A lack of motivation can often seem to be caused by laziness or procrastination at first glance, but looks can often be deceiving!

If you’re struggling to stay motivated about working on your goals or any other endeavor, a little introspection can be just the thing you need to provide clarity and insight about what’s really happening beneath the surface.

Grab a sheet of paper and a pen, and answer the questions below:

1) Am I afraid of failing?

Fear of failure is an all-too-common reason why people lose motivation.  If this is one of the reasons you’re holding back, you’ll likely be able to come up with clear ideas why you feel so afraid.  For example, you may write, “I’m afraid of embarrassing myself in front of my family and friends,” or “I’m afraid I’ll be really disappointed in myself if I don’t make this happen.”  Whatever comes to mind, write it down and then really think about whether it would be so terrible to experience – or if it would be much worse to not try at all. 

2) Do I really believe in my own ability to persevere until I make it?

Likewise, you may be feeling uncertain about your ability to overcome obstacles and challenges, which is slightly different than a fear of failure.  For example, you may have a certain measure of confidence in your skills and abilities but doubt that you have the determination and fortitude to achieve the full outcome you desire.

3) Have I grown bored with the goals that once meant so much to me?

This is an excellent question to ask because sometimes you’re not aware that your priorities and preferences have changed, and you can gain a lot of clarity by understanding what you REALLY want.  If you do find that you’ve lost interest in your initial goals, you simply need to come up with some new and exciting goals that will spark your eagerness to move forward again.

4) Am I afraid of what it might mean if I succeed?

Another common fear is the fear of success.  A fear of success is more about fearing the baggage that often comes along with success.  You may feel nervous about taking on extra responsibility, feel overwhelmed by the increased attention your success would bring, or you might even be worried that you’ll never be able to “top” this level of success in the future.  The only way to work through these fears is to discredit them.  When you break them down and really examine them, you usually find that they’re groundless or irrational, which helps you to move past them.

5) What would make me feel more motivated about this goal or activity?

Sometimes you can’t find any clear reason for feeling unmotivated, but asking this question can often help you feel more in control of your own willingness to take action.  Not only do you realize that you’re not powerless against a lack of motivation, you may come up with creative ideas that could inspire your sense of enthusiasm again.

Have you ever hesitated to take action and gotten stuck in a rut of inertia?

Most often when this happens, you’re waiting for some internal or external clue that tells you it’s okay to move forward.  You’re waiting until you feel more confident, or until obstacles dissolve and your goals are easier to achieve.

The problem is, the longer you stay inactive, the harder it is to begin moving forward.  So you wait; and wait; and wait some more!

The truth is – it will never get easier to move forward.  Every moment that you hold back you are settling deeper into your comfort zones, and pushing out of them will be even more uncomfortable when you finally do it.

However, you’ll be pleased to learn about a little thing called MOMENTUM. 

You see, when most people procrastinate and avoid taking action, they do so because it seems exceedingly difficult to move forward – and they mistakenly believe that it will ALWAYS be that difficult.  Have you ever had the same perception?

What you need to know is this:  the longer you work on taking consistent action toward your goals, you will build momentum and it will get easier and easier as you go along.

Eventually the actions you take will seem almost effortless.  You’ll begin to enjoy your activities because you’ll feel more empowered and confident about taking action.  Not to mention, all of the effort you’ve put in will be reaping great results by that time!

Are you ready to climb out of your rut of inertia today?  If so, here is a simple 3 step process to help you begin taking action – and keep taking it!

1) Commit to the actions first.  When many people set goals, they commit to achieving the end result, but they rarely commit to taking the actions that will get them there.  Take a few minutes to jot down the specific action steps that will get you to your goal, and then make a solemn commitment to take them every day.

2) Baby steps, baby steps!  Did you know that small, consistent steps toward a goal are often more effective than large, sporadic actions?  Even tiny actions will begin to build momentum and bring you great results!  Make it your sole mission to move forward consistently, despite feelings of fear, obstacles that pop up, or anything else that threatens to erode your confidence.  Keep moving forward no matter what.

