Lacking Self-Motivation? Evaluate These Three Root Beliefs
There is always a root cause for lacking self-motivation and it’s not that you’re lazy. Using laziness as your excuse for lacking motivation will only stop you from finding the real reason. Instead, focus on the facts.
Motivation is the energy to act. Self-motivation is when that energy to act comes from within instead of from an external source. The problem most people have with self-motivation is when they want something but don’t have the energy within to act on that desire.
Assuming there are no physical or mental impediments, this schism between wanting and doing can only be resolved by addressing one of three root beliefs:
- The desire for instant gratification. i.e., Not acting because you believe using energy to act now will not produce what you want fast enough.
- Devaluing the cost of time. i.e., Not acting because you believe continuing to delay action until a future time will not cost you what you want.
- Incompatible pain tolerance. i.e., Not acting because on the one hand you believe the pain of acting is higher than your pain tolerance, and on the other hand the pain of not getting what you want is lower than your pain tolerance.
It’s possible more than one of these beliefs may be hampering self-motivation. Therefore, you must address each one of these possible issues with brutal honesty. If you really desire an outcome you’re struggling to act on, then brutal honesty is the only path to self-motivation.