hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're gonna learn about the real reason you're not very
motivated now let's begin number one you have zero connection your goals have to be important to you
you'd be surprised how few people really relate to their goals they set these lofty ambitions about
becoming doctors or starting their own companies without asking themselves one simple question is
that what I really want people have to relate to something before it carries emotional weight when
we have that personal connection with a story or idea we can insert ourselves into it and we care
about what happens it works the same way for your goals you have to genuinely see yourself
in them otherwise even if you tell people you have big dreams you'll have a hard time staying
motivated if this sounds like you take a hard look at where you're headed and reflect on the reasons
why you do what you do try asking yourself more introspective questions like did I choose my own
goals or is there something else I feel more connected to the answers to these questions
will tell you if you're moving in the right direction or if you have a stronger connection
with something else number two you reward yourself for everything do you let yourself get away with
everything if you slack off or procrastinate do you still reward your bad habits well for many
people a typical afternoon goes something like this in the morning you decide that you want to
take a step towards your goals you're determined to get it done today because you've been putting
it off for months you tell yourself that you can't watch TV or play video games at all no not until
you get this done but when you're sitting in front of the computer you're completely unmotivated all
you want to do is go watch TV so you say oh well I tried and you let yourself watch TV anyway even
though you got nothing done this is a classic example of misplaced reinforcement your original
idea was good it was you set up a reward system and that should have motivated you but you're
not being firm with yourself you're not taking that reward system seriously your brain knows
that it's going to get that reward either way so it wants to avoid working and go straight to the
fun part instead of feeling motivated your brain chooses to be lazy so how should a good reward
system work there has to be positive rewards and negative consequences if you do your work
like you're supposed to you should get a present you should let yourself have some fun but if you
don't do your work you should take that reward away otherwise there's no real punishment for
slacking off this kind of reward system may be the real reason that you're not motivated but if
you keep yourself in check you can use rewards and punishments to develop your motivation in no time
number 3 you lack independence many unmotivated people feel like they're not in the driver's seat
like their future wasn't their idea or that they didn't have the freedom to pursue their passions
if this sounds like you your lack of Independence might be destroying your motivation there are all
kinds of ways you could have lost your freedom you might have been forced into a job that you
hate your boss might not give you an inch of breathing room or you might spend every day
doing errands for people instead of pushing or challenging yourself if you struggle with these
things every day it leaves you feeling beaten down and you start dreading your work you wake
up each morning and all you want to do is quit how are you supposed to feel motivated when you don't
even want to be there freedom of choice plays a major role in building your motivation it's
empowering to know that you chose your own path in life that you're chasing your own goals instead of
someone else's in the same vein you need agency independence and responsibility all of these make
you more enthusiastic and stimulated by your work so if you're struggling with motivation it may be
because you're constantly being told what to do number four you stay in bed how much time do you
spend in bed each day because lying down too much may be ruining your motivation this comes from a
1994 study from the University of Tokyo lying in bed can worsen everything from your mood to
your well-being but one thing suffers more than anything else and that's your motivation over the
course of 20 days people who spent more time in bed saw a significant decline in productivity and
performance so the next time you want to work in bed or just rest for a few minutes think about how
much lying down can hurt your motivation number five you're indecisive about the future can you
envision your future do you have clear-cut goals no most people don't in fact most people walk
into their futures completely blind but if you don't know where you're headed how in the world
are you supposed to get excited about it yeah it's a scary feeling when your entire future
is up in the air it's like jumping straight into the unknown hoping that something or someone is
there to catch you so do yourself a favor define your goals your indecisiveness might be the real
reason that you're not motivated by laying out a plan for your future you can open up a clear
path toward your definition of success and you'll finally feel motivated to make that specific dream
a reality number six you repeat past mistakes are you running into the same roadblocks over and over
again you might be losing motivation because you feel like you're not making any progress you keep
hitting the same walls and struggling with the same problems you feel like you're stagnating
and that makes it really hard to get inspired just imagine you're trying to be an artist but
you aren't feeling motivated to sketch or paint you be struggling because you don't feel like
you're improving you look back at your art from a few months ago and nothing's changed
if you're stuck in this situation the solution is pretty simple change your perspective renew
your motivation by trying something different this new approach will help you avoid past
mistakes open up exciting new doors and give you some perspective on the problems that you
had before hey just because you've hit a wall that doesn't mean you have to keep climbing it
over and over again sometimes the best way to get over a wall is to find another way around
it number seven you're exclusively extrinsic the most powerful kind of motivation comes directly
from you it's called intrinsic motivation it stems from your inner passions beliefs and values it's
the kind of motivation you cultivate on your own throughout your life and if you stay disciplined
it can fuel you for years and years to come but the problem is most people don't have that kind
of motivation instead they're more motivated by extrinsic rewards these are temporary motivators
that come from the world around you compliments are a good example you might be motivated to
work just to get a compliment from your boss but once that reward passes you don't feel motivated
anymore and you have to rely on other extrinsic rewards to get you up and going again far too
many people rely on praise and admiration to get them started but that bad habit is holding them
back so ask yourself what motivates you what inspires you to work harder and longer than
everyone else if you can't think of something you may be relying too much on external rewards
number eight you're not competitive competition is another natural motivator whether you're racing
against the clock or competing with a co-worker competition lights a fire under you it drives you
and it pushes you to your limit but if you're not a competitive person this can be a hard thing to
wrap your head around you might see other people succeeding and think their goals have nothing to
do with me but even if you're not competitive with other people there are still ways that you
can motivate yourself for example you can compete against your own personal bests many people try to
outdo themselves day after day that competitive urge helps them make continuous progress and
stay productive even when they're feeling lazy so whether you're competitive or not create a
little competition in your life because it'll be a powerful motivator on your road toward success
number 9 you're inconsistent maybe none of these apply to you maybe you're in the perfect field
you love your job and you know exactly where you're headed on paper you should be inspired
every single day you should be waking up full of energy ready to tackle your dreams but for some
reason that's still not happening so why aren't you motivated the simple fact is motivation even
in the perfect situation takes a lot of practice you have to hone that skill set like a habit or a
talent okay imagine you're learning how to play a sport like tennis even if you love to play tennis
you won't automatically be good at it you still have to play on a regular basis you still have to
practice serving or volleying back and forth many people struggle to keep your motivation
alive because they're way too inconsistent they rely on bursts of inspiration or productivity to
get them started while those empowering moments may remind you how much you love what you do
it's not enough to keep your motivation alive you need to have enough self-discipline to be
consistent and incorporate your practice into your routine that way motivation becomes something you
have on daily basis not just something you feel every once in a while hey thank you for
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