3 Factors That Make You Hard to Motivate?

There will always be times in your life when you have to perform tasks that you deem unpleasant for one reason or another – working with a co-worker you don’t like, going to work on a rainy Monday, taking the garbage out, or doing your tax returns…

Doing these things we dislike just siphons whatever motivation you have inside you and makes you feel sad, tired, sorry, even annoyed and often frustrated.  But did you know that there are also things inside you that actually make it difficult to feel excited and enthusiastic?  Get to learn the factors that make it hard to keep you motivated:

Your mindset
Your mindset is a major factor in your motivation. It can severely limit your understanding of the world and all experiences in general.  It is said that the majority of us have around 70% of thought around things we do not want in our lives. Your mindset can be composed of growth-inhibiting beliefs, prejudices, biases and disempowering standards.

If, for example, you believe that nothing good can come of one of your co-workers, you’ll fail to see her or his potential as your focus is on the negative.  If you can’t believe that you can actually write for a famous magazine because you’re a nobody with the wrong background you’ll miss out on an opportunity to expose your talent and reap its rewards.

Your comfort zone
We all have certain limitations in our minds.  These limits are things we decide on, based on our own experiences, personal beliefs, ethics and values.  Within these limits, we feel comfortable in and can pretty much do as we like.

Once we approach the outer edges, we begin to feel discomfort, shyness, embarrassment or annoyance.  We do not wish to go further because we do not like what we don’t know or haven’t experienced.  Because we have a fear of the unknown, we’d rather stay within our comfort zones because we feel safe there.

The problem here is that a narrow comfort zone can be a major factor that makes you hard to motivate.  Each time you are presented with a new idea or experience, you check to see if it fits into your comfort zone.  If it doesn’t, then you simply refuse, no questions asked.  This is unfortunate because many of these ideas and experiences can be good for you.  But you’ll probably never know because you don’t have the motivation to try them.

Your past experience
Did you get burned by the stove?  That’s probably why you hate to cook.  Did your former boss fail to show appreciation for your hard work?  That’s probably one reason why you don’t feel motivated about your job.

Your background –your personal, social and professional experiences – has a lot to do with how you decide things in your life.  They can also be factors that make you hard to motivate.  If these experiences are negative, they tend to make you more hesitant and unsure of yourself because they affect your self-esteem and confidence.

If, for example, you’ve met with rejection or ridicule in your life, you might think: “Why should I try harder. Nothing will come of it anyway. So what?” Two option are likely. Either you will do down that route or you will rebel and feel a strong need to excel and improve yourself.

Unless you consciously make an effort to identify these past experiences and then refuse to let them rule your life, it will always be hard for you to motivate.