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7 Shortcuts to Motivation

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Sometimes, a lot of people feel bored and unclear about what goals to pursue. See a few shortcuts to help you figure out what drives you.

 

  1. Embrace the New

Do anything and everything if it’s new to you. The benefit is that you will give your brain a lot of experiences to compare and contrast.  Clarity comes from contrast, so if you want more clarity, invite more contrast by embracing and accepting new experiences. This is especially crucial for people in their teens and 20s. Your brain learns from experience. If you lack experience, then how can your brain know its most important preferences? Of course it cannot, you need to train it more.

 

  1. Turn Towards Fear

Irrational fear often blocks people from living interesting lives. See if you can identify a major fear that’s irrational, meaning that you wouldn’t be in any real danger if you acted in spite of that fear. Then make a serious commitment to face that head-on until you have mastered it. Keep deliberately throwing yourself into situations that feel uncomfortable to you, and you will see your comfort zone expand. As the fear diminishes, you will feel much freer than you did before and have more options available to you. Decide to master your irrational fears instead of letting them control you.

 

  1. Use Total Immersion Liberally

Many people just dabble in their interests, but the most juicy parts of life usually won’t reveal themselves unless you go well beyond the surface level. Pursue an interest like it’s the only thing that matters in life, or drop it and ignore it until it does spark enough interest. Get out of that gray zone in the middle. People who tend to be the most motivated seem to completely throw themselves into whatever interests them.

 

  1. Be a Fast Quitter

When you realize that a path isn’t right for you, don’t be clingy with it. Let it go and move on to something else. Definitely try new things, but if you are convinced there are no diamonds in the mine, then quit right away, even if you have nothing else to pursue in its place. You are going to make mistakes. You will buy the wrong item, eat the wrong food, and accept the wrong job. That’s part of life. When you experience this, take corrective action quickly. Don’t play mind games with yourself by pretending you like something that just bores or frustrates you.

 

  1. Take Real Vacations

Give yourself regular resets by taking vacations. Completely disconnect from your old routine. Let your mind wander in different directions. Give yourself input that you are not used to. It usually takes a few days to fully center yourself in a new location and to stop dwelling on unfinished items you left behind. If you never take extended breaks, you will eventually find yourself wallowing in the gray zone of low motivation.

 

  1. Switch Modes

If you are feeling uncertain in one part of your life, you can shift your focus to a different part of your life where you have more clarity. Use full immersion in the clearer area, and let the uncertain area slide for a while. Forcing yourself to move forward when clarity is lacking can be very unproductive. But you may be able to make rapid progress by shifting your focus to another area, especially towards something you’ve been avoiding. What often happens is that this clarity and momentum eventually spills over into the previously blocked area, and you turn back to that area when the timing is finally right.

 

  1. Stop Making a Big Deal Out of Uncertainty

Your younger years should be all about exploration and experimentation. It’s a great time to expand and extend yourself in many different directions. Try lots and lots of new things. Start facing your biggest fears. Invest heavily in self-development. Its perfectly fine to be uncertain but embrace the uncertainty as a time to explore and stretch yourself.

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