Understanding motivation is essential for becoming motivated

When you google (Why don’t I have motivation), you’ll find that it’s signs of depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. So, is it correct? Most likely, it isn’t. I wrote this essay both for others and for myself. In this essay, we’ll learn more about motivation, how to get back up, and how to stay motivated. Self-motivation/Inner-motivation is critical for entrepreneurs, and it is a talent that must be developed as an entrepreneur.

My Experience with Motivation

I’m not sure if you can relate, but occasionally I have a motivation boost that lasts for more than 4 months, then I feel lazy/de-motivated and find myself seeking for anything to drive me, even though I have the same exact goals as always.

I gained a lot on this self-important journey, one of which is understanding oneself, which is a fundamental ability in self-improvement. I realized that when I have a major objective, I get excited and afraid at the same time, just like everyone else. Taking this large aim and breaking it down into smaller bits makes it appear less daunting. Another huge motivator for me is that I can see the so-called road ahead of me and know what I need to do to achieve the larger goal. It is basically a roadmap to achieving the goal. Without this roadmaping and breaking it down into smaller pieces, it feels too big to handle and you begin to lose motivation and start procrastinating.

How is procrastination the opposite of dopamine fasting?

For many years, I struggled with procrastination and felt incapable of achieving the significant goals I desired. I read a lot of books on time management and procrastination, but after I had learned everything there was to know about these subjects, I felt like I lacked the drive to put the knowledge to good use and felt hopeless. But then the hero showed up, and I discovered dopamine fasting, which completely changed the course of my life.

Dopamine fasting is the practice of refraining from bad or highly dopamine-producing behaviours, such as consuming fast food that gives us a dopamine rush. Setting boundaries wherever you want while using your phone for social media and video games.

However, this fasting is meant to bring your dopamine levels back to normal so you can enjoy doing the supposedly difficult things. Although there aren’t many activities you can engage in while on a dopamine fast, those that you can include reading, journaling, doing your homework, researching, completing tasks, learning, and other activities are all very beneficial.

I’d like to introduce you to a few rat experiments conducted by neuroscientists. When the rats pulled a lever, the electrodes were implanted in their brains, stimulating the reward center of the animals’ brains. As a result, the rats experienced a strong craving that prevented them from eating or sleeping for hours at a time.

The process was reversed; the dopamine in the brain’s reward center was blocked. Because of their extreme laziness, even getting up to get a drink of water was no longer worthwhile. The rats would eat and enjoy food if it was put directly in their mouths, but they lacked the drive to get up and do it themselves. These are extreme situations.

But if I engaged in a lot of high-dopamine activities, it wouldn’t affect me, right? Wrong. Your body works to maintain a balance. For instance, if it is extremely cold outside, your body will begin to work to produce heat. Another example is alcohol. A person who consumes alcohol infrequently will become intoxicated more quickly; a person who consumes alcohol frequently will require more alcohol to have the same effect. As a result, you will build a tolerance; the same is true for dopamine. People prefer playing video games over studying because the activities that used to give them a good amount of dopamine no longer feel worth it.

There will be a lot of times when you don’t feel like doing the task that needs to be done while fasting, but you have to do it because you can’t get fast dopamine. There will also be times when you don’t do anything while fasting except sit around and think.  we use our phones during these times, which keeps our brains alert all the time, including before sleeping, we are unaware of how beneficial it is to restrain from fast dopamine activities.

Do genetics matter

There are studies that claim that having lazy genetics runs in your family. To test this, researchers used two rats, one with so-called productive genetics and the other with lazy genetics. Compared to the lazy rat, the productive one ran 75% more frequently. The Science of Laziness. (ASAPSCIENCE, The Science of Laziness, 2015)

I don’t entirely buy into this; while it does matter, it is also changeable, and when you give someone the right resources to inspire and uplift themselves, they will go above and beyond what is expected of them. When someone claims, “I’m just lazy, I never get anything done,” they have either convinced themselves of this and are unwilling to change or lack the discipline to do so. There are many factors that can turn someone from being lazy to being productive; for example, if the person’s friends or even coworkers are driven and encourage one another to be their best selves, he is more likely to emulate them. “Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are,” is a popular quote currently spreading across the internet.

My favourite ways to motivate myself or get myself up

I will put these in order of most to least

1. Dopamine detox, which you can read about above. Like it did for me numerous times, it might be a life-altering and saving experience for you.
2. Simply Start. I understand that you are wondering, “Duh, how didn’t I think of that? right now. To get back on your feet, you may need to push yourself a little each day. The definition of productivity is the ability to complete tasks quickly and effectively. How do you even begin that? Well, by acting. Mark Twain once said: “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
3. If you don’t set important goals and push yourself to the absolute limit, you’ll always come up with excuses and tell yourself that you have a lot of time left to complete them. However, what if you set smaller goals that feel obligatory? Do not let yourself become overwhelmed by taking on too much at once. There is law named Parkinsons, simply explained this law with one quote ”Work expands to fill the time available for its completion” for example if a work that can be done in 3-days but you have a week to do it, you will try to expand the whole time into doing it, even if you could do it in 3-days.
4. Be constructive. You have a great chance to learn and get better once you admit your error or finally stop putting off doing something.

References

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd7wAithl7I&ab_channel=AsapSCIENCE

https://www.oberlo.com/blog/how-to-motivate-yourself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QiE-M1LrZk&t=723s&ab_channel=BetterThanYesterday