How to find motivation when you would rather do nothing at all

Finding motivation to do anything at all can be tough some days. Something as simple as a cloudy day or a loss of your favorite sports team can have you feeling like carpe diem is nothing more than the Latin version of YOLO. It is, by the way.

Not every day has to be the most productive. This is something I struggle with. A portion of my day always needs to be devoted toward accomplishing something. It can be minor or major. It can give me great pleasure while I do it or cause a ton of pain.

Many times, finding motivation can be a struggle. The war between exactly what I want to accomplish on any given day is one of those problems. Do I look to find a way to make more money, gain knowledge, or just feel good?

In an attempt to make it easier in the future for me to find motivation and possibly help others, I have created a list of motivations and why they could be important to you, too. Put whatever you want within them. We all have different goals.

How to find motivation through money

That’s easy. When money is the end goal, finding motivation is pretty easy. We all adore money. It has chubby cheeks and doesn’t poop.

This is what money looks like except it doesn’t need diapers.

Whether it’s through working more or selling something, money is a huge motivator. Personally, it’s not because of the need for money as much as the rewarding feeling of earning and keeping it. I’m just weird like that. Money gives me a lot of security. I love to earn it simply for the fact that if someone is giving me money to do anything, I’ve probably done something right.

How to find motivation through health

Doing healthy activities is a huge motivation. I enjoy doing yoga yet often let it fall off my schedule. There’s something gratifying about a pigeon pose even if it feels like I may get stuck there forever.

You’re not doing yoga right until you can comb your hair with your feet.

Healthy activities like exercising, cooking a certain meal, or giving yourself a mental health day is great motivation. In many cases, you can be healthy without having to do a whole lot. How long does flossing your teeth really even take? Finding motivation to do it may be as simple as seeing someone with no teeth at all.

How to find motivation through finishing projects

There are so many projects I would love to undertake. Getting started is the hard part. They range from necessary to ones offering a dopamine hit for other reasons. Something as simple as reorganization a part of my home feels good.

Elon Musk enjoys re-organizing people’s plans toward a happy life.

Owning a house gives me an endless amount of projects to learn. I do think I have become more daring since purchasing our first home. I’ll risk walking or crawling places I wouldn’t have before. Cleanliness actually matters a lot more to me. As long as I have a podcast I enjoy playing, I can get through even the most tedious project like cleaning the basement. Finding motivation to clean comes easy once you’ve done it a few times.

How to find motivation through creativity

Creative motivations are hit and miss. It’s pretty thankless to undertake creative projects. You’re asking for a lifetime of suffering.

One tree trunk into the painting and another child is lost to the world in pursuing the thankless universe of trying to create good art for a world in need of more.

Reminding ourselves why we are engaging in these creative pursuits can be helpful. Finding motivation to continue with them can be achieved by just getting started. Money, praise, and the sense of learning how to do something new are all the rewards I receive when doing creative projects. It’s one of the reasons why I haven’t taken up birdhouse making. Only parrots will ever know how to say “good job.”

How to find motivation through feeling good

We all want to feel good. It’s the one aspect we all have in common. From the meanest monarch to the gentlest peasant, history shows our biggest motivation in life is to feel satisfaction.

Even kings need to experience the pleasures of removing a tight crown from their heads.

What makes us feel good will vary greatly. There are things that involve no motivation at all which can have us flying on cloud nine. It’s okay to take a respite from trying to make money, bettering your health, completing projects, and pursuing your creative endeavors to just relax and feel good. If you can somehow link your feeling good to something you’ll thank yourself for doing later, even better.

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The book that convinced us to start investing and being more proactive with our money and lives: The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias

The gear we use to make our YouTube videos at the Practically Humans YouTube Channel

• Sony ZVE10 Camera
• Sony Retractable Zoom Lens
• MOVO Shotgun Microphone
• Audio Cable
• Memory Card
• RGB Lights
• Studio Light

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