454 Comments (page 3)

Great post Kyle I just wanted to thank you for all the time you put into this post. Your site is becoming a great asset to me and my goals. You not only addressed my greatest challenges but provided solid solutions to build on. I think I'll take your 7 murderers and execute them in my own 7000 words just to flesh it out and have a deeper understanding of what keeps killing my drive. I'll start with ingratitude tonight and write the rest throughout the week. it's time I gave these killers the chair

That's a great ideas Shaun. I'd love to see your version if you're willing to share!

Hi. I just wanted to thank you for this. I've been suffering from immotivation (is that a word?) for far too long.. I would find a passion, but then I'd lose the 'meaning'.. Then inaction.. Follwed by overwhelm.. In the last year, I've experienced all of these! The part about having an idea and being excited long enough to tell people about it really hit home. My newest passion (actually an older hobby, but I'm more serious about it than ever) is writing fiction. I powered through about 1800 words of a short story, and hit writers block. For nearly a MONTH. I tried everything. I read the line "If all else fails, mix things up." I threw the outline out the window, deleted the last 300 words, and reread it. Then I came back to comment here. After I hit send, I'm going to finish it, and I expect to be done with it in under an hour. I bookmarked this page, and will make a habit of rereading it during my morning coffee until its techniques are habit. Thanks again!

Hi Kyle, Wonderful post man, this stuff is golden! This is the kind of thing I needed in my life right now. I'm 17 living in the UK, and am repeating my penultimate year in school because of lack of motivation. Last academic year I took subjects that I found easy, and cruised through without working at anything. Then when results came round and I saw I'd failed the first half of my A-levels and couldnt continue I had no idea what to do (hope this makes some sense, UK schooling is quite different from US I think). So this year I am restarting A-levels with all new subjects that purely interest me, but now that I am finding them difficult, I'm not used to finding things hard or having to work at things, so I am giving up. I feel myself slipping into the same hole that I found myself in last year. My main issue however is that I never worry. I don't fear what will happen if I don't finish homework on time, or if I don't do my coursework, or if I don't study for my exams. There are brief moments, once in a blue moon, where I have a sudden wave of panic, where I break down and just stress about how I am not motivated, then in the morning its gone. This is actually how I found your post. I was having one of these moments, and was so terrified to go to sleep that I would lose that feeling of worry, so I went looking on the internet and found your post. Its 5am here and I haven't been to sleep yet, because I know that when I do it will kill my worry about my motivation. I know that when I wake up I will have most likely lost this sense of proactiveness that I currently have, and will return to the cycle of putting off homework, saying I've got plenty of time or how little can I get away with. If you have any ideas about how I can help this, perhaps highlight parts of your post best suited to me or recommend other posts that would be great! I've seen you help so many others in these comments, but I feel that because I'm so much younger and stuck in compulsory education that its hard for me to relate to them. Any help would be great, but even just to know that I'm not the only one going through these feelings is so uplifting :) Thanks again, and keep up the great work, Matt

Check out our posts on taking action ;)

Thank you. I been going through a rough time and it's really nice to read such a straightforward and honest article; especially from someone who knows how it feels.

Hope it help!

I felt calmer after reading this and more at peace.

We nearly pulled this freebie, but are still letting it go. Check out a free motivational iphone wallpaper here : http://www.startupzap.com/collections/mobile-motivational-wallpapers/products/startup-motivational-wallpaper-get-shit-done Looks great on any smartphone tbh.

You're article was completely overwhelming. No Joke.

Bit by bit lol

Wow what an excellent post. I am so impressed and grateful that you have the skill and the dedication to condense all of these universally experienced "motivation killers" down into this one article. It would have taken me *years* to sit down, categorize, and identify these feelings I encounter (which inevitably means I would have never done it). But you've laid it all out here, along with great advice, that in my personal experience I've found to be spot on. You've reiterated what Ive learned through experience (but often forget in the low moments) and made an excellent "toolkit" for when that pesky lack of motivation hits. So grateful for the insight and hard work you put into this. I spend an inordinate amount of time reading blogs like this (procrastination anyone?) and I have never commented before... and just wow, I hope that lends some gravity to how much I value this article and your commitment to this blog! Will definitely be back! Keep rocking!

