Let’s admit it. Life is not a fairy tale. We all have our days when nothing seems to work out or you just feel blah all day. Be it heading to the gym, preparing for a meeting or an exam, cooking or just getting up from bed, you simply don’t feel like doing anything. That my friend is not procrastination or mood swings at work. We call it being demotivated.
To be honest, being demotivated is quite dangerous. It just arrives as a roadblock and stalls any progress that you intend to make in your work. Sometimes, even the things you love to do turn out to be boring or dull. Remember that at that time, you need to fight and outgrow it because it will make you complacent. People often confuse being demotivated with getting bored, but in actual fact, it is a less dreadful counterpart of the feeling of demotivation. The aspect of demotivation I discuss below is more like a parasite that will feed on you and see you sulk.
Over the years, I’ve tried various methods to fight this feeling out of my mind and complete what I intended to do. Every time I was successful in doing it I wrote down how I overcame demotivation, and this article is a compilation of all the tried and tested methods that have worked for me. Hope they help. I know they will.
Understand The Reason For Demotivation
One of the first things to do when you feel down or demotivated to do something is to sit down and think about why you feel that way. This feeling doesn’t kick in without a reason and there could be a subconscious reason driving it. You may be feeling demotivated because of fear – perhaps something is stopping you from going any further in your way. For instance, writers often feel demotivated because they fear acceptance. Before they finish their book, they tend to think of the consequences of it, like publications not accepting their manuscripts, rejection from readers or the public. The reasons behind your demotivation has to be addressed and you can only do this by confronting it. You might also feel demotivated because of setting up wrong or unattainable goals, because of conflicts, or due to lack of challenges in your way. Whatever it is, confront it and get clarity. This will help you perpetually feel motivated until you finish your task.
Call Up Your Guardian Angel
By guardian angel, I mean your first circle of contacts or someone you’re really close to. It could be your best friend, who is always there for you, your well-wisher who gives you the best pieces of advice, your spouse, or your mom. I generally call up my mom and simply talk for 10 minutes, without even mentioning my demotivation to work. Eight minutes into the call, I’m enthusiastic as never before. I read that talking to people you’re close with immediately releases some chemicals that instantly rejuvenate your mind and make you feel better. Come on, you don’t need science to know how good it feels to talk with family! Call them up next time.
Take A Power Nap
When in trouble, sleep. I used to think that this was just something people used to say until I actually tried it. It worked. The one time I was really demotivated to finish up a long-pending assignment, I decided to take a power nap for 45 minutes and when I woke up, I was feeling fresh and all motivated. I had completed my work faster than I imagined I would and since then this has been my second remedy.
Do Not Seek Solace On Your Smartphone
I repeat, do not seek solace to demotivation on your smartphone. They are causing enough depression in our subconscious minds, and if you look at it when you’re low, you’ll end up feeling worse. Without getting into a debate, I simply suggest you keep away from your phone so that you don’t use social media or YouTube because they tend to further slow down your thought process. At this time, you need something that will charge you up, rather than sitting in one place scrolling through your phone.
Go For A Walk
There’s nothing as refreshing as a walk. Go to places where you’ll find plenty of people, like a mall, complex, station, coffee shops or other places. You’ll realize that the world appears to have slowed down only to you. People are fast approaching towards their destinations and everyone’s busy with their own tasks. You’ll find people in formals waiting for that bus that will take them to their interview spot, business people finalising deals on their phone, the police sweating it out under the sun, plus many others passing by. By walking you’ll feel refreshed in no time and realize that you’ve wasted enough time already being demotivated.
Conclusion
Motivation is the key to all your creativity, aspirations, goals, purpose and all good things, and the moment this feeling seeps in, everything will fall into place. Though it’s impossible to remain motivated all the time, it’s crucial that you don’t fall prey to demotivation too. Sometimes, you just need a kick in life to get you going and these are some of the ways that will deliver it to you. Trust me, it’s okay to feel demotivated. What is not okay is to sulk over it. Get going! Take action.
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