3) Don’t focus on results yet.  Many a goal has been abandoned because people take an action, wait to see what the results are, and quit when they don’t see the results they expected.  Don’t get so dependent upon the results that you allow them to determine your NEXT actions. 

In other words, focus only on putting one foot in front of the other, even if you’re not yet seeing the results you want.  If you quit, you’re guaranteed not to see results – but by persevering, you’ll make things happen eventually.

When you’re working toward goals that are important to you, the last thing you want is to face a big challenge or obstacle because it usually means that your desired outcome will be delayed.

However, if you learn to see challenges in a new light, they can easily become the best things that have ever happened to you.

Below you’ll find 5 questions you should ask whenever you find yourself facing challenges:

1) What Can I Learn From This?

Too often we view challenges as annoyances or personal vendettas, when in fact they may hold a great opportunity to learn and grow!  If you start by asking what you can learn from each challenge, you’ll suddenly see them as possibilities that pave the way to greater wisdom and self-mastery.

2) How Can This Strengthen Me?

One major reason why challenges intimidate us is because we don’t feel capable of handling them.  We have a limited perception of our own abilities, so we automatically believe that the challenge is bigger than we are.  However, if you learn to see challenges as an opportunity to become stronger and more empowered, there’s no way they can hold you back!

3) How Can I Use This to My Advantage?

Most often we see challenges as disadvantages – but is that necessarily true?  A challenge can often help you see that there are many possible ways to achieve a goal, and the one you’ve chosen may not necessarily be the best one.  Asking this question can often open your mind to alternative routes that may be shorter or otherwise better in some way.

4) How Can I Use This to Help Others?

Though we often believe our goals affect only ourselves, more often we have a huge impact on the people around us too.  Not only do other people watch what you do and how you live your life – they often model their own behavior after yours!  If you refuse to let challenges intimidate you or slow you down, you just might inspire and motivate others to do the same with their own challenges.

5) What Would Make This a Worthwhile Experience?

Sometimes just being willing to recognize that a challenge may not be such a bad thing can be enough to help you realize all kinds of wonderful benefits from it.  This question does a couple of things:  first, it helps you feel more empowered because it affirms that you have a choice in how you react to the challenge; and secondly it reminds you that every challenge holds the seeds for unlimited blessings and opportunities.

Have you ever noticed that a lack of motivation leaves you feeling sluggish and uninspired?

One great way to turn that mind-set around is by consciously getting joyful!  Joyful about what, exactly?  Well, anything will do, but here are a few good ideas to get you started.

Probably one of the best things to get joyful about are the end results you’re trying to create.  If you’re working toward your goals and feeling unmotivated about taking action, start by thinking about how good you’ll feel to achieve the goal. 

Imagine the feelings of excitement and satisfaction you’ll experience when you can finally shout, “I did it!”  It’s important to not just think about these things, but really allow yourself to experience the feelings too!

You can also take it step further and consider how achieving that goal will contribute to your life and the lives of others.  What do you stand to gain from it?  How will it help others?  How do you feel about those benefits?  Imagine that you and others are enjoying those benefits right now.  How does that make you feel?

Still not feeling the joy?

Time to up the ante.  Start focusing on something wonderful you want to happen in your future, even if you’re not working on it yet.  Make this “something” really BIG and AMAZING.  Something that would change your whole life and make you whoop and holler with joy.  Some examples: 

Imagine that you won the lottery and you get to call all your friends and relatives to share the good news.  Or imagine that you’ve just won your dream home in a contest and you’re going to see it in person for the first time.  Or imagine that you met the love of your life and it’s your wedding day!

Whatever you choose to focus on, pretend that it’s happening NOW and allow yourself to get into those feelings of intense excitement and awe.  Stay with these images for as long as necessary to pump yourself up with joy.

Once you’re feeling joyful and excited, get moving immediately on your other tasks or goals – the ones you were avoiding a little while ago.  Don’t give yourself time to form any more excuses; just do it!