Hi Lauryn, That DOES add weight, thank you so much! I hope you find yourself motivated today and tomorrow and maybe even the next day ;)

I just wanted to say that for someone who has been in a pretty messed up place for a while, this post helped me a lot. so thank you.

Wow, this was a real thought provoking tonic of a read on a day I really needed it Friday the 13th! thanks Kyle

Awesome :)

Wow. This is actually one of the best things I have ever read!!!

yesssssss

Kyle- thank you for this article. I used to be obsessed with "finding" motivation, listening to Tony Robbins CDs, going to big "get pumped for life" conferences, reading & posting motivational quotes...even texting them to friends every morning. I look back and think "who was that person that was so easily motivated and energized?!" I learned A LOT about the idea of motivation and how it wasn't about the quotes and articles and fluffy "you can do it" speeches but I don't remember what I learned it WAS about. (Or maybe I'm afraid to remember) It takes so much for me now to get excited about things - and even more for me to not talk myself out of being too excited about things. I like to tell myself that I am not depressed because I don't necessarily feel the sadness that comes along with depression. On point with your article, I do know that I am in an "I don't care" state of mind most of the time and I can't figure out if it is because I do care and am secretly (but not so secretly) feeling like a failure in every area of my life or if I truly just do not care. I also spend almost every minute of every day rationalizing every thought/feeling I have and intellectualize mg anything that may seem a bit too emotional. I'm sure you know what it is like to be in constant battle with yourself. "This is enough- this isn't enough, I am enough, I am never going to be enough, I am happy, I am not happy, happiness is relative, happiness is irrelevant, etc" (did I mention my obsession with "happiness" (or the idea of happiness) and parenthesis). It's a little off your realm of knowledge im sure, but I just turned 30, have 3 kids, a husband, a house- more things on a personal level than I could have ever dreamed of? Hoped for? You know what Im saying. But I gave up a lot of my own work to stay home with them and am having a hard time finding the significance in what I do- not because it isn't important for them and for my family, but because it's hard to see the bigger picture and my everyday existence revolves around diapers and laundry. At any rate, I was ½ hoping you were going to have an article somewhere on here about the slumps of parenting or losing yourself to your children. Or not caring about anything because it's too scary to care about anything (or did you mention that?) I find your writing very relatable and enjoyed your perspective. Thanks again for sharing.

Hi Kat, I'm not a dad (I want to be Dad one day though, bad) (I also overuse parentheses) so I could not possibly know what it's like to have a kid. But I have to imagine, from what you said, that your problem is on thinking of the things you've sacrificed for these things. Maybe integrate them. I don't know what you gave up, if it was some kind of art, make art about your kids. If it was business, maybe start some business in honor of your kids. Maybe make your life even a little harder so that you can't care about whether happiness is the right goal or not. Maybe there is too much room for you to rationalize and drive yourself crazy. (Maybe I'm projecting.) Maybe pour so much caring into your 3 kids that there's nothing else to do. I wish I knew what was the right thing. I know that parenting is impossible to do 100% right. I also know it's really hard to do a great job at. I know that you're going to do a great job, too. Because you care enough. Just being frustrated enough at not caring enough to post here proves that. You do care--and your kids are going to thank you for it until the day you die.

Thank you. I needed that. I think you will make a great parent one day because I don't think you would let allow yourself NOT to be great at it (based off of what I can gather about you). It's funny you said to make my life harder. Tonight I told my husband that sometimes I think it would be easier to be a single mother with 3 kids all under the age of 5 because it would force me to do it all. I suppose I tend to do things well when I know it has to get done, and even better when I know someone else is depending on me to get something done. He's home during the winters so my life gets wayyyy too easy. I'm not sure what that says about my character, but it's something to work on...and for that reason alone, I will feel like I accompished something worthwhile today

I hope you stay in touch Kat :)

Congrats! If there is a 'non-truth' in this article, I'll mow your lawn forever. Or, until you realize I don't know how or you don't have a lawn!! You described my life (not only at this moment), but the 'entirety' of it in general. The Facebook stuff is all too REAL! We do groom our FB pages to make us more interesting, if nothing else. Then, no one knows our failures, our fears, or our futures - IF they go by what we have careful compiled as our image - seen on Facebook by our 5000 'friends'. Truth is, I can count my true friends on one hand! I've been a practicing writer, musician, and inventor (my Patent was shot down - for now) and the murder of my idea has made me susceptible to all the other motivation killers. Thanks for a home-run that, IMHO, is funny (and painful) = in life, the funniest things are TRUE and, as we all know, the truth can hurt. I'm going to post your article to my Facebook page as the last post before I close my account. Then, perhaps, the book I've started will become a real one. Steve C.

