Often I find myself lacking motivation to do anything including leaving my bed in the morning. Some days I give in and just let myself lay in bed but most days it isn’t an option and I force myself to be productive. Being productive without motivation is the hardest. I have a few handy tools that help me get my fix of motivation depending upon what kind of motivation I’m looking for. Here’s my list of things I turn to to give myself that jolt of motivation.
WHEN LACKING IN SELF BELIEF
Very often there are moments when I want to do something but I don’t believe in my own abilities. I am crippled by thoughts of failure and consumed by the outcome. My go-to for such moments is ‘Susan Boyle’s Audition Video for Britain’s Got Talent’. If you haven’t seen it before, I promise this will give you goosebumps and all the motivation you will need to stand up to your critics and give it your best shot.
WHEN LIFE IS IN A RUT
There are days when you feel like your life is in a rut and you’re not doing anything that inspires you to wake up every morning. You’re going through the motions of daily life but not really feeling that spark inside you. For such moments I choose to revisit ‘Steve Jobs’ Commencement Address at Stanford”. This speech is sure to stir that passion inside you and want to do more than living your life in a rut. His talk is even more inspiring since he draws examples from his own life to explain his beliefs.
“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.“
WHEN IT FEELS LIKE NO ONE ELSE IS GOING THROUGH THE SAME THINGS
Sometime you feel like you’re in it alone, like no one else has ever felt the way you are at that moment. Your friends and family don’t relate with what you’re going through but there are so many others out there in the world also going through something similar. For such moments, I turn to motivational pages on Instagram, looking at motivation quotes on Pinterest, motivational posts on WordPress & reading about other people’s lives.
Some pages that I follow on IG are:
Shout out for Tamara Kulish’s posts – they are full of wisdom and motivation.
WHEN THERE IS NO CLARITY OF THOUGHT
There are times when you just don’t know what you want anymore. You don’t know where life is going and you’re just floating through the moments. Nothing is inspiring you or motivating you because you’ve lost the track of your life. In such moments all you need is to reach out to yourself because no matter how much people tell you things only you really know what you want. In such moments, I journal. I write down what I’m thinking and feeling. If I don’t know what to do next, I write down my goals for where I want to see myself in a year and then map a route to those goals. Journal writing helps to give your thoughts clarity and helps you focus on whats important to you. It doesn’t have to be a fancy journal – I just jot down my thoughts on a ‘Notes App’ on my phone. Mapping out your path to your short term goals can be such a motivational booster.
WHEN YOU JUST NEED A BREAK
Breaks are a must for everyone. We all need time to recuperate and take time off mentally as well as physically. A lot of people think taking a break means losing steam but why not use the break time to motivate yourself more. Pick up some motivational reads, watch a motivational movie or documentary or talk to someone in your profession who you look upto. A break doesn’t necessarily mean slacking off, it can be used to re-strategize and get back in the game.
Some motivational reads (I’ve tried to pick a wide array of books but there are many more to choose from):
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- Ikigai – The Japanese Secret To a Long and Happy Life
- Wings of Fire by Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam
Hope this list helps you. What are some things that you do when you find yourself lacking in motivation? Let me know in the comments below.
Stay safe and motivated! ❤
Read some of my other posts:
- Content I Binged Watched Recently: Netflix, Hotstar (Hulu)
- Things On Dating Apps That Make Me Really Doubt My Generation’s Ability to Love
- Need A Serotonin Boost? Here Are Some Tips (Guest Post)
- Come To The Beach With Me: Goa 2023
- April Reads: Mini-Book Reviews & More
Connect with me on IG:
Happy Panda 
I used to listen to songs or sit in a place that can offer me mental peace.
I liked your list too…❤️
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I used to do that too especially listening to motivational songs. ☺️
Thanks for reading. 🤗
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7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one of the best motivational books I’ve read so far! Great post. Thanks for sharing this. 🤗🤗
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Thank you for reading! 🤗🤗
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You’re welcome. Keep writing 🥰💕
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This is what I needed today. Thank you
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Thank you for reading! ♥️
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Inspiring and a useful list! Thanks for sharing this here, Moksha✨💜
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Thank you so much!!🤗🤗
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It’s my pleasure 😇
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I love the Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor – check out the TED Talk … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXy__kBVq1M … it’s so worth the 13 minutes to watch. Reading the book reinforces the message!
