Motivation

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 A few thoughts on how to keep going in life.

The APA (American Psychological Association) Dictionary of Psychology defines motivation as "a person's willingness to exert physical or mental effort in pursuit of a goal or outcome." Well, sometimes, that willingness simply isn't present in sufficient quantities, or isn't there at all. Motivation is something I'm sure everyone has struggled with at some point. We don't want to keep working on that project. We don't want to start washing the dishes. We don't want to get out of bed early. But things have to be done. So how do you stay motivated?

Well, I'm struggling to find the answer myself, but I have a few ideas. It's advisable to start small. Say you want to learn a new language. Well, practicing for an hour each day would be good, but that's rather difficult if you're a complete beginner. So start with say, 10 minutes each day. Then after a week or two, maybe add another 10. You're more likely to be motivated to study for smaller periods of time and work your way up to your desired time than try and tackle a large chunk of study at once.

Another tip would be to practice the 'just this' approach. Say you're doing an exercise routine, which requires you to do 3 sets of weight lifting. When the going gets tough, don't think about the entire routine. Just focus on lifting the weights once; 'just this lift.' That's all you have to do at each moment. This requires mental presence. 

Yes, there's times where we just have to push ourselves to complete difficult tasks. But I'm learning that with a change of mindset, you can help yourself get motivated to work. 

So let's get out there and start.

Sources:
APA Dictionary of Psychology (2025) - Motivation: https://dictionary.apa.org/motivation


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