't solve due to procrastination, and determine what one step you can take to solve it right now.
For example, it’s time for you to clean the apartment, but you don’t want to get up from the couch. Instead of continuing to wallow, choose and complete one task - dust a cabinet, clean the stove, or clean the sink. Most likely, after this you will awaken the desire to act further.
