I wanted to pop in and share more thoughts on how to find motivation in Life & live to your fullest potential. Anyway, I’ve been doing a lot of journaling, just trying to unravel and decode. Why I’ve been lazy and unmotivated? How do spark that motivation again? Where my true drive comes from? So I wanted to share some key points from my notes. Hopefully, it might help you.
Think about the purpose why you started:
The first thing about how to find motivation in life and inspiration is to start with your purpose and why you started. We all have things that inherently drive us and these are things that are able to drive us for the rest of our lives. And it’s not a specific goal because goals have an end but your purpose is something that never has an end. It’s something that will always motivate you to keep going.
My Why’s that are written down today are to thrive at doing what I love, create beautiful and meaningful things, and empower others to improve their lives.
There are different layers of Why’s and I think sometimes we focus on the surface layers. For example, I was focusing on the surface layers of my Why’s of “Make a living doing something that I love”. I thought that was Why that would lead me forever, and I realize that I’m already doing something that I love. I’m making a great living doing something meaningful that is fun for me. I get to have all the freedom and abundance in my life.
It wasn’t necessarily enough to keep me motivated. Because there was an end to that. I’m here. “What’s next?” I had to realize that go back and remember what else was deeper. Why I started? I went through a hard time in my life and I figured it out. I have the power to change my life. I became so passionate about helping others realize that they have that same power within them. It’s kind of obvious on one hand. But on the other hand, you can forget your deeper Why.
When you’re so focused on the everyday grind. Something that reminded me of this innate desire I have: “I can help you. You can be better. You can do better.”
I think that is my inner Why. I think everybody has some inner Why for wanting to help others in an area that they can help them. On that note, I think I have to remember that, out there, there are still a lot of people who are not empowered to take control of their life.
Who doesn’t know how to take responsibility, do not know how to change their lives for the better. I have to remember that there are still people like that out there. If I’m able to open someone’s eyes a little more, then that’s enough motivation for me to keep sharing what I have to share.
Think about it this way: Your Why is something that drives you inherently, that has nothing to do with how much money you have, how much success you have. I think that’s something that I had to rediscover again.
Look to people that inspire you to find motivation:
The second thing that really helps to find motivation in life is to see other people out there – badass, empowered, strong, courageous people. Who are just doing good work in the world and living their best lives. I’m lucky that I get to meet and connect with so many of them. And when I talk to these amazing people, they are also regular human beings too. So it empowers you to realize that, “Hey, they’re normal. I’m normal. If they can do it, I can do it too.”
Sometimes I’m stuck in my little world, in my little bubble, and I’m comfortable with what I’m doing. I feel like what I’m doing is good and it’s okay. But I see other people doing amazing things that actually motivate me to think bigger, dream bigger, and reach for more.
Think back on a time when you were super motivated:
Think back on a time to find motivation in life. when you were super motivated, inspired, and on you’re A+ game, and decode why you were feeling that way. What was it that motivated you? What did your life look like? What were the details? And try to unravel it because it might be different for everyone. For me, I came to the realization that I’m happiest when I’m at my best and when I am excelling in life.
If I’m honest with myself and I look back at my childhood. In school, I genuinely liked to be the best student and excel. And I wanted to do that for myself. It just made me happy.
You can be confused because a lot of self-help texts tell you to not focus on your ego, not focus on wanting more, not to focus on external validation as much as internal validation and self-worth. So I thought that at this part of my life, I have everything that I could ever need and there doesn’t need to be more. It’s not a necessity. So that’s why I told myself, “Okay, I don’t need to strive for more. I could be happy with where I am.” and I tried that. Which made me unmotivated and feel slow.
I think that, internally, I genuinely like to just do well in life. It’s just a drive where external validation does matter a bit. There’s a reason that we live in this material world, and there’s a reason that I do care about how I look because it makes me feel good. There’s a distinction between doing it for other people vs doing it for yourself. So I dress well because I feel good when I look good and the same thing is with external validation.
I feel good when I am excelling and doing my best in life. I had to make sure that I wasn’t excelling and trying to succeed for my parents or to get the approval of my peers. At this point, I realize it’s not about that anymore. Maybe it was at some point in my career, but not anymore.
Now I like to do it for myself and it makes me happy. So I think you just have to come to a realization that, whatever you do in life, do it for yourself, do what makes you happy. Yes, you have to find your self-worth from within. But it doesn’t mean that you can’t strive for more. You can be happy with what you have and be super grateful for your life. But still, you have to strive for more because we’re here to live our best lives. If you want to live your best life, you always should be doing your best.
Don’t play small, Don’t be too safe:
I believe if you’re not going uphill, you’re going downhill. So the harsh reality is: You do get lazy because you’re afraid to try hard. You’re afraid to fail because if you try hard at being your best, there is an opportunity for failure and disappointment. Maybe being lazy and unmotivated is a way to avoid that failure, avoid that fear. This reminds me of a quote that I’ve always heard but never fully, fully understood. It’s by Marianne Williamson.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frighten us.
I never fully understood that quote because I’m like, “Why would we be afraid to be great?” Isn’t that the goal? You want to be amazing and great in everything. But now I can understand it a bit more, that it’s hard to be great. It’s hard to be your best and it’s scary to do that. So I think most of us shy from doing our best. Because that looks embarrassing. It’s just scary. There’s a continuation of this quote that I love. She says,
“Your playing small does not serve the world.”
It is a harsh truth because most of us do play small. Most of us do take the comfortable, less risky route because it’s safer and it’s easier to do. The scary thing is to step fully into your light and be your best self, present your best self and just try your best.
So I think this is just a deep reminder that if you’re feeling unmotivated, lazy, and uninspired. It’s probably rooted in a fear of some sort. I hope that you find it within yourself and are courageous enough to step out of that. Be the best self that you can be because you deserve that and the world deserves it too. The world needs you to step up and be your best and shine your light.
So it’s totally okay and normal to feel unmotivated and down at times, but not stay there for so long. Now you know where you can look for some spark in your life. Start with your Why. Look to people that inspire you. Remember that you are a light and you have the capacity to be amazing.
And don’t shy away from that. Don’t play small, don’t be too safe. Just go out there and be your best. Try your best because you deserve it and the world needs what you got. Alright, on that note, I’m signing off.