How to stay motivated

Hey guys,

First, the image has nothing to do with this post. I just thought my breakfast was pretty. And now… A few notes today on motivation. A motivational blog post, what a novelty …*tehe*

Let me begin by saying that if you’re struggling with a project, or just generally lacking motivation in aspects of your life, this post will not give you the eureka moment you might be looking for.

I am not writing from some place of enlightenment that has given me ultimate answers, obviously. Similar to nutrition/diet blogs some of us follow, there is no short cut or cheat code. The answer is always the same; stick with it, work hard, and results will follow.

I pay attention to the evolution of my own mind and make note of how my own thoughts change and bring me to conclusions I deem helpful. By writing them down hopefully others can relate and apply them, instead of constantly monitoring the evolution of their own thoughts. Phew!

Straight to it…

I have never been a “stick with it” kind of person. I get bored easily. I leave drawings 3/4 finished and get wildly inspired periodically resulting in hours of research and step-by-steps only to get distracted or hit a road block that dismantles everything instantly. Like most people (I think), if I don’t see semi-instantaneous results I get discouraged.

So why am I still doing this blog? Well, for the same reason people collect stamps. Actually that’s a bad example because at some point I think it’s pretty much guaranteed that an extraordinary stamp collection will pay out. There are other pastimes that people never seem to lose interest in, while other endeavors fall asunder, no matter the end result of said pastime. It’s the same for me with blogging.

I am not overly concerned with the popularity of my blog. Of course it would be an added bonus if it grew in popularity and that is ultimately what I strive for. On the other hand, something about writing and having the writing be available to others all while and creating a web page that represents me I find ultimately satisfying.

Sometimes when I have a long to-do list for the day I find myself saving blogging for last, or not even including it on the list because I don’t even consider it a task. I save the best for last, it’s a reward I give myself to unwind after completing my less-desirable tasks.

So that’s my tip. I cannot tell you how to motivate yourself to do things that you don’t like, because I don’t know. What I do know is that if you find something that truly satisfies you, you will not need motivation. The difficulty is finding what exactly that is.

Find your passion and the motivation will follow.

Stay motivated by choosing to focus your efforts on something that you would find yourself doing even without potential of a monetary reward at some point in the future.

Some feedback I should probably respond to initially;

• I have not been doing this blog for very long, so there’s a chance I could still lose interest. Unlikely, but whatever.
• Many do not have the luxury of having enough free time to pursue a passion with the hopes of making a living out of it. Whether because the hobby is particularly time-consuming or having an enormous list of responsibilities that occupy an available free time, it’s true, I got nothing.

So that’s it. Like I said, I don’t have answers. If I wrote a post about how I had discovered the secret to lose weight and then told you to eat nothing but boiled chicken and broccoli for a month, it would be a little disappointing, right? But what if I could tell you how to enjoy eating boiled meat and cruciferous vegetables. I’m not saying I would be able to, but I think it’s the same idea.

 

I do believe sometimes the answers are already there and can in fact be totally simple! We just need to re-shape the way in which we think about the process

 

Until next time!

 

❤ Cammy