Personal Development is a life-long process that includes assessing your life values and goals, nurturing and shaping your skills and developing your capabilities to reach your full potential. Simply put, it is a constant pursuit to become a better version of yourself.

There are several personal development areas, including physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. These five areas can help you go after a better version of yourself. But to get there, you need motivation throughout.

The term motivation might sound familiar, but do you know exactly what it entails, or rather, its importance? Motivation is vital in everyone’s life. It is the centre of a person’s happiness, creativity and, most importantly, productivity.

When you have motivation in life, you know when to act and do what is right by and for you. Motivation can also make you feel powerful throughout your life by promoting a growth mindset.

It is not uncommon to find someone demotivated. This is the state in which one lacks the motivation to do something. If you are feeling low on inspiration, there are plenty of things that can contribute to this. Here are some of the possible reasons you lack motivation:

Mental Health Issues 

Foremost, your lack of motivation could be having mental issues such as depression, stress, and anxiety. These mental conditions can trigger fatigue and trouble concentrating, which makes it challenging to get things done. For instance, if you constantly feel fatigued, you may lack the strength to work out.

Setting Unrealistic Goals

Setting unrealistic and unachievable goals can also contribute to demotivation. If you set the bar too high for something you are incapable of achieving, you may lack the motivation to work towards it. Therefore, it would be best to set the right, small, and realistic ones, to have the motivation to achieve them.

Fear

This, perhaps, is the most contributing factor to lack of motivation in life. When you are afraid of doing something, no matter how determined you are, a part of you may be adamant about avoiding doing it.

Fear tends to make you hesitant to take action, avoid something entirely or be careful when making a move. If your fear is prominent, you will lack the motivation to move forward in life.

Lack of Self-belief

Lastly, you may lack motivation due to failing to believe in yourself. Lack of self-belief can significantly wreak havoc on your inspiration. You may want to attempt doing something that can benefit you, but another voice will tell you that you will not achieve it no matter what.

Fortunately, there are various ways to deal with a lack of motivation in life. If you want to sustain motivation in bettering yourself, keep on reading.

Here are ways to maintain motivation in personal development: physical health and mental wellbeing.

Physical Health

Promoting excellent physical health is something everyone wants to achieve. You can boost physical health by exercising, eating healthy food, drinking a lot of water, getting enough sleep, going for regular health checks, and maintaining a healthy weight.

One can quickly lose motivation to exercise, eat healthy meals or engage in any other activity that boosts physical health. This may happen if you engage in such activities, and results fail to show up. Fortunately, you can motivate yourself with these valuable tips.

Set Achievable Fitness Goals

Don’t sweat it while trying to achieve something out of your reach. To be motivated to work out, it can be as simple as setting a small attainable goal initially, then progressing to challenging goals with time. For instance, you can set a goal to go for a 30-minutes run every day in the morning.

Reward Yourself

For motivation to work out or stick to a healthy diet, you can reward yourself. Rewarding yourself can keep you motivated longer than you expect. This happens when your brain latches onto the link that a particular behaviour is worthwhile. 

If you reward yourself for going to the gym for a whole week or month, such a routine can become a habit.

Find a Routine That Suits You

While it might sound like a great idea to engage in HIIT workouts for better results, you may lack the inspiration to wake up and exercise. Doing something that doesn’t suit you in terms of physical strength or time can easily demotivate you. To sustain your motivation in working out, identify what workouts fit your body and how much time you are willing to spare to work out.

Think of the Health Benefits

Another great way to sustain motivation in promoting your physical health is thinking of the several health benefits you will gain. Foremost, working out can significantly improve your life. It can make you feel better, add years to your life, improve your confidence and physical capabilities.

Working out can also help control your weight, combat health conditions, promote better sleep, improve mood, and many other benefits. Everyone benefits from working out, regardless of age or gender, provided you are working out the right way.

Therefore, imagine what you want to gain from working out or eating healthy. Do you want to improve your summer body, have strong bones, improve body posture or reduce your cholesterol level? Visualizing such benefits is a great motivation strategy.

Mental Wellbeing

To better yourself, you need to grow your mind by partaking in mental development activities. Such may include reading a book, participating in philanthropic activities or performing a random act of kindness, meditating, focusing on the positive aspects in life, social interaction, and many other things.

Sticking to such behaviours of mental development can sometimes seem daunting. But it is possible to achieve them if you have motivation.

Here is how to sustain your motivation in doing things that promote mental health

Find What Interests You

This motivation strategy can significantly help you participate in philanthropic acts to boost your mental health. Volunteering to help your community or performing a random act of kindness can foster self-esteem, ultimately improving your mental wellness.

If you want to sustain your motivation towards performing great acts, it would be best to find things that interest you. Don’t just do something because someone else is doing it. Research and identify activities that you genuinely want to do.

For instance, you can research and learn more about how to volunteer in Ghana if you are interested in activities such as helping disabled children and volunteering in medical or mental health activities. You are much more likely to sustain your motivation if you do something that interests you.

Spark a Passion for Books

Diving into an exciting book can promote your mental health in various ways. It can increase your sense of empathy, calm your mind and body, foster your level of interpersonal understanding and improve your social skills, to mention a few.

If you lack the motivation to read a book, there are several brilliant ways to spark interest or passion for books. For instance, you can make time for reading, at least 15-20 minutes a day, but do not overdo it. You should then read only what you are attracted to, and don’t read for the sake of reading.

Lastly, set a reading goal such as to complete a specific book within a given period. Doing this can increase your motivation to read, ultimately fostering excellent mental health.

Make Meditation a Habit

Keeping up with meditation can be daunting, especially if you have a busy life. But if you are determined to improve your mental wellbeing through meditation, there are various ways you can motivate yourself to meditate.

Foremost, it would be best to make meditation a habit. You can do so by making it a part of your morning routine that you engage in naturally. Secondly, have a list of the benefits of meditating. Besides promoting your mental health, it can increase your creativity, help you focus on the present, increase your patience and tolerance levels and reduce negative emotions.

Lastly, you can find someone to meditate with. It could be your partner, kid, or a close friend, which will continually motivate you to meditate.

Prioritize Your Social Life

Socializing can significantly impact your mental health. It can reduce depression and anxiety, the feeling of loneliness, and most importantly, create memories you can hold on to. But socializing can be pretty challenging, especially if you are a private or shy person.

Fortunately, various acts can motivate you to socialize more. For one, you can recall the good times you had with friends. Such experiences can trigger the need to get out there and interact to create more memories.

Secondly, you can think of the dangers of a lonely life. Loneliness has adverse impacts on one’s health. Research shows that loneliness has a close connection to anxiety, depression and even suicide. If you can imagine such harmful outcomes, you will find yourself wanting to socialize more.

Therefore, the next time you get an invitation to go for brunch with friends or attend an event, it would be best to get out of your comfort zone and join them. Interacting more will lead to improved mental health.

Finding ways to sustain your motivation can make all the difference in the world. Hopefully, the above tips can help you remain motivated in promoting your physical and mental wellbeing. Find what works for you, and be sure to stick to it!