How to Stay Motivated When Nothing is Happening

Motivation can be hard to come by when you’re not seeing the results you desire. 

The ability to intrinsically motivate yourself, or to persevere in spite of a lack of motivation is a valuable skill. 

Motivation is frequently in short supply, so learning how to manage yourself through this situation is important if you want to succeed. 

Doing nothing when you’re lacking motivation is a bad habit that can have significant negative consequences. There is a better way of navigating a lack of motivation. 

Use these tips to persist even when you’re not seeing results: 

1. Practice patience. No one wants to be told to be patient. We’ve been hearing those words since before we could even understand them. However, it’s still good advice. 

• Sometimes things take longer than we like or think they should. 
• Sometimes the results show up suddenly after a long period of time. For example, you can whack a boulder with a hammer thousands of times, and it appears that nothing is happening. All of a sudden, the boulder splits in half. 

2. Keep the final result fresh in your mind. When your motivation is waning, remember how you’ll feel when you’re finally successful. Visualize being successful. Target that moment when you first achieve that goal. Notice how good it feels. 

3. Set a schedule and stick to it. When your motivation flags, it’s common to start feeling and acting lazy. One way to combat this is to create a daily plan for yourself and stick to it. The less motivated you are, the more structure you need. 

• Giving up is the most perfect way to ensure that you’re not successful. It’s difficult to fail in the long term if you continue trying. Eventually, you’ll accomplish your objective. However, it’s imperative that you don’t quit. 

4. Use your mistakes and failures to gain mastery. Mistakes and failures happen a lot more than we like, but they’re part of the process. Getting the most out of these negative results makes a huge difference. 

• If you can adopt the belief that failures are common and can ultimately help you to master your craft, it is easier to stay motivated. So, even if you’re failing, things are happening in your favor. 

5. Be grateful. Remember that everything is still okay. Practicing gratitude each day is a great reminder that your life isn’t as bad as you thought. You’ll hang in there longer and keep trying if you feel grateful on a regular basis. 

6. Take a break. This can be a short or a long break. Just remember that it can be tough to get back on track after a long break. Long breaks can have a way of turning into permanent breaks. 

• Maybe it’s time to take a long weekend and get out of town. Maybe you just need to take a night off and have a beer and some chicken wings with your friends. 

7. Remember your past successes. Your past successes can rekindle your enthusiasm. Reminding yourself that you’ve been successful in the past can renew your hope that you’ll also be successful now. It’s a great way to improve your mood, too. 

Motivation is nice while it lasts, but if you’re going to be super successful, you must learn to keep working even without motivation. 

You can also create and recover motivation. Remember how great it’s going to be when you succeed in achieving your goal. Take breaks as you need them. 

Remember to be patient and appreciate that good things can take time to happen!