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NeonSM 06-2-2014 12:41 AM

Motivation
 
Motivation is one of those aspects of life that I find to be most burdensome. To some, it comes naturally. But to others, like myself, it can be very difficult to find motivation; especially when doing something that I generally do not want to do. The thing is, there are always going to be things that you don't want to do. How do you find the motivation to do those things? Yes, this should be a very responsive and personal thread. Do not hesitate to bring up tasks and decisions in your lives that you are having a hard time getting motivated to get to. Hopefully other users in this thread will be able to help you find the motivation you are looking for.

I'll start us off with a question of my own: Reward is often connected to motivation, but what if even that is not enough to get you interested?

Kraezymann 06-2-2014 03:21 AM

Re: Motivation
 
I feel like this could be a worthwhile topic to have in a subforum for fitness...

I find that turning it from a "chore" into a "game/competition" helps for some. For others it can be just a matter of having a good enough reward.

For something like fitness, I'll turn it into a challenge, or use Fitocracy. The idea of making something as mundane as getting off the couch into a game or a competition against my friends helps immensely. Sometimes when people tell me they did something, I'll try and see it as a friendly challenge to me and "beat" them at it.

If I'm doing chores at home, I put on my headphones to help stamp out the unhelpful feelings towards it, and charge my controllers while I work so that when I finish my chores, I'm ready for a couple hours on the couch. If I feel like a slushie, I'll ride my bike to a much farther store to get it, rather than the one down the street.

If you can't get invested in something, then asking your friends for help might work too. Ask them to be the motivator for you, pushing you to do whatever needs to be done.

xMUSICxMASTERx 06-2-2014 10:56 AM

Re: Motivation
 
I've been having motivation problems as well, for as long as I can remember, especially with school. I'm in college now, paying for it all on my own, I know I'm doing what I want to do, but I still can't bring myself to complete simple assignments on time, or at all. I've gotten really tired of it so I'm trying to change my habits and spend more time doing useful things.

I recently started my 3rd semester, and I've been trying to improve, slowly at least. I'm starting by being a bit more organized, I've been making lists of all my due dates and being sure to check it frequently. Just by doing this, I think I've already improved and it feels good to be a bit more organized with what I need to do, and make sure I don't forget anything. I was thinking of maybe making myself a schedule to strictly follow, from the time I get home each day to the time I go to bed. Fit a couple of hours of studying in with breaks in between.

I would say that something like a schedule or some kind of system to be more organized with your time would be best. People get used to routine more than anything, and they feel good completing things that they have actually planned out for a while. It's kind of like your sleeping schedule, if you suddenly decide to start taking a nap at 5:00 each day and try to stop, you will feel tired at this time every day until you get used to not sleeping at that time anymore. You'll have an urge to fall asleep at that time, but you want to try and break the habit. (I hope that made sense lol). If you have a habit of playing games/tv/doing nothing all the time, then that is your routine. Try to put the things you need to do into your routine and get used to getting things done, and you'll maybe get an urge to get these things done, which would be your motivation. (This is what I believe in, and I'm going to try at least.) It may be a slow process and hard to get into the routine, but I think I'll eventually get there. Good luck to the both of us~

xMUSICxMASTERx 06-2-2014 11:10 AM

Re: Motivation
 
Another thing could be your mental health. If you're in a low mood all the time, you're not going to feel like doing anything. (Saying this from my own experience). Try to stay positive and focus on improving your habits. Doing the things you enjoy is also important, don't spend too much time all at once on just the things you need to do. Take lots of short breaks if you need to. Also try to do things right away instead of putting them off. Relief of finishing things last minute does feel pretty good, but it's not worth all the panicking beforehand. I think getting something done long before it's due feels pretty damn good, especially if you've been used to putting things off your whole life.

NeonSM 06-2-2014 12:07 PM

Re: Motivation
 
It is nice to get to hear from some people! Kraezy, I agree with you 100% that this would be useful in a fitness sub forum of some kind. Though i specifically have never really had too hard of a time getting to exercise, I understand that this is a problem for many people out there. I have been doing cross country and track since freshman year of high school (I'm a senior in college now). I can imagine how hard it must be for those who do not have familiarity with any sort of schedule. For those who have this problem, I would imagine that making a schedule could be a important tool for success. Maybe buy a calendar or something to mark what youd like to complete for the day. I agree that making a competition out of it could be a good motivator as well. I get in touch with a old friend from high school a lot on my breaks to run with. Having someone to depend on is always a good thing.