I am grateful I read this till the end! I've been talking shit to myself for a number of things about not being motivated. At the moment I read this article I wanted to work out but didn't want to work out. By the time I got to the impatience part, I was being impatient about reading this blog when I could be working out. Ive been on my stationery bike now for 30min and was able to finish reading your blog without being impatient. I am grateful! Thank you

I'm grateful for you coming by and leaving a comments. Congrats!

Thanks for the awesome comment, Steve. And for sharing :D If you need some book-specific motivation/direction... check this out https://startupbros.com/write-book-yes/

Came back for some inspiration. It's been less than a week, I know. I have been slowly adding "tasks" to my routine everyday that seem so rediculously simple but help me to feel like I am accomplishing SOMETHING (take a shower, go outside, drive somewhere, make dinner). My husband starts work tomorrow (he's a golf professional) so I have high hopes that I'll be able to come back to life and become more task-oriented. I used to love to-do lists until they started making me feel trapped. At one point (before my now 9 month old was born) I had 4 pieces of paper taped to the fridge with a minute to minute schedule for each member of my family, and then another 4 pages with what person has what chore on what day of the week. OCD much? I took them down to avoid the constant guilt that came along with not meeting my own expectations. But I'm starting to miss them. I realized that I am the type of person that needs things written down. I need a reference point. And structure. I just need to make my goals more realistic. I have been trying to figure out something to do for myself. Go back to school and finish my degree, maybe? I spent 6 years of college attending every other semester and the thought of having nothing to show for it is beyond overwhelming. (I don't regret exploring all my options, I am just not that risky anymore). Perhaps now is the time that I devote some energy into building one of my businesses. I mentioned previously that I had given up my own work, but the truth is, I am a license collector. I got my coaching license so I could coach cheerleading - and then I realized that actually just loved BEING a cheerleader, not coaching. I got my life insurance license when I wanted to build my Primerica business, and then I realized that I hated financial sales...and talking to people about their money. I got my real estate license because I had a great opportunity to be a part of an amazing team in CT, but that ship has sailed. I suppose I could get a new license of some sort. I keep considering what I would do if there was nothing holding me back. You know, follow my dreams, take control of my life blah blah blah. I feel like if I could identify what it is that I aspire to be or to do, then my ambition and desire to get there will show me the solutions to the obstacles preventing me from taking action (did that make any sense?) Unfortunately, the magical answers aren't just fabricating in my mind. How would I, say, take a hiatus and go live in a cabin in the woods and finish writing 1 of the 30 books I've started? How can I travel the world as a missionary and open an orphanage in Nepal and stop world hunger and sex trafficking? In a lot of cases the passions one has before they get married and have children and build a home can be incorporated into thier lives. I was in Mexico building houses in 2006 and remember thinking that I was going to be one of those "missionary families". I was going to devote my life to it even if it meant that my children had to be homeschooled and we would all have live in a tent on some compound that didn't have running water (whats that brain function that doesn't fully develop until you're 25? Oh yes, reasoning...) I would never subject my children to sleeping on the dirt with scorpions running around or having to bathe in lakes and rivers filled with parasites and bacteria (at least not this young

Hi Kyle We hope you got the posters ok. Give us a shout when you get them. Cheers

Did I run out of characters? (Above) or did I just get cut off? Either way, I don't remember how I concluded other than apologizing for using the comments section of blog as my own personal diary! And maybe something about incorporating my new dreams (family, kids, etc) to my old dreams... Thanks for listening Kyle! Kat

Hi Kat, I don't think you should have run out of characters, I've (surprisingly :P) seen even longer comments! It sounds to me you need to be content to start smaller. Pick ONE book and force yourself to write 500 words every single day until it's finished. Then give yourself six weeks to edit and self-publish it. You're not going to stop sex trafficking by yourself and you sure as hell aren't going to stop world hunger. That's fine, you can HELP. You can stop sex trafficking for one girl/boy at a time. You can stop hunger for one hungry person at a time. You can get involved with organizations that are already working to it. If the world's on your shoulders it's hard to move. All you need is 500 words. Or one hour of volunteering. No pressure, no big mission. But then these little acts compound. 500 words a day is a few books a year. In a decade you may actually have written 30 books. But only with the little step every day. That's what helps me when I want everything done right now and I forget that thing take time to happen. Break it down. I take a step back and stop pretending that I'm the first human that can eradicate everything bad. I hope you commit to something small. You'll be amazed at how quickly it compounds.

