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The Motivation Curve. Peaks and Lows of Staying Motivated

 


The Motivation Curve allows us to see a big picture to visualize where our motivation is at the certain moment in life. There will be highs and lows, but The Motivation Curve will always balance itself overtime.

With the world offering us so many different choices and countless growth opportunities, we can quickly get distracted. Once we feel fed up with something, bored or tired, we will stop doing it and switch to the next activity.

We will give up too easily on projects we have been working for weeks or months, because there are constantly new things happening around us. Using all the new technology, we expect to do things faster and more efficiently. We try to accomplish more and more by adding extra tasks into our already busy schedules. Unfortunately, when we fail on one of those tasks, we feel demotivated.

Another thing about feeling demotivated is when we do repetitive work on daily basis. Then, it is natural for us to be less enthusiastic about our job which may be simply boring. We may even feel ashamed that we lack ideas and inner strength to overcome those temporary energy shortfalls. 

If we happen to teach or motivate others for a living, how can we do our job properly, when we cannot even motivate ourselves?

Lack of motivation happens to you and me, happens to everybody

Feeling less interested in the activity when getting halfway through it is something that every one of us can identify with. Just think about how many times you have given up a book after reading the first 50 pages, or you have stopped working out when the first month of your workout program has passed and you did not see expected results?

At the beginning of each new activity, task or a job, our motivation is high because we can see the progress in relation to the start, so does near completion as the end is in sight. The biggest problem with losing motivation is in the middle because we start to focus on how far there is still to go, while the results have not showed yet.

There are good days when we feel that we are the best in the world, and sometimes there are those bad days when nothing just goes well. For example, one day I am motivated enough to write three new articles for my business website, while the next day, I completely do not have any interesting ideas, hence every attempt to put together one sentence is a nightmare.

It is the same with working out or eating healthy – sometimes you just miss a work-out or do not have enough leafy veggies in your fridge and you feel it is too cold to go shopping. 

There are moments in our lives that we feel enthusiastic and, of course, the moments when we just want to have a break from the whole world. It is totally normal. It is a part of human nature.



What is The Motivation Curve?

The Motivation Curve allows us to see a big picture to visualize where our motivation is at the certain moment in life. There will be highs and lows, but The Motivation Curve will always balance itself overtime.

This is what The Motivation Curve looks like on the chart.
This is what The Motivation Curve looks like on the chart. Source: Unknown

When our motivation is at its peak, we will be 100% dedicated to accomplish thousands of things, we will have a brilliant plan, we will believe that we can do it all and that nothing will stop us. The worst in all this is the fact that motivational highs will not last forever.

When the decline of motivation strikes, we will lack inspiration. This is something that we do not have control over. It destroys are plans and the rhythm of our days. The motivation lows, which happen every three to four months, are inevitable. Thus, the sooner one realizes this, the better for our mental health.

It is impossible to be perpetually at our best. Because the nature of our universe is that every time there is a growth, sooner or later there must be a decline. Balance is everything. We need the fall to take a grip and climb to the top again. We need to collapse over and over again to appreciate what had previously helped us to be the best.

The Motivation Curve guarantees constant development, hence continuous improvement of our lives. Because, if our motivation would be a straight line parallel to the axis, our life will be just average. That kind of life that people who do not have goals, desires and dreams have. People without ambitions, who do not live their lives thoughtfully, do not have the courage to climb to the top, improve things, get better because they are constantly afraid of falling. 

If you do not come out of your comfort zone, you we will not be able to start fixing your life to live better than yesterday.



How to deal with lack of motivation?

You need to know that the decline in motivation will happen to you too. Because none of us have immunity against bad things, so learning how to live with it and working out a basic plan to deal with indifferent moments is necessary.

Every time you do something, check on progress more often and allow yourself frequent feedback. You can come up with visual representation of progress using The Motivation Curve to measure how much more time, money or effort, you will need to put into achieve your goal.

Try talking to other people who have more expertise and life experience than you in overcoming specific difficulties. They will give you lots of practical advice because they have already known all the details of the same situation that is happening to you right now.

Also, try to prevent the accumulation of half-finished goals because some redundant or unimportant tasks will drag you back, and you will not be able to move forward with what really matters or pursue those tasks that you really like.

The last piece of advice would be to become alert to the periods of time when motivation is very low. Do something you have not done in your life in order to seek new inspirations, e.g. read a book written by the author you have never read before, travel to a new country, run to a new place, cook a new dish and so on.



Change is inspirational. Change helps to stay motivated

Every time when the lack of motivation happens to you, do not be afraid of trying to change something in your life. It is a great opportunity to slow day, take a few deep breaths, think about the past experiences. Then, look for inspirations to improve your life. 

And remember that life will always balance itself. Each time after the sad moments always come the joyous. It is never too late to start over.

I believe in balance deeply.