10 Ways To Regain Your Motivation After You’ve Lost It
With any goal, it’s easy to lose your motivation. Whether it be weight loss, a professional achievement, project, or something else, losing your motivation is common and understandable. Here are some different ways you can get back on track to reach your goal!
1. Take A Break
This may seem counter-intuitive, but one of the reasons you might be losing motivation is because you’re working too hard. It’s easy to get frustrated when you’re halfway to your goal, and you feel like you’ve been putting in so much work. At this point, you might feel like giving up, and that’s okay! But instead of giving up, give yourself time to take a break. Let your mind unwind and watch a show, take a shower, get some sleep, and return to your task after your mind has been given a break. You might even find that you have more energy and determination than before!
2. Replenish Yourself
When was the last time you ate? The last time you had some water? Your body needs proper fuel, and you need to maintain your body’s physical state if you want to keep working. It’s likely that you neglected this. Especially if you have lost the motivation to lose weight, it can be easy to skip meals, and this is not okay. You need to take care of your body. Have a snack and drink a glass of water and give yourself the nutrients you need in order to thrive.
3. Read A Book
Especially if you have a book related to the subject of your goal, take a break and read it! If you have a motivational book lying around, even better. Even if you were to read a fictional book, providing your mind with both stimulation and a break, will help you return to your goal refreshed and alert. This is a better option than turning to the television because you are still actively engaging your mind.
4. Journal
Detail your journey, maybe this is how you can spot your mistake. It’s often when we write things down that we realize the answer, after looking at our thought processes. Journaling can also be a therapeutic way to voice your frustrations. If you are having trouble meeting a goal, you can express your anger in a healthy way by writing it down.
5. Use A Creative Outlet
One of the main reasons people get unmotivated is because they get frustrated, or stuck, and an easy way to overcome that is through the use of a creative outlet. Whether that be painting, drawing, singing, dancing, whatever you want to do, using a creative outlet can help you become more in tune with your emotions. When you are more in tune with your emotions, you can find the root of your motivation (or lack thereof), and you can remember why you chose this goal to begin with.
6. Go For A Walk
Another good way to take a break is to take a walk because your physical body and your mind are both still active. When you go on a walk, or better yet a run, your mind can wander and you can regain your motivation, or even realize a way to help yourself reach your goal! Walking is not only good exercise but it’s good for your mind and heart as well.
7. Practice Self-Love
It’s okay to lose motivation, it’s okay to fail, what’s not okay is for you to take it out on yourself. Some people fall into a depressive state, some binge eat or don’t eat at all, some turn to an outside influence to make them happy, which are all common, but aren’t healthy. By practicing self-care, you can allow yourself time to relax, have a meal you’ve been craving, meditate, however you practice self-care is up to you. The importance of loving yourself is not only healthy but will allow you to reach your goal faster. Goals are unattainable if you beat yourself up every time you make a mistake, so practicing self-love will only help you.
8. Allow Yourself To Make Mistakes
This falls along the same lines as practicing self-love, it’s okay to make mistakes! Everyone makes mistakes, it’s a part of life. Mistakes are not something to make you discouraged or cause you any added frustration, they are simply a part of your journey. Failure is a part of any journey, and making mistakes is sometimes necessary and you can find out through trial and error what works for you! Making mistakes is also further proof that you haven’t given up, you’re still trying. Plus, you can always learn from your mistakes, and this itself will help you to reach your goal as well.
9. Remember Why You Started
Why did you choose this goal? What pushed you to start? Why now? These are all questions you should ask yourself over the course of your journey, not just in the beginning. What about this goal is important? Remembering why you started is an easy way to regain your motivation. What drove you to this goal, and remembering that, will help you motivate yourself again. It’s easy to lose sight of the goal but going back to the beginning and the core of motivation will provide you will all the motivation you need. You had it once, you can get it again.
10. Start Over
One way you can reach your goal and regain your motivation is to start over. This may seem counterintuitive but starting from scratch will give you a fresh start and might make reaching your goal more attainable. Starting over might be hard but going back to the beginning is a way to both regain your motivation and start over with a new frame of mind. Plus, starting over, you’ve already learned so much the first time, or the first couple times, which will help you in your journey now.
It’s hard to regain your motivation, and it’s something that many people struggle with. Hopefully, this list will provide you with some guidance to motivate yourself, but the change is internal, and has to be something you do for yourself.
As always, leave any questions and comments below!