Got them! Thought I tagged you in our posts, sorry! instagram.com/p/zgQZajCkPg Thanks, we love them :)

Almost forgot, if you haven't checked this out.... https://startupbros.com/overthinkers-guide-taking-action-complete-guide/ I'm excited for you Kat!

Thanks guys... great pic. We should run a competition for your readers. Happy to put up a poster and some stickers Mark

This was really awesome! I loved that you approached it as "killing the murderers" rather than "how to get motivated" it puts to perspective how to handle it "the day after" you read a motivatuonal blog or book or quote. Everything you mentioned here is pulling me down, and looking forward to using the tools. Thank you for the post

Use those things man, I hope you come back and let me know how it goes

Wow... I really needed this. Thanks!

Glad you got it :)

Brilliantly insightful!! Just what I needed! Will be bookmarking to use as a reference. I will need to reread, I'm sure I will get something more from it each time! When do you expect your book "SelfMadeU" will be available? Thanks so much!

Hi Sandy, I'm so glad you found this useful!! The book is out, you can get your copy here: www.startupbros.com/smu I hope you check in again!

Thanks a lot for the post.

My pleasure

Great post! Just what I needed. Tx

Perfect :)

Damn man.... I really like your blog or this article... i'm gonna start changing my life i just wish that my brain could absorb all this information.... but its tooo long I'll be working on this Thanks a bunch man !!!

Bookmark it and come back ;) You only need to take one idea seriously to change your life

Really liked the points you made here. It all starts with taking action. somedays I need to remind myself of this!

Thank you for this article! I read a good 50% of it! (It was a long one lol) and I really love your writing style, you sound like someone I would love to be friends with! I hope everything goes well with you and I wish you lots of joy and happiness!! Thanks for this special gift that I needed right now! :)

I just want to say thank you for writing this article. It has opened my eyes to my problems, and some simple solutions that I can use to change my motivation around and get on with my life, and better myself.

That's awesome Tom, thanks so much!

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I hope you come back for the second half :)

Hi Kyle Thanks for this article, it really helped me out today. Have a nice day, Vince

Wow! This article was overwhelming and true. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that each murderer has made it's presence known in my life and I've allowed them to do so. I've even done the drastic and quit my job and am currently back at school, but again I find myself lacking in the motivation department because it's not turning out as I had thought it would. I think what really hit home for me in this article was when you said, "Creating meaning in your life doesn’t mean giving yourself a story that infuses your life with some purpose. Instead, it means that your actions create the meaning of your life." This article is all encompassing, but essentially each point leads to this statement for me. I am always searching for the next big thing or how I can make my life more accomplished, only to pursue something for so long before I start doubting the validity of it. And in turn, it's leaving me empty and even more unmotivated. I am definitely going to work in baby steps as you suggested. This page has made it's way to the top of my bookmarks list!! Thank you for writing it down!

That's so great to hear! I genuinely hope you check back in in a month or so :)

Great article, these tools are awesome and I will be using them to get better. Thanks startupbros!!

Thanks for coming by :)

Great blog post, it certainly raised a few points I haven't read before. Thank you!

Glad to introduce something new :)

Hi Kyle, there are all sorts of mix bag of tricks I have under my arsenal to motivate myself. But the strange thing is, somewhere along the line, I lose the motivation to utilize the vary tricks that can motivate me o.O. I don’t yet know, whether your blog post will make a practical difference to how I do things or whether it was all just a mental masturbation, but the fact that a restless guy like me read your 7000+ words long blog post in one sitting was very surprising to me. The tools you have given are very different or presented in a way that really hit the home run for me. I feel they can bring long term change. I will let you know how it goes in few weeks :).

