Tue 2 Jun, 2009
What’s Behind Your Lack of Motivation?
Filed under: MotivationTags: achieving goals, fear of commitment, fear of failure, lack of motivation, low self esteem, personal growth, self confidence, self motivation, skill sets
Do you find yourself not fully engaging in life due to a lack of motivation? Do you sometimes feel you’re a just spectator and wish you could participate in the world around you more fully?
It is quite common for people to have desires or aspirations that go unfulfilled due to little or no self motivation. As this cycle continues it often erodes your own self confidence leaving you with a low self esteem. This is a dangerous cycle and a bad place to be in. The longer this continues the more it ends up stunting your own personal growth and this downward spiral just seems to continue on.
What we’re going to address here today is how to identify the underlying culprits behind this lack of self motivation keeping you from living your life more fully. You can’t correct what you can’t identify therefore the first step will be recognizing what it is that holds you back.
As we identify 3 common areas that inhibit many people from achieving goals or finding personal happiness you may be surprise how easy it is to overcome these barriers.
Fear of Failure
Make no mistake about it having a desire does not mean you also have the confidence to pursue it. Sadly it is all too common for many to desire something but then convince themselves they can’t fulfill it BEFORE they even try to. One big reason this occurs is the natural inclination to have a fear of failure.
All our lives we’ve been taught and it is continually being reinforced that failing at anything is NOT GOOD. As a result of this learned behavior we naturally avoid any new challenges that may result in an outcome that is less then successful.
This fear of failure is wrong since one of the best ways to learn ANYTHING is thru trial and ERROR, that’s right ERROR! Without experiencing mistakes and learning from them we limit not only our personal experiences but also our personal growth.
Fear of Commitment
Another common factor that holds people back from pursuing certain desires or goals is making the commitment to undertake this pursuit. This fear of commitment once broken down is quite easy to understand.
Any new endeavor we might consider pursuing is naturally something we’re unfamiliar with since it is ‘new’ to us. Well if we’re ‘unfamiliar’ with something that means we may not be ‘comfortable’ with it.
Being uncomfortable with something is usually not a desirable or fun experience therefore it is avoided.
If your anticipation of any endeavor is fun and excitement you’re likely to pursue it enthusiastically. If you’re unfamiliar and therefore uncomfortable your anticipation may be one of dread. As a result this may hold you back from engaging in it.
Familiarity is only gained thru ‘experience’ and often times the FIRST STEP towards partaking in that ‘experience’ is the hardest.
Lack the Proper Skill Sets
Although unfamiliarity is again a factor here, the reasons for it are more tangible then the ‘inner fears’ we have just discussed. The lack of certain skill sets can be more easily identified and addressed thru training or coaching. As a result these types of limitations can be more easily overcome but still remains a factor that could hold people back.
As we’ve discovered your lack of motivation often stems from little or no self confidence in your knowledge and/or experience. This can be overcome by learning a little bit more about what it is you want to pursue. Nobody starts out an expert, it is a learned experience! Quite naturally we fear what we don’t know but once we gain familiarity with the unknown our fears subside and our confidence and comfort level grows. This allows us to more fully engage in the world around us breaking through the barriers that often hold us back.
jefferson says:
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tjphilpott@bellsouth.net says:
Thanks for the feedback and the link Jefferson,
I will be reading your articles
Happy Holidays
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Tiger Turf says:
Very true, great post… Keem ‘em coming!
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[...] it? Not necessarily since far too many are in need being given directions and suffer from a lack of work motivation to get the job [...]
Achieve Your Goals in 5 Simple Steps - Banking on Your Blogging says:
[...] A visual reminder of any goals you have set will serve to help you maintain the self motivation needed to continue your pursuit successfully. As is often the case in our busy lives it can become easy to put aside or forget any planned objectives you may have set. Having a constant reminder will help keep your focus and avoid a growing lack of motivation. [...]
San Diego Turf says:
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tjphilpott@bellsouth.net says:
Hey San Diego,
In answer to your question about the theme it is called (appropriately enough) antique! thanks for stopping by!
TJ
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[...] that develops when it is repeatedly ‘put off’ till later. This barrier builds up a lack of motivation and a feeling of dread. By scheduling and completing it within the course of a busy day its seems [...]
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