If you’re like me, it’s the same thing every time. You start a semester, working on a project, essay, goal, or just something really important to you and you can’t wait to get to work. It begins as excitement, something that brings you joy and feels like a dream. However, more often than not this excitement dulls and the very thing you used to love becomes more of an obligation than something you enjoy for the sake of it. This feeling is obviously less than ideal, but don’t worry; this lack of inspiration is oftentimes temporary, and there are many ways to remedy it.
The first piece of advice I’d like to offer is to remind yourself of what you usually enjoy about life and what you’re working on. What I mean by this is to reflect on what parts of working on your projects or goals typically make you happiest. For example, whenever I lose motivation to work on schoolwork or projects, I remind myself that I love learning about new things, even if there are extra steps to do so. This allows you to remember exactly what made you want to start pursuing something in the first place, assuming it’s something you enjoy doing.
It’s also important to reflect on what you’ve accomplished as often as you need. If you find yourself in a bad place, you should take the time to realize exactly what you’ve accomplished up to that point. Whenever I lack the motivation to work on a project or something lengthy, I tend to remind myself of how far I’ve already come. It puts things into perspective and can even make you feel better about your lack of inspiration. Reflecting on what you’ve already gotten through is often a great motivator to push forward. It’s like proving to yourself that you can get through and sometimes even do better than what you previously have.
Finally, you should try to remember what your hard work is leading to. One of the best methods of keeping yourself inspired is to remind yourself of what the outcome of your work will be. This just helps you understand why you’re doing all this work and going through dips in inspiration and motivation. For me, I usually become uninspired when it comes to long-term commitments like college courses since they all contribute to a pretty far away outcome. It helps me to recall the fact that I’m working toward a degree that will eventually help me achieve my dream. Reminding yourself of what you’re working towards can help recenter your intentions and allow you to realize why it’s worth it to keep going.
Everyone has been through rough patches in their lives. Ones that throw a wrench in our plans, make us shift tracks, or even abandon ship altogether. Sometimes the situations we find ourselves in start trying to snuff out the flames within us, but it’s up to us to not allow them. Of course, this is easier said than done, but I hope this advice helps you in some way or another.