In response to you music master I appreciate the advice, and have had a lot of problems with school as well. For some reason I feel like, though I am on a good track to becoming something id love to be, it isn't really my reality (if that makes any sense). I've been trying to schedule my days so that it can become more real to me and so that I can become more motivated to succeed. Any extra advice would be helpful, as we seem to be having similar problems. And this is a bit personal, but hey, wth. I have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder that manifests itself in the form of head pressure. It makes me feel pretty shitty and it isn't making my problem with motivation any easier. If anyone has experience in this, or other mental illness like depression, id love to hear their experiences with life in general.

korny 06-2-2014 01:13 PM

Re: Motivation
 
Your mesolimbic pathway is probably outta wack brah. Get prescribed some addies

SCWolf 06-2-2014 02:33 PM

Re: Motivation
 
I find motivation in figuring out how to get things done optimally with the least amount of work.

CammyGoesRawr 06-2-2014 03:10 PM

Re: Motivation
 
Sometimes when I need motivation to do something (especially if i'm not doing it for myself) I take into consideration how a person or group of people may respond to the quality I'm performing at.

For example, My part-time job is very stressful. I teach at a karate "academy" as we call it. I'm there three nights a week, sometimes even four and I'm responsible for the well-being and instruction of anywhere between 20 to 40 students per night. Sometimes I just want to stay at home and sleep but then I remember that it's not about me, it's about them and helping them become better people, not just in the academy, but in their everyday lives. Sometimes when I'm getting things set up before a class, I'll be extremely frustrated and my mind will be all over the place. But then I see my assistant instructors around the class helping them while I'm busy with other things. And it clicks in that moment that they learned those leadership skills under me, and I need to continue being a role model to them.

So that motivates me, is how my work will affect those around me.

Cavernio 06-10-2014 11:31 AM

Re: Motivation
 
I struggle everyday. The desire to do nothing is hard to overcome. I don't have good advice. ADHD drugs and a schedule and routine that's centered around working towards getting your goals done is advice that's already been given. If I fuck up my gluten free diet (I have celiac disease) I get much worse. I should go see a doctor see if my gluten antibodies are below threshold...I have a feeling they might not be, but not due to any lack of intelligent diet choices on my part.

I guess another thing that helps me is to be social. Like, if I schedule an activity with someone, I'm far more likely to do that activity than if it's solo. Of course, then there's the whole idea of 'well why am I making myself do this thing if I don't want to do it?'

As soon as I consider 'oh I don't -have- to do this' I'm done for it seems.

I...there's just sooo much history of depression that I could write for hours trying to explain my experiences. When I give myself too much work I get overwhelmed and get depressed. If I don't give myself enough work it's bad in another way. Like, I was depressed because I was fatigued and couldn't focus and I couldn't accomplish what was once nearly trivially easy things that I needed to accomplish. Then, when I finally realized 'oh hey, you're only depressed because you keep trying at something that you're failing at, and you've got expectations of yourself that you're no keeping', I'm no longer super depressed but that didn't give me back my energy or fix my overall moodiness or, pertinent to this discussion, magically give me motivation. Falling in love was pretty magical for all of these problems of mine actually, and caffeine gives me energy, but it doesn't seem to be a permanent fix.

Wayward Vagabond 06-10-2014 12:17 PM

Re: Motivation
 
This speech gave me the push I needed

http://youtu.be/WTFnmsCnr6g

djaero 06-18-2014 07:22 PM

Re: Motivation
 
Quote:

Your mesolimbic pathway is probably outta wack brah. Get prescribed some addies.
This is a terrible suggestion, stay away from DRI's of any kind for motivation (coke, amphetamines, caffeine, etc), they will only worsen your condition in the long run.


Motivation is a tricky thing, for me it simply comes down to having the right impetus for the task at hand. If you find yourself lacking in motivation, I would question your reasons for doing what you are doing and whether or not what you're doing is truly what you want, and adjust your behavior accordingly.

korny 06-18-2014 11:28 PM

Re: Motivation
 
It was mostly a joke, but if it is an issue of ones mesolimbic pathway being "outta wack" (which may very likely be the case), DRI's are very successful because stimulating ones dopaminergenic pathway is sort of the whole premise behind the rewarding effects elicited by increased synaptic concentrations of dopamine in the brain that are known for greatly improving ones ability to be motivated.

It is completely circumstantial of the person using them to say whether or not it worsens the issue of motivation down the line.

NeonSM 06-19-2014 11:33 AM

Re: Motivation
 
Wayward that motivational speaker was pretty nice! I enjoyed it, and it got me to get into some piano sooo +1. And dj, that is kind of what I am trying to do atm!

Wafles 06-19-2014 06:44 PM

Re: Motivation
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by SCWolf (Post 4144587)
I find motivation in figuring out how to get things done optimally with the least amount of work.

This is a super smart way of thinking btw, your employers will love you

Xtreme2252 01-15-2015 06:19 AM

Re: Motivation
 
I don't believe in 'motivation' as most people do. I believe you have to push yourself to motivate yourself, and that if you just hold out for motivation you'll never do anything.

V-Ormix 01-15-2015 10:44 AM

Re: Motivation
 
I found if I dont do anything I actually "want" to do, doing some thing is better than nothing specially helping other people for example. :idk:

edit: i agree with djaero

editv2: Guess best thing is to make things happen. Exercising can make a person feel better at times to do things in general or at least that works for me.

vidyamohhls 01-31-2015 05:25 AM

Re: Motivation
 
That's very nice motivational details

FF_rules 01-31-2015 06:13 AM

Re: Motivation
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by NeonSM (Post 4144426)
How do you find the motivation to do those things?

I'm a masochist probably; I drive myself into a corner and light the biggest fire under my ass. I have really bad motivational issues too; It's whatever though (people go about their lives at different paces). But really; I guess I can tolerate forcing myself without any real motivation, it's a shit way to do things though sometimes if by the end of it you feel no form of gratification.

Reincarnate 02-3-2015 10:06 PM

Re: Motivation
 
Discipline > motivation

The best way (in my experience) is to realize that you *have* to do something whether you want to or not. If you rely on motivation alone, you'll risk flaking out on your own goals.

It's sort of like brushing your teeth. You do it every day even if you don't really feel like it. If you don't, bad shit will happen and you'll just be paying for it later anyway.

Trumpet63 02-3-2015 10:55 PM

Re: Motivation
 
Motivation is a beautiful thing. It can keep you up at night working on a school project. It can drive you to create something new and wonderful. Most of all, it's the pathway to a low-stress life.

I think motivation is a universal problem, and it's not fair to expect every person to be motivated all the time. What I do to combat the apathy that comes from lack of motivation is try to be humble and realistic.

For example, I know that colleges exist to make learning easier, that's what you're paying for. There is no good reason why any person can't just open a book and learn whatever it is they want to learn. So while I am entitled to complain about my education, because I'm paying for it, I'm also not entitled to brag about it. This inevitably leads me to consider why I'm pursuing an education, why I'm taking classes that I don't care about. Then it hits me: I'm dumb as bricks, and I better learn this stuff, because it's gotta be the easiest thing in the world to the person teaching it to me.

Then somehow all my worries resolve themselves.

svnfeetunderxcx 03-23-2015 12:11 PM

Re: Motivation
 
smoke weed urday

NeonSM 03-23-2015 12:20 PM

Re: Motivation
 
quality post

quality bump

Zapmeister 03-23-2015 02:57 PM

Re: Motivation
 
if anyone has a lot of spare motivation lying around could you give me some. i'm really desperate (desperate enough to ask people on a fucking internet forum about an arrow smashing game)

i'm doing a masters degree that i've completely lost motivation for and some days i literally can't bring myself to stop staring at the ceiling in bed and start doing work and it's a real downer (this is in stark contrast to my undergrad, during which i was a WAAAAAAY too keen student). going to leave details out for now and include them at request

i'd be cool if someone could literally pin me up against a wall and yell at me a 300-style motivational speech peppered with winston churchill quotes, but more relevant to my situation. if anyone thinks they're good at this sort of thing let me know

mrpreggers 03-23-2015 03:12 PM

Re: Motivation
 
bitcoins will go over $1k each if you do what needs to be done

Mahou 03-23-2015 03:18 PM

Re: Motivation
 
Motivation comes to me when I cut off unnecessary activities like gaming and social media. Even though I don't have an addiction to these things, they do hinder how determined I am to get things done. For example, i kept track on how often i read my news feed. I would spend roughly 30 - 60 minutes a day looking at it. Add it all up, and thats approximately 7 hours a week at max.
However, what korny said, if the problem seems to be really bad, psychiatric medication can help but that will be ultimately up to you if you think you need it. I will say amphetamines don't fully give me motivation but it does help. You don't want to rely on this.

Tidus810 03-23-2015 03:29 PM

Re: Motivation
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Zapmeister (Post 4293659)
if anyone has a lot of spare motivation lying around could you give me some. i'm really desperate (desperate enough to ask people on a fucking internet forum about an arrow smashing game)

i'm doing a masters degree that i've completely lost motivation for and some days i literally can't bring myself to stop staring at the ceiling in bed and start doing work and it's a real downer (this is in stark contrast to my undergrad, during which i was a WAAAAAAY too keen student). going to leave details out for now and include them at request

i'd be cool if someone could literally pin me up against a wall and yell at me a 300-style motivational speech peppered with winston churchill quotes, but more relevant to my situation. if anyone thinks they're good at this sort of thing let me know

Is there any way for you to hold yourself accountable for getting things done? Everyone operates differently, but either of these may help: My first idea would be to tell a friend/friends about what you intend to accomplish on a given day or whatever, and ask them to follow through with you. "Hey, did you finish that essay you said you would work on this week?" or something like that. My other idea would be to instead ask a friend/friends if you can have a study group of some kind. Even if it just means meeting up at the local coffee shop or library, having somewhere to be and someone waiting on you can push you to get out of bed and start your day. That way it's less about "oh, I should get out of bed and do that boring crap I need to take care of..." and more about "oh, so-and-so is meeting me in the library in an hour, better get up and get ready for the day". I dunno, your mileage may vary.


It's actually really funny that this thread got started, because I was considering making a very similar one today or tomorrow. The trouble that I'm having, if anyone has some suggestions, is with focus. I'm in the midst of a long study period (3 weeks down, 4 more to go) where 6 days a week I have 6-8 hours worth of studying that I would ideally like to get done. Major test on the horizon. So I have all of my resources, and I have a general schedule that I'm trying to follow. I have a strong understanding of how much of an impact this test will have on my future, and thus how important these weeks are. What I'm trying to do is work for 2 hours or so, and then take a short break to relax before getting back into it. But it's way to easy for me to open an internet browser, maybe just to look something up, and then realize I've wasted 30 minutes (or worse). On top of that, while actively studying I'll even have difficulty just maintaining my current focus on the material in front of me. I sleep well and eat regularly, so I'm not sure what the cause is.

So yeah. I've enjoyed the posts so far on here guys, it's really cool seeing a useful discussion being had. :)

Spenner 03-23-2015 08:30 PM

Re: Motivation
 
I have pretty much 0 motivation because of existential futility and issues surrounding that. But, I realize the issue entirely, and how far away actually dealing with it is-- I have found a way to be demotivated regardless. This is an ever more complexifying situation for me, but interesting in the same way, how much the brain can make itself not want to do things. It feels natural especially if in a depressive mood swing (I very much am aware of these-- internalized thoughts are always to negative topics or have a dark undertone, I've learned to listen at the first hint of consistency). Being mindful of thinking negatively, and turning it around with obvious facts that could brighten you, is handy.

But sometimes you lack an ability to justify the bigger, more negative fact at hand. How do you deal with that, when you are irrefutably uneasy and demotivated? (apparently, that is. And since it is happening spontaneously perhaps... how does one convince themselves they are not a random and inevitably ending experience/drive themselves to dedicate time into a mindless task for little gain?).

This is kind of a reflection of my own mental health issues but also some deeper questions that many people will trip over at some point.

awein999 03-23-2015 09:19 PM

Re: Motivation
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Spenner (Post 4293853)
I have pretty much 0 motivation because of existential futility and issues surrounding that. But, I realize the issue entirely, and how far away actually dealing with it is-- I have found a way to be demotivated regardless. This is an ever more complexifying situation for me, but interesting in the same way, how much the brain can make itself not want to do things. It feels natural especially if in a depressive mood swing (I very much am aware of these-- internalized thoughts are always to negative topics or have a dark undertone, I've learned to listen at the first hint of consistency). Being mindful of thinking negatively, and turning it around with obvious facts that could brighten you, is handy.

But sometimes you lack an ability to justify the bigger, more negative fact at hand. How do you deal with that, when you are irrefutably uneasy and demotivated? (apparently, that is. And since it is happening spontaneously perhaps... how does one convince themselves they are not a random and inevitably ending experience/drive themselves to dedicate time into a mindless task for little gain?).

This is kind of a reflection of my own mental health issues but also some deeper questions that many people will trip over at some point.

