Realistic Tips on How to Stay Motivated When You Just Don’t Want to Do It Anymore

How to stay motivated when you don’t want to do it anymore is a question we’ve thought about at some point in our lives. 

The secret to accomplishment is to avoid the classic mistake of waiting until you feel motivated before taking action. Motivation is elusive, but here are three realistic ways to stay motivated when you don’t feel like it.

We’re all busy moms trying to find that balance, and a little motivation can go a long way when setting new goals and reaching new heights.

Feeling Motivated vs Being Consistent

Sometimes what keeps us motivated is the rewards we await on our journey. What happens when the rewards aren’t as close as we’d hoped, and we need to find the motivation to keep going without that instant reward? 

Think about a time when you had an idea and were so excited about it! It made total sense, and everything was so clear in your mind.  You put together a plan and thought…”oh yes, this is it!” Did that feeling last? Are you still as pumped as you were when you thought of your idea or plan? 

Once you set your goals and start on your way, you might find that your motivation starts to disappear. 

Being Consistent

Consistent and implementing a habit is how you get the desired results. We can’t just depend on always being motivated to keep going. Yes, motivation is great when you have momentum, but what happens when the momentum ends? 

This is where you rely on your habits and effort to be consistent. Create a schedule, and implement a routine that will help you be consistent. 

Focusing on consistency to keep up the encouragement to reach our set goals is how to stay on track towards your long-term goals until that next boost of motivation kicks in. 

What to do When you Lose Your Motivation

It’s so easy to let our motivation fade. We live in a world of 9-5, Monday to Friday. We have been raised to believe that all this is “normal,” so when we try to break that mold, things get in our way, bringing our motivation down. 

We start to question what we’re doing. People don’t get it and judge you or don’t show support. Maybe your family and friends question or ignore what you’re trying to do. Maybe you got rejected from something once or twice, or you’ve lost count so many times.

No matter what the reason is for your lack of motivation, you can do things to help keep you on track and manifest that dream life. 

10 Tips to Stay Motivated When you Don’t Want to Keep Going 

Try to implement as many of these tips as possible when you’re feeling unmotivated. Better yet, use these tips as soon as you set goals so that you’re prepared when motivation fails you. 

Remember Why You’re Doing it

Why is this a goal for you? Why do you do what you’re doing? Coming back to the reason you set this goal in the first place is a great motivator to keep you going and inspired. 

Are you doing this for your kids? Is it for a better life? Whatever your reasoning is, revisiting your why will help you keep going. 

Positive Self-Talk

What you say to yourself is what you believe. Positive self-talk is the first step to staying motivated. Tell yourself you can do it, and talk to yourself as if you’ve already reached your goals. ( this is so damn powerful) Think about what you would say, what you would wear, how does your daily schedule looks like when you reach your goals. 

Be kind to yourself; pump yourself up. Eliminate negative thoughts and only focus on the good and the goals in your life. Mental health is very real, and it deserves attention all the time. 

Focus on your self-talk, meditate, talk to your angels, and journal; these things can help you with anxiety, depression, and so much more. 

Implement a New Habit

New goals mean new habits. What new habit can you add to your schedule to help you reach your goal? Add this new habit to your day and make it part of your routine so your new habit will save you when motivation fails you. 

If there isn’t a new habit that you can add to your schedule that directly helps you reach your goal and a daily habit that will benefit your health. Work out, go to the gym and move your body for 20 minutes daily. Increase your water intake. 

When you add a new habit you’re less likely to come up with excuses because you are used to doing it and it comes naturally to you. 

Set Realistic Goals

Setting goals helps you implement a strategy to reach those goals. Goal planning is a great way to see your plan unfold. Goal setting helps you eliminate distractions and keeps you ahead of the game and looking at tomorrow. 

Create a Vision Board

Creating a vision board or dream board will help you with visualization. A visualization is an excellent tool for manifesting and creating a goal plan for your goals. Vision boards can be put on your phone, around your workplace, by your nightstand, and as a laptop screen saver. 

Place your vision board somewhere where you’ll see it daily, so it helps keep your motivation high.

Go Easy On Yourself

Give yourself grace; sometimes, taking a day off is okay, but it’s ok if you lack motivation. Grab an excellent, motivating self-help book, and take some time to relax. What’s important is that you get back on schedule once you’ve spent time unwinding. 

Don’t Overschedule Yourself

We often add too much to our to-do lists, feel overwhelmed, and lack motivation. Schedule some time to wind down, some time for yourself so that you don’t burn yourself out. Taking breaks and making time for self-care is a vital part of success. 

The times I take breaks and focus on self-care are when I come up with new ideas and feel motivated to return to the task at hand. 

Document Your Achievements 

Grab a journal and write down your journey, achievements, and milestones. It’s so amazing to come back and revisit your journal pages to see just how far you’ve come. It’s a great motivator, and I promise you, you will keep growing, and you will have lots to return to. 

Write out what’s going on in your life at the time and where you are on your journey. Journaling doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. Just write about what’s going on in your life and what you want to achieve. 

Delegate

If possible, ask for help or delegate some tasks to someone else. It’s ok to ask for help, and it’s ok to hire out a portion that maybe isn’t our expertise. You can save time this way and help avoid burnout by doing it all yourself. 

Let’s Talk About Smart Goals

You might have heard of this before. Setting smart goals is a way to set goals that you can achieve and that you can track and set a plan for. 

S- Specific – be specific and write out every detail.

M- Measurable – Can you allot smaller goals so you can track where you are?

A – Achievable – Is this goal achievable for you? (can you set steps to reach it)

R- Realistic – Is this goal realistic right now in your life? (if not, break it down into a smaller goals)

T – Time-based – Track and allocate time to your goals. 

When It’s Just Too Hard

Yes, it will be hard sometimes.  What is the difference between the people who succeed and those who fail? They never stopped trying. 

Don’t give up when it gets complicated. If you genuinely believe in yourself, you can see yourself living the life you want to keep going. 

More Tips to Stay Motivated

Read a Self Help Book

Keep educating yourself. Read up on others who have already accomplished what you want. See what works for them. Reach out to them. Ask them what helped them. If they’ve read any books that motivated them. For me, it’s hands-down The Secret. 

Although I’ve read many other great books since then, this one got me into self-help and open to changing and wanting to better myself.  

Surround Yourself with Like-Minded People

Today with the power of social media, we have fantastic access to people who think like us and want what we want. Feed off these people. Engage with them. Share your ideas with them. Together we can all win!

Get In Tune With Your Inner Self

Call it whatever you want. God, Jesus, the Universe, your subconscious, whatever you believe in, getting in tune with it. 

Meditate, do yoga, pray, and focus on your thoughts. Take a few minutes each day to chill, get quiet, listen and let your thoughts and the universe guide you. It will guide you. 

Take a few minutes of quiet each day and also do something for yourself. Exercise, read, go out with a friend. Keep your mental state happy. 

Don’t Give Up ( yes, let’s talk about it again)

Whatever you find helps you stay motivated to go back to it again and again! I have to do this all the time. If I find myself losing my focus, I go read a self-help book, or I go talk to my husband (who is my biggest supporter) and go find someone who thinks as you do and shares your goals. To meditate or read, have a bath and think.