Allow your feelings of joy and enthusiasm to flow into your current activities and keep your motivation strong.  You’ll probably find that your energy stays high for a longer period of time and you’ll end up accomplishing more than you would have otherwise.  Even better, joy can make any action seem almost effortless – which can be a big help when you’re pursuing goals or facing a difficult task.

Once you get used to using joy as a motivator, you’ll likely come to enjoy the process so much that it will take less and less effort to employ – and you’ll have no trouble at all keeping your motivation consistently strong!

Would you move toward your goals with stronger purpose and relentless determination?  Would you laugh at obstacles and challenges?  Would you ignore negative comments from other people in your life?

Imagine that anything you wanted right now was available to you, and there was NO POSSIBLE WAY you could fail in your attempt to get it.  How would that have changed the goals you’ve set in the past, and how might it change your current goals?

If you’re like most people, this exercise may help you realize a few things:

• You’ve Been Playing Small 

You may have doubts about your ability to achieve the goals you really want, so you settle for smaller goals that you know you can handle.

The problem with doing this is that you’re not working toward goals that really keep you motivated.  The smaller goals you’re setting may be “nice” but they’re not what REALLY get you fired up!  As you know, staying motivated is easier when you’re working toward something that’s vitally important to you.

• Failure Isn’t Your Biggest Fear – Success Is! 

One common reaction many people have to the questions asked in the beginning of this article is the realization that they still wouldn’t go after bigger goals because the thought of achieving them is more frightening than failing!  Staying where you are might seem more appealing than going after big goals because at least your current situation is familiar and comfortable – if not very satisfying.

Of course, nothing will change if you don’t find a way to believe in your capabilities!  A funny thing happens when people achieve an important goal – they realize they are capable of handling much more than they ever suspected before.  They realize that their fears were groundless and they’re grateful that they pushed forward despite them.

• Failure Doesn’t Exist Until YOU Say It Does

When you look back at your past failures, you’ll probably notice a couple of things: failure occurred when you refused to try; and failure occurred when you quit trying. 

How many times have you done those things?  This realization can be life-changing if you allow it to be!  Think about the goals you’ve set in the past, and ask yourself if you refused to try or quit trying at any point.  Most likely your answer will be affirmative.

Now take a moment to think about your current goals.  What if you simply began working toward them and refused to quit?  What would happen? 

Only you can determine whether failure is possible for you – solely based upon your willingness to keep moving forward or not!

Most likely you either sit immobile with a blank look of boredom on your face or you find other non-essential activities to distract you.  Of course, these two choices don’t help you get anything accomplished, do they?

Instead, why not try some of the suggestions below the next time you’re feeling unmotivated:

• Put On Some Music 

Upbeat music is one sure way to get your emotion and energy flowing again!  Turn it up loud, groove to the beat and even dance around if you feel like it.  In no time at all you should be feeling pumped up and ready to get moving again.

• Laugh

Laughter is like a miracle drug for the blues.  Not only does it make you feel more alert, it also releases a flood of those fantastic feel-good endorphins in your body.  Spend a few minutes reading or watching something funny, and then allow those good feelings to stimulate your motivation.

• Wash Away Lethargy

Showering can immediately perk you up and make you feel more energized again.  Try using a fresh-scent shower gel or soap, and turn the water temperature a bit cooler than you normally would.  Scrub your hair and body with vigor and imagine that your feelings of “blah” are being washed down the drain.

• Get Some Fresh Air 

A brisk walk is another great way to get some positive energy flowing again!  Focus on working your muscles and burning off any sense of sluggishness you may feel.  Breathe deeply and feel your body being flooded with life-giving oxygen!  Imagine your brain perking up and your body being energized, and in just minutes you should be feeling focused and productive again.

• Breathe! 

Speaking of breathing deeply, it can work as a powerful wake-up exercise even if you’re not working out at the time.  Simply sit quietly and take several slow, deep breaths.  As you inhale, imagine that you’re taking in invigorating energy, and as you exhale imagine that you’re releasing lethargy and stagnation.

These are just a few ways you can get yourself feeling motivated again, but there are many others too!

