Let’s be honest, motivation can be really hard to establish, and sometimes quite difficult to maintain, especially in this time of uncertainty with the future. Maybe right now you are feeling lost and don’t really know what goals you have or which ones you should pursue.
If you lack clarity on which direction to go, try embracing your curiosity.
Is there something that you would like to learn, do, or make? Start with that. Learning new skills and/or creating something can be a great motivator to keep you going when you are uncertain of your exact direction. Oftentimes, once you get started with learning or creating a project, other things come up- ideas, connections, skills, etc., and those things keep you moving forward on your path of self-fulfillment and skill-building.
Once you are clear on the direction you are most interested in pursuing right now, the key to maintaining motivation and accomplishing goals is to break any project down into small, manageable parts. When faced with a herculean task, our psyches shudder and shut-down, performing a self-embrace to shelter us from the overwhelming and unmanageable. To bypass this instinctive self-preservation process, we must switch into problem-solving mode and ask ourselves-
“What is the first, small action I can take within this monolithic endeavor?”
You have done this many times before in your life, though you may not regularly consider all the accomplishments you’ve achieved by taking one small step at a time. (For example, think about how many tiny steps and stages it takes to learn to walk or to talk). Forward momentum just takes a little trip planning, which is the process of determining the stages and tasks within the larger journey.
Seeing the stages of a project, and breaking each stage down into actionable items, can provide a roadmap for moving in the direction you want to go. Once you have your action steps, put them into your calendar. Track your progress in a planner or journal. And, if you are really keen on being successful in this endeavor, engage a friend, family member, or mentor to keep you accountable. Taking note of your actions, being able to visualize your forward momentum and accomplishments, and having someone who helps keep you on track are all tools you can engage to empower yourself while in the midst of a time of slowing down.