How to Stay Motivated When You're Not in The Mood To Do Anything

January is my busiest time of year. Yup, there is a “busy season” for those of us in the self-help world. Why? Because over the holidays individuals either:

a. Take stock of what isn’t working
b. Eat themselves into a coma
c. Something in between

Then the New Year rolls around and people have a sudden I-want-to-kick-ass-at-life type attitude that floods my inbox and warms my soul.

Yet as January rolls into February, most of us start to get a case of the “fuck-its.”

Bootcamp turns into beer night.

Saving money turns into spending freely.

Meditation turns into masturbation.

I get it. I’ve been there.

Most of us have a hard time of maintaining the motivation we started the year with. That once shiny feeling of stepping into our potential often becomes a feeling of dread, destroying both our self-trust and our gym membership.

As a coach, it’s my job to hold clients to their highest vision. That means in those moments when their fears, self-doubt, or Netflix account are calling their name, I remind them of the reasons why they wanted to stop playing small in the first place.

Today, I want to share the tool I use with clients to make things stick. The tool I personally use every time I want to make a change that requires me to step out of my comfort zone. It isn’t fancy because like all the best tools, it’s simple, quick, and foolproof.

I’ve attached a free worksheet for you to download. But before you skip ahead, there’s one key thing you need to know:

YOUR CHANCES OF ACHIEVING YOUR GOAL ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS YOUR REASONS TO DO IT.

What does that mean?

If your goal is “to eat healthy,” you’re not going to do it. Why? Because that is a lame-ass boring goal.

But, if your goal is: “to eat healthy so that you feel great, have more energy for fun things, stop wasting money on takeout, and save money for your upcoming vacation” you’re way more likely to achieve it.

Why?

Because your reasons to push through your discomfort are compelling, time-sensitive, and motivating.

When you have good reasons, you're armed and ready for when the couch calls your name, you’re scared of failure, or your old fears pop back up. All you need to do is review your list of why your best self wants you to get off the couch.

THE TIME TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF ISN’T WHEN YOU’RE FEELING SHITTY. IT’S NOW.

It’s simple:

Come up with reasons why achieving your goal gets you to where you want to be.

Come up with reasons why not achieving it so far has held you back.

Look at your list often.

The Takeaway:

Get good reasons and then build your motivation muscle.

Download the worksheet here