I'm glad it held your interest :) Definitely come back or send over an email with your progress!

I came across your site and found it inspiring and comments that are so true in my life envious and inaction mainly it's a killer for sure, it's hard to get up and moving most of the time. husband just calls it lazy but I know better its deeper then that, soul sucking one might say. Your post made me feel motivated just dont want to lose the feeling. trying to eat better to feel better is the aim, i will not be envious of others ill make it happen for myself bit by bit

Hi Matt, great post I must say, I am currently a permanent employee working a steady 9 to 5 job, I have my own condo in a big city , my car, enough money to travel etc, I am still single at 36 cause I keep having this feeling that I am at the wrong place, and that there is something else I should be doing and jumping into a relationship would be like skipping a step. I am still searching for myself but I am scared sh**less about leaving my job cause I worked 8 years to get who I am... every morning requires a gargantuesque amount of effort to get up and find motivation to go through the day.. I am in a very uncomfortable place but I hate myself for being so ungrateful of everything I am, I feel like I could, and should be happy with everything I have. What should a guy do in this position? saying "quit your job" is easy if you work at Wal Mart, but when you have a job that you had to work hard to get to, and that is pretty rare.... argh..

thank you very much for doing this! really!!

I'm not an entrepreneur. I'm just a 14 year old Indian girl ( and i was spoilt - but that was before reading abt ingratitude). Thank you sooo much. You made my day and life better. ☺

Thank you for sharing the wonderful post. It was so uninhibited, spontaneous, and easy to relate to, that I'm actually feeling a bit more motivated...reading your post was like undergoing a mind therapy of a sort (no exaggeration!). Please keep posting!

Never stopped :)

nice :)

I'm grateful to have come across your article. Best I've read on this subject. Definitely worth revisiting. I'm thinking I may choose one of these and get up from my chair. Since my husband died, it has been challenging to be motivated. It helped me to read about gratitude. I started to think about how grateful I am that we shared a mutually loving, healthy relationship. It wasn't long (2 years), but we lived every day fully. We had a plaque in our bedroom that said Love Like There's No Tomorrow and we did just that. He died suddenly. But oh how we lived and loved! Thank you for writing this! Deborah

Thank you! I already feel btr about myself.sometimes i get unmotivated because of the industry im in(fitness), this def. Made me look at things differently

Fitness is tough man! Godspeed

That's beautiful Deborah, thanks so much for sharing it.

This was excellently written and thankfully goes way beyond the surface level problems and their solutions suggested by most literature of this kind. I'm coming out of (hopefully!) an identity crisis - the inception of which was an adult diagnosis of ADHD which caused me to acknowledge that I had been lying to everyone, including myself about my successes in life (all those fantastic things I had thought of but never actually done) and most probably fueled the subsequent 14 month's of inertia which have seen me doing nothing for literally 95% of my time - because for want of a better word, I now have an excuse. I like how you've mentioned the existential questions; those fuckers are the most pernicious to me - 'What's the point in anything, I'm just a mass of bone and sinew' is my current favourite! However, after reading, I immediately implemented the gratitude element, I went for a walk in my favourite district in my favourite city in the world (London), bought an iced almond latte and some seaweed umami fried chicken with pickled watermelon and went to an art gallery - amazing! I will revisit this post every day because that, in itself will bring order to my life - add to that the fact that it is unquestionably edifying and clearly was written from experience. It's fantastic that you took the time and effort to share this - thanks for that man!

Pickled watermelon!? ... I need to try this. It most certainly came from experience. Thanks for sharing yours

Great resource for the readers. Very precise and written out of the league. Thanks for sharing

I just read your post (Just a few points, I was impatient) and I found that I should make a map, after I lie down for a while. :/

Such a fantastic article! I think I have been saved :) Thank you

This is one of the best things I've read on the internet. Great writing. Bookmarked.

Hi Im a 48 yr old mum of 2 teens living in Berlin, probably not your usual audience, and i came across your blog as i was scanning the web for help on Motivation. Your blog is brilliant : funny, accurate, and so wise, forgive me, for your age! Thanks for changing the course of this day for me. All the best!

You'd be surprised how many mums come by :) Thanks for the kind words!

I just wanted to say - Thank You!

Hi Kyle, What an epic post. Thank you for writing it. I particularