Some say motivation is something that you have it or you don’t. That is not completely true. Yes, you need some sort of purpose to do what you do, but sometimes something happens and it pushes you to go after something. That adrenaline rush through your body that gives you some type of energy to push. To linger. To make it all the way to the finish line.
In today’s world, it is difficult to find motivation. To keep motivated. And why is that? There is too much distraction. Newspapers, family, TV, work, etc. So the word balance is thrown out there. Is it true that you can balance everything? Well yeah, you can. You got to see what do you want to accomplish. Some studies show that you need:
- Behavior
- Technique
- Attitude
That is not all. And we go back to the word balance. Let say you are a waiter and you have too many drinks in your tray. Chances are it could fall unless you are strong. In this case, we are talking mentally strong. If balancing the tray with everything in your life seems like a headache? It is because it is or it will be. Anxiety and depression will hit you. You don’t want that. But you want to please your friends and your family. You need money to continue until your book sells, so you got to do good on your job. But you want to take good photos, so you want to work out. You want to take a vacation, a trip. On and on you will continue to put more things and you won’t know how to accomplish it all.
For me? I have a house with my family. Two daughters that are a handful. Four dogs. Full-time job. I need to exercise because it has controlled chronic asthma I used to have. Succeed in my work, plus it is commission so the more I work, chances are, the more I get paid. I have had to cut the hangouts with most friends. I don’t exercise that much, but I come back to it when I feel that I’m getting short in breathing. Traveling outside the US is a no-no at the moment. So I have managed to stay with my family and give them quality time. Try my hardest to succeed in my job. And between that, learn, read, and write to get my stories out to the world. I chose this life. I’m not winning about it.
Sometimes life is overwhelming, but you got to know you. Your strengths and weaknesses. That way you know what tasks can be taken and what can wait. Now check what can be your motivation. What can be that fuel to ignite you to do better?
Some writers do a reward program to stay motivated. “If I write 500-1000 words I’ll treat myself to ice cream”. See what it works for you. Is it a pat in the back? I nice message? A song? If you are reading this is because you want something in life. Go get it. The difference between those who made it and those who had not, in most cases, those who made it tried. So try! Stay motivated! After you do it, keep persisting. Sometimes we expect great results on our first try. Sometimes it takes 13 tries. 100 tries?
Why do you want to write? Answer that to yourself. If it’s for the money your head is not in the game. You will see this as a job and not as something fun. If you treat it as fun, you will manage to balance it and keep your motivation up.