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Definitely going to check this out today. Thank you for sharing that! ☺️
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Very nice post 👍🏻
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Thank you ♥️
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Thank you for this list!! I have to make sure I follow Word Porm,
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Thank you for reading 🤗
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Nice post👍
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Thank you 🤗
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Good post. I meant to comment when I read it yesterday, but alas, multitasking. 😛
I think convincing myself that I need to do ‘whatever it is’ for 5 minutes and then before you know it, you’re fully immersed in it. Thinking small to get yourself into a regular routine because the latter is what matters, right?
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I think sometimes an idle mind can be the devil’s workshop. That’s mainly true in my case. I try to distract myself by engaging in some activity or the other. These are some useful tips.
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This is incredibly helpful, thank you
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Thank you for reading 🤗
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just taking a walk help me. It like a reset button for me. Then I also journal.
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Working out is a great way to clear your head!
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Awesome reminders! I needed to read this! Thank you for posting!
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Thank you for reading! 🤗
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You’re so welcome. 😊
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Badly needed some motivation. Thank you for this 😊
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Inspiring 🤗👏🏻
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Thank you – there is so much loss of inspiration these days – so I keep looking for ways to keep myself motivated! 🙂
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Yeah so true!!! Your posts are too motivating dear… Thank you for inspiring me 🤗
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That’s such an inspiring and insightful one..!🤗🤗
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Thank you so much! 🤗
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That was my great pleasure 🤗🤗💐
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Everyone has their own way of moving forward…drawing motivation or inspiration from people or things…a look around and one can find so many from whom to draw lessons…Steve Jobs is certainly a great motivator…
Stay blessed…stay motivated..🙏🙏
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Thank you so much for your kind words. ☺️
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🙏
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Great post! The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was one of the best motivational book I have ever read.
What worked for me was taking a break. I used to keep away from what needs to be done and focus my attention on something that I was passionate about and to me that is reading. it is not necessarily a self help books, sometimes a cheesy book could also help spring back.
I have heard great things about Ikigai. Thanks for putting it out here I’ll definitely check it out!!
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Taking a break is so important to be rejuvenated and to re-strategize! What I like about self help books is that they help give you a perspective that you hadn’t thought of before – they help set the ball rolling with positive thinking and some motivation. Ikigai is the same – it gave me a different line of thought. 🙂
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Be strong.💪
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Great post full of motivation. There are days when we don’t feel motivated but then these types of posts and video surely helps someone or the other. Thanks for sharing! 😊
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I know this sounds crazy but often times food motivates me! I have such an emotional connection to it. So I can feel bummy or depressed but think “Oh, I can get up and eat some of this and that’ll be fun!” Kinda sad but super true, ha! xo 😚
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Great advice for finding inspiration! Susan Boyle’s audition always brings me to tears
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Same!!! It literally tears me up every single time. It’s so so moving!
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Your posts Moksha🙌🏽🧡
I really needed this. I need to watch Steve Jobs’s speech. I find ted talks to be a great source of motivation for me. The Instagram quotes a massive help too. xx
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Thank you 😊
Steve Jobs is so so inspiring. I always listen to him talk when I’m feeling lost – since he went through it and emerged a winner. TED Talks are quite inspiring!! ❤️
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Loved your post – we need to give permission to ourselves to be in all shades of life. Your book recommendations are perfect, I have read them exactly in that order 🙂
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I normally take break from aot of things, social media, friends and going out.
Spend time with myself and sometimes j allow myself to go through the emotions so that j can k ow how I feel and come up with a better coping mechanism
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I usually like to listen to music, it helps me feel more productive and motivated! I’ve got to try some more things from this list tho! 😅
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“you probably won’t die” 🤣 feel like that’s something my parents would say.. Growing up if it wasn’t a physical ailment (even if it were) it wouldn’t really garner much empathy from them lol not that they didn’t care but bc they knew life could’ve been harder and thought we kids had it pretty good..
You’re right on that knowing someone else has felt or is still going through what we’re going through helps tremendously!
Hope you stay motivated on your journey but if you need a break, that’s okay too! ❤️
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Amazing post! Finding motivation when you are feeling down is sooo hard! I used to be really hard on myself when I wasn’t “achieving” something or being “productive”. Now I am slowly learning how to bounce back when that happens, instead of fighting it too much! I love the vides of Youtuber Muchelleb for that! 😊 Thank you for your list of resources, they are great!!
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Great post full of inspiration & motivational tools !Thanks for sharing💖😂✌
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