Let’s clarify something before we move forward: This article is in no way meant to cure, treat, or diagnose depression. Actually,
this article isn’t even about depression. Depression is the result of a combination of unique events and genetic, psychological, and environmental predispositions.((NIMH:
Depression)) When you’re depressed, you lose all hope for the future, always have no energy, consistently feel sad without knowing why, and are not interested in anything. If you feel like you might be suffering from this illness, you need to seek psychiatric help as soon as possible. Nevertheless, what we’re talking about here focuses on something similar to yet entirely different from depression: lack of motivation or interest. The purpose of this article is to help you figure out some practical solutions for getting back that zest for life and motivate yourself to find and do things that interest you. If you’re not interested in anything and have little to no motivation, this article will help you. Let’s dive in to the reasons why you feel unmotivated and uninterested.
1. You’re Stuck in a Rut
You wake up, work, eat, and go to sleep… Wake up, work, eat, and go to sleep… Wake up, work, eat, and go to sleep. Multiply those activities enough times, throw in some mindless web-surfing and YouTube-bingeing, and congratulations — you’ve got yourself in the middle of a bonafide rut. Being stuck in a rut is like getting stranded in the middle of nowhere with nothing but saltine crackers and water. It feels as if you have no choice but to eat the same bland, flavorless food every day. You do it because you
have to, not because you want to. Lucky for you; you can get yourself out of that rut and reignite your interests by trying a couple of solutions.
Solutions:
- Get out of your comfort zone by injecting new and challenging activities into your life.
- Do more things you’re scared of.
Check out this article for more ideas on how to get out of a rut:
Stuck in a Rut? 5 Ways to Get Out and Move Forward.
2. You’re Not Playing to Your Strengths
One of the reasons why you are probably not interested in anything right now is that your daily activities aren’t tailored around your strengths. In other words, you’re not doing things you’re
great at. To find your strengths, try my GPS Formula by asking yourself:((Meaningful HQ:
10 Things To Remember If You Want To Do What You Love For a Living))
- What am I GREAT at?
- What am I PASSIONATE about?
- How can I combine the two mentioned above in SERVICE to others?
The convergence of your answers is the key to finding your strengths.
Solutions:
- Conduct the GPS Formula exercise described above.
- Experiment with new ideas and potential hobbies.
- Consider starting a side-hustle like an online business based around something you’re great at.
3. Your Subconscious Beliefs Hold You Back
Sometimes, we
hold back and prevent ourselves from embracing exciting changes because we’re afraid of failure. Maybe you’d like to try picking up a new skill or sport, but you make up reasons for why you’re not interested in learning more. You tell yourself you’re not interested… But is that really true? Do you lack
interest or
courage? Often, a lack of the latter keeps us from exploring more of the former.
Solutions:
- Challenge yourself to try more activities to see if they might peak your interest, even though you think you might fail.
- Think of them as trial runs or tests, if you will, to help you determine whether they’re worth pursuing.
4. You’re Not Aiming High Enough
Regardless of what we seek to accomplish in life, it’s how much we desire to achieve our goals that end up becoming crucial to fulfilling them. Unfortunately, too many people try to set limits on their desire and tell themselves and others that they don’t need incredible success. However, this kind of thinking is dangerous. When we limit the scope of our desire, we put a cap on what we’re willing to do to reach our goals and succeed in life. When that happens, we limit the scope of our motivation and interest on any given activity and a general sense of fulfillment. A lack of exciting and desirable goals easily lowers your motivation and makes you feel like you’re not interested in anything. The solution to this problem is what’s known as The 10X Rule,((Dean Bokhari:
THE 10X RULE BY GRANT CARDONE: BOOK SUMMARY)) which states that: You must set targets that are 10 times what you think you want and then do 10 times what you think it will take to accomplish those targets. While some folks will tell you that setting impossible goals kills motivation and that it’s better to “underpromise and overdeliver,” this line of thinking is foolish. 10X-targets (commonly called stretch goals) will only spur you on harder to do more and try more than you ever have done before.((Meaningful HQ:
Smarter Faster Better, Part II: Stretch Goals + SMART Goals = SUCCESS (Stretch + SMART goals examples included))) Besides, even if we fall short of achieving our 10X-level aims and ambitions, it is still better to fall short of achieving a massive target than merely achieving a tiny one. If you aim high enough, you’ll demand more from yourself and become better in pursuit of a massive goal. Nonetheless, setting a high target is only the first step. The next step is to take ten times the amount of action you think is necessary to reach that target.
Solutions:
- When we have small, uninspiring goals, we tend to feel lethargic and unmotivated to achieve them. On the flip side, when we have vast and ambitious goals, we feel empowered and invigorated to take action towards achieving them.((Dean Bokhari: ACTION LEADS TO MOTIVATION)) Bottom line? Set massive goals and take massive action.
- Push yourself to your outermost limits. The more action you take, the more motivated and interested you become to work towards your goals further.
Time to Spark!
Try the methods described above, and you’ll be well on your way to reigniting the interest and motivation
you need to lead a fulfilling life.
More on Overcoming Lack of Motivation and Interest
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