How to Get Motivated: A Review from Experience and Pro Tips

We’ve all had ups and downs. And sometimes when you’re down, you feel like you can’t get anything done, like you’re always tired and simply don’t want to do anything but lay in bed, watch Netflix, and eat your body weight in snacks.

That has happened to me.

Eventually, you’ll either come across some good motivational tips on social media or you’ll purposely search them because you want to find some ways to get out of the hole you’re currently in. For some people it’s enough to read some good tips; those will motivate them enough to help them get back on their feet.

But what happens when that feeling of not being able to achieve anything thing and just feeling down and unmotivated does not go away in a couple of days or after reading multiple motivational tips? What if it’s not momentary?

First, I’m going to share my experience with you and, hopefully you’ll find this as something you can relate to, and then I’ll give you some tips that have helped me. I hope they’re useful.

My motivation comes and goes, and lately I’ve been feeling super down and with no will to do anything at all, including things I usually enjoy doing (like going to the beach or working out). So, I decided to search on the greatness of the internet for some tips to try to get myself back on my feet and actually get things done and enjoy my life.

I kept finding these posts with great tips that promise to work 100 percent and, to my surprise, they included advise that not only didn’t help but also hurt me in some way. Here are some of those tips and my thoughts on them:

• “Hold yourself accountable.”: Although I agree with the fact that we can’t blame others for our own mistakes and we need to take responsibility for our actions, I disagree with the way it’s being expressed, because not everyone that is lacking some motivation choses to sit around and do nothing. They’re in a lot of pain and don’t want to be in that position. It hurts them to not be able to get out of that state of mind. They want to, but they can’t.
• “Stop complaining.”: What bothered me about this tip was that the guy who wrote it claims that nobody cares. Even though I understand where he’s coming from, because he means that instead of overthinking about your problems you should do something about it, the advice comes out horribly because some people can’t stop complaining as a cry for help. You never know what the other person is going through, so you should always be nice, because you don’t know what your hurtful words can trigger.
• “Stop procrastinating.”: Like I said before, some people don’t choose to feel this way and, therefore, they don’t procrastinate on purpose. And when they do, they’re in a lot of pain because they know they shouldn’t be procrastinating but they can’t stop.

Those are just some examples of tips I’ve come across the internet and that have hurt me to read. None of those tips have been helpful to me because of all the reasons I’ve given before and if you still haven’t found a good way to get motivated, here I’ll give you some tips that helped me:

1. Be specific and make it a challenge.: There are many reasons why I think this is true, but I’ll tell you from experience that I found it very helpful when I specified exactly what I needed to do for the day, as well as the steps to accomplish those short-term goals. For example, try is with something small first, like with some errand that you must run tomorrow or with that one meal you keep wanting to make but can’t find yourself to do it, and if you think it works continue doing it until it becomes a habit.
2. Celebrate the “little” wins. You deserve it.: If you’re struggling with some type of mental health issue (which is more common than you think), then you know that, sometimes, even getting out of bed is a struggle, and when you accomplish that task, it feels like a huge win; and you should totally celebrate that, as well as any other wins you get in your life.
3. Don’t overdo it.: If you want to find a good way to feel better and get motivated, make sure to not search too many tips, because getting too much information can be overwhelming and have the opposite effect of what you want to do, which is get motivated. You’re probably going to feel like you’re drowning in tips and you’ll say “forget it, it’s not worth it” and you will go back to the start. Start with two or three tips, practice them and if they don’t work, search for more.
4. GET HELP: I cannot stress this enough. If this is not a momentary feeling and you’ve been feeling down and upset for a while and not even the best tips work, you HAVE to get help. This doesn’t mean that you’re… broken, because you can’t figure it out on your own. It only means that right now you don’t have the strategies to handle it, and that is ok. For example, if you have a broken arm, do you keep it like that and try to fix it on your own or do you go to the doctors? Well, it’s the same thing in mental health. I advise you to get professional help, with a clinical psychologist, a counselor, a psychiatrist, and try to find the best one that fits your needs and your current problems (I could go on about this subject but it would be off topic, so if you want to know more just DM on Instagram. I’ll leave the link to my account below). And if you can’t afford it right now, or don’t feel comfortable to contact someone yet, you can always talk to a friend or a family member that you know will understand and be a good help. DO NOT talk to someone that will just bring you even more down.

I’m a strong believer that everyone needs a pep talk every once in a while, so I hope this article does that to you. And, please, don’t get discouraged if you can’t get better by simply reading some tips, because you are not the problem. You are a perfectly good human being that needs help… like everyone else.

Love,

Nat

Instagram: @inspiredby.nat