I've Lost My Motivation

We've all had those times in our lives where we just can't seem to get ourselves motivated to do the things that we really need to do.  When it's something that we really don't enjoy, that makes sense.  But what about those times when it's something that you love doing?  That was the case with a small business owner a few weeks ago.  He previously loved everything about his work!  He loved meeting with clients, training and coaching others.  Sure there were aspects of the business that were less enjoyable, but even those weren't that bad.  So, why was he struggling to get motivated lately?

This small business owner was me!  I love what I do, but I went through a phase where I didn't want to do anything at all.  I'm guessing that I'm not the only one that has experienced this.  If I'm honest with myself, there's two reasons why I experienced this and they are likely the case for you too.

First, was Self Care.  I was burnt out!  I had been going so hard for the previous 4-5 weeks, and I failed to add recovery time into my routines.  I knew better and it was something that I regularly help clients to build into their days.  None of us are capable of operating as the best version of ourselves, if we aren't intentional about the rest we're getting, the food we're eating and the exercise we're building into our days.  Many times, lost motivation is directly related to our energy.  Manage your energy better and motivation tends to increase.

The other element that I needed to improve was getting some clarity around my future ambitions.  Ambition tends to lead to action.  Increased action creates momentum, which in turn creates more motivation.  Unfortunately, I had hit a rough patch where it felt as though I was spinning my wheels.  Murphy's Law seemed to be in play where anything that could go wrong would.  As a result, I lost my ambition.  Only through reminding myself "why I do what I do" was I able to increase my clarity and elevate the level of activity each day.  

By intentionally adding these elements back into my life, I was able to elevate my motivation and began to love my work again.  So, if you too have found that your motivation level is not quite what it was in the past, these could be the missing elements in your life.  How are you going to intentionally add self care and ambition into your daily routines?