When it comes right down to it, motivation is simply the willingness to take action and be productive.  Whether you’re working on your goals, trying to get chores done at work or around the house – just deciding to get up and get moving can be the most powerful motivator of all.

Detoxification most often refers to the process of removing toxins from the body to achieve better health and well-being, but most people don’t realize that their minds can become incredibly toxic too. 

How do you know if your mind is toxic?  You’ll most often feel powerless, hopeless, intimidated, frustrated, ineffective and stuck. Everyone feels like this occasionally, but if you spend the majority of your time feeling like this, you’ve definitely got toxin overload.

Here’s how to detox your mind:

• Purge The Toxins

The first step is to find a way to purge the negative thoughts and beliefs that are holding you back.  One of the best ways to do this is to write them down.  Grab a blank sheet of paper and a pen, and start writing how you feel about yourself, your goals, your dreams, and your life in general. 

You might end up with statements like these:  “I feel so sick and tired of struggling.  No matter what I do I can’t seem to make changes.  I really think I’m defective somehow because I can’t do the things that other people find so easy.  I’m doomed to live a life of mediocrity and lack.  I’m powerless to change anything in my life.”

Keep writing until you’ve covered everything you can think of.

• Then, Create The Antidote

All of those negative thoughts and beliefs you just wrote down are literally polluting your potential!  Unless you replace them with something more empowering, they’ll continue to control everything you think, say and do.

Grab another sheet of paper and begin writing a positive statement that directly contradicts each negative one.  However, be sure you write it in a way that is believable to you.  Using the examples from above, your antidote might look like this:  “I am absolutely determined to make better progress on improving my life.  I can make changes simply by taking one step at a time and believing in my own ability. 

I am learning new and powerful ways to conquer challenges and move forward.  Other people appear to have it easy because they’ve probably been working on this stuff longer than I have.  I will eventually reach the same state of confidence and mastery.  I know I have the power to learn, grow, and make my life into something meaningful and fulfilling.”

Once you’ve got your antidote ready, destroy the toxins.  That sheet of paper you wrote all the negative stuff on?  Burn it!  Or rip it into tiny shreds and throw it away.  Those thoughts are no longer part of your life.

Then be sure to take the antidote every single day!  Read your new empowering thoughts as often as you can and do your best to internalize them as your new truth.

Remember, a tiny bit of toxins usually won’t cause big problems, but if they begin to build up over time they can wreak absolute havoc in your life.  That’s true with both physical AND mental toxins. 

By taking the antidote on a regular basis, you minimize the buildup of mental toxins in your mind and automatically empower yourself to do and be more than you ever believed possible.

However, you don’t have to allow fear to hinder your actions and destroy your goals!  With a simple shift in perspective, you can transform fear into courage and optimism and use them to your advantage.

If you’re like most people, you’re probably used to seeing the negative side of situations.  Not only do you tend to focus more on the challenges instead of the benefits in each situation, you may also hesitate to take action because of the potential negative risks involved.  Wanting to move forward may not provide enough incentive to overcome these fears, so you continuously hold yourself back and accomplish far less than you’re capable of.

However, if you learn to shift your focus from what you stand to lose in each situation and instead focus on what you might gain, you’ll probably find yourself feeling more courageous and eager to take action!

You may find it helpful to make a list of any specific fears you have and get them out in the open.  In each situation that makes you feel fearful, consider exactly what is holding you back.  What do you fear happening and why?  Are those things likely to happen, or is there only a slight chance?

Then use a separate sheet of paper and create a list of benefits you stand to gain by moving forward.  Be as specific – and optimistic – as you can.  Remember that dread and fear often seem to amplify the negative possibilities, which can make the positive benefits seem smaller or less important, so you may need to work a little harder to emphasize the positive.

Looking over these two lists should give you a more balanced view of your options and provide the clarity you need to decide whether to move forward or not.  You may decide that you have valid reasons to hang back a bit longer, and it’s okay to do that! 

If you see that the possible negative consequences are more than you’re willing to accept at this time, you can either come up with less risky steps to take, or simply hold off and reevaluate at a later time.

If you do decide that the time to take action is now, you may need to work on building up your courage a bit before you do.  Remember that the only one with the power to hold you back is YOU.  At its core, motivation is largely the determination to conquer any fear, hesitation or excuse that threatens to hold you back.

Most importantly of all, don’t trick yourself into believing that you have to be completely fearless before moving toward your goals!  The most successful people in the world would probably tell you that they eventually had to resolve to move forward despite their fear and uncertainty!

Courage is absolutely a choice, and fear does not have the power to sap your motivation and strength unless you decide to let it.

When the initial excitement of your goals or project begins to wear off and you find yourself losing focus and determination, it can be helpful to engage in a comprehensive review – not just of your current goals, but all aspects of your life.

This process may seem like a lot of work at first, but it can serve as a powerful breath of fresh air that clears away stagnation and ushers in renewed clarity and motivation.

Start by using a blank sheet of paper to represent each area of your life, like financial, career, relationships, home, health and fitness, spiritual and so on.  Write a general overview of your status in each area.  Are you satisfied with the things you’ve accomplished in these areas of your life?  Would you like to make further changes?

Then, based on that information, come up with some clear goals that you can set for each area of your life.  They don’t have to be massive goals, just objectives you’d like to begin working toward gradually.

Once you’ve got some goals set, come up with a few simple action steps you can take in each area on a regular basis.  These action steps might include things like reducing your consumption of junk food, exercising for 30 minutes daily, spending more quality time with your family, enrolling in night classes to get your degree, or starting a home business on the side to boost your income.

When you’ve completed this process for each part of your life, write all of those action steps on one sheet of paper, separated into sections.  By the time you’re finished you should have a clear idea of exactly what you want to accomplish in each area of your life.

But you’re not done yet!

Now, take a look at the goals and action steps you’ve written down, and consider any possible obstacles you might face that would threaten your motivation.  What types of problems usually come up that prevent you from doing the things you want to do?  And how can you set up strategies to overcome them in the future?

For example, one obstacle you might face is procrastination brought on by a shortage of time.  Rather than spending a few minutes at a time working on your goals, you tend to put it off until you have more time, which never happens. 

One possible strategy you could put in place is a written reminder that you must use the time you do have wisely, because small actions taken consistently will still help you reach your goals!

Once you have these strategies written down, be sure to keep them nearby and re-read them as often as necessary.  If you do find that you’re losing steam again at a later time, simply start this entire process over again and allow it to usher in a welcome dose of clarity, focus and motivation.

That inner restriction is the way we get wound up about our concerns and magnify them. Somehow in nature, the perspective we have is altered and we are part of something larger. Our worries seem smaller and we appreciate what is around us. We expand and merge with what is surrounding us.

Don’t feel that you need a week off to take these nice mental breaks. Give yourself an hour or two and you can be rejuvenated. This takes the pressure off planning a huge chunk of time away from work and additionally provides mini-retreats that are much more accessible. 

Remember what you’ve always loved as a child as you plan these little excursions so you can pick activities that refresh you. For some people, a blanket under a big tree with a basket of food is enough to change their perspective.

Others find more rejuvenation with a brisk walk or hike. Experiment with different types of outings to see which has a nice integration for your body, mind and spirit. If you are trying to get some exercise into your week then adding in a walk, hike, bike ride or aerobic dimension is an excellent idea.

Taking food with you is a good idea as you can be self-sufficient in nature by having a sandwich, fruit and nut mix plus snacks to keep your energy going. Always bring adequate water supplies as well so you stay hydrated.

By focusing on small nature breaks you are giving your mind a rest from it’s normal routines and not waiting for the special vacation time getaway to change your perspective. Build this into your week and don’t postpone it as it is invaluable for nourishing yourself .

It will improve your outlook, energy, concentration and attitude for the whole week. It also will give you something to look forward to and that adds lightness to one’s being when one feels overwhelmed by responsibilities by having an attractive activity planned .