Getting and Staying Motivated

We’ve all had those days. Weeks, even.

The ones where you are kinda spinning your wheels, but not a ton is getting done. Where you’re distracted. Daydreaming. Getting sidetracked on things that are more interesting than the things you just gotta do.

From time to time, all of us have issues with being motivated to work on the things that matter.

What do we do about it?

I’d thought I would share a few tips. Tips that might seem unrelated, but definitely help when it comes to ensuring you’re operating in a state where production can actually happen. If anything, they are reminders. For me, too.

#1 – Getting Rid Of UNEARNED dopamine

Dopamine is sometimes called the “happy hormone”. Your body generates and releases it whenever you’re happy. Often there’s a feeling of reward, motivation, excitement, happiness.

Now, through most of man’s history, getting those hits of dopamine meant you need to accomplish something first. Something meaningful would happen and it results in happiness and, hence, dopamine.

Today, we are barraged with ways to trigger this dopamine response without actually earning it. Without anything meaningful actually occurring.

– Social media, where you just scroll endlessly looking for the next interesting thing.
– The moment you get that next text message, that next email…. and you interrupt everything to look at it because it might provide some temporary dopamine.
– Arguing politics on social media, checking news headlines
– Eating as a distraction or entertainment
– Drinking alcohol
– Watching online videos

You get the idea. These are all easy ways to get quick dopamine hits. And, we’re kinda hard-wired to seek out the shortest path to those dopamine hits.

The problem is… modern technology has made it SSOOOOOO easy to take that shortest path.

But, those dopamine hits are unearned. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t get that happiness by actually doing anything. We’re just… engaging in a modern drug.

So, one way to help restore your motivation is to start intentionally dropping out all those paths to UNEARNED dopamine hits.

Quit drinking. Quit wasting time on social media. Close your email. Turn off your phone (or at least silence it). One by one… get rid of all those distractions that are providing easy, useless paths to dopamine.

By doing this, you will “re-train” yourself to seek actual, meaningful ways to achieve that happiness.

#2 – Fix Your Digestion

When you eat like hell, it can really mess with your hormone balance. It can also rob you of energy because your body is diverting energy into digesting what you just did to it.

The absolute worse offenders are sugar products, processed foods, high-carb foods (like wheat and breads), alcohol.

Instead, you focus on veggies, protein and fats.

Maybe even throw in some probiotics. Depending on your situation, you may need some enzymes and/or bile salts.

Reduce inflammation by eating anti-inflammatory foods. Possibly even do intermittent fasting.

I’m not a nutritionist, so all I can say is to look into this for yourself. There’s a awesome Youtube channel by Dr. Eric Berg I would encourage you to look into. He does great stuff. Feel free to look at others, too. He just happens to be a dude I like.

But, your body derives fuel and energy from food when digestion is proper. You should feel energized… not groggy. Not low-energy after you eat.

Fix your digestion and you’re going to do wonders for your health… and your motivation and energy throughout the day.

#3 – Know Your Purpose And Natural Strength

When you remove those distractions up above, you need to fill the void by being able to work on something you like.

You want to feel a sense of fulfillment from what you are doing. Have a WHY behind it.

What were those moments in your life when you found you could do something for a LONG time and enjoy it? Where you lost track of the time because you were “in the zone” and truly enjoying what you were doing?

Scan for those times in your life and look at WHAT you were doing. And therein, look for your natural purpose and where you find fulfillment.

How can you design your life to do more of that… and less of the other stuff?

Once you remove all the blocks to your motivation… and can then re-aim toward the stuff that really matters to you…

Then, you’ll have way less problems getting motivated.