I identify with some of your problems and when I regress I try to fight back to the simplest step, the earliest one - step 1 of a list I made: Choose to care enough about myself to identify a irrationally negative thought in a rationally positive way. Having this introspection armed with you is at least a method to fight the inner negativity that keeps naturally spreading. It's super hard because you always have to be introspecting at all times because at any time you are liable to be thinking negatively in an irrational way and it gets tiring to fight all the time. If it was easy it wouldn't have been such a problem in the first place so of course it's hard but at least it's fightable.

A mindless task doesn't have to be mindless, little gain isn't inherently little gain. Our experiences are happening now. We'll be dead later which isn't now. I think having a "live for the now" mentality is good. Find meaning in the now tasks that can easily be viewed as drudgery (like working some job that you don't consider your dream job).

Also surrounding yourself with upbeat people can help.

DossarLX ODI 03-23-2015 10:14 PM

Re: Motivation
 
Motivation could probably stem from issues of feeling bored or not finding much meaning in the work you are doing. There's another beast: being overwhelmed.

A few things I ask myself:
1.) Who has helped me get to where I am now?
2.) Do I have a way of tracking how long I've spent doing something? Do I have a planner?
3.) Why am I getting up at 7 AM every morning if my class doesn't start until later?
4.) If I face difficulties, do I have people to discuss this with that I can trust?

Going to each point, I'll state why I mention these.

1.) Who has helped me get to where I am now?

A lot of motivational issues relate to yourself. "I'm bored." "I don't like what I'm doing." "I <whatever>." Whenever it gets to this point, that's when I get the most frustrated. This society focuses way too much on the individual. There are many amazing people on this site that have helped me get to where I am now, and it's always good to remember them. Don't get so immersed with yourself that you constantly have just yourself on your mind -- think about the other people you know who also have their difficulties and realize you are not the only one that runs into problems.

2.) Do I have a way of tracking how long I've spent doing something? Do I have a planner?

Currently this semester has been totally different from what I've been used to. I excessively plan what to do every single day and I have an excel spreadsheet keeping track of how long I spent on whatever I did. I have a daily quota to meet. On weekdays it's 4-5 hours and on weekends it's 7-8 hours. If I don't make these daily quotas, I feel it anyways -- it's a benchmark to set to ensure that I am consistently reminding myself that if I don't continue my efforts, it will backfire very shortly and I feel myself fall behind.

3.) Why am I getting up at 7 AM every morning if my class doesn't start until later?

I get up at 6:15 AM every weekday even on the days I have class at 2 PM. If you find yourself sleeping in and waking up late, ask yourself why. Seriously -- consider why you are not getting up earlier. There's nothing worse than waking up to realize it's 10 AM, then you eat breakfast, shower, and get ready only to find it's already 11 AM and it feels like you just wasted half the day. Start your day early. Time is a resource nobody ever has enough of and once it's gone you are never getting it back. I get on campus at 8 AM and start doing my work then, just like as if it was a normal work day all the way until 5 PM with classes in between. Of course, nothing ever goes to plan since unexpected situations happen or something takes longer than expected -- the question is recovering from that.

4.) If I face difficulties, do I have people to discuss this with that I can trust?

I find that most of my issues don't stem from motivational issues, but rather just being overwhelmed. I have personal issues that worry me, and so do others. Fortunately I can speak with my professors if I have concerns about something in a course, which isn't something all students are able to do depending on their professor (could just be a jackass who wants to fail the students, etc. I have a friend that has a professor like that who's retiring after this semester). When you have nobody to talk to, it seems like everything is impossible and there's nothing that can be done to make a situation better.

Of course none of this is a one-size-fits-all situation. You might be an unlucky person that got stuck in a bad environment and you don't have motivational issues as much as just being overwhelmed by bad circumstances where everything feels impossible and too much. If you're doing something frequently, make sure it is something meaningful to you or you will be miserable. I find that I have a physical limit where if I work for too long my body just forces me to sleep; this has nothing to do with motivation, it's my body saying that I'm progressively getting worse and less productive and I need to continue later. This is why you also don't procrastinate or you will be miserable.

Cavernio 09-19-2015 01:51 AM

Re: Motivation
 
Arguing puts me in a just enough of a heightened state of arousal which is necessary for motivation, my default state of arousal is non-functional, hence why I enjoy arguing so much compared to so many other activities.

Still no add drugs but I'm on an antipsychotic among other things. Coffee is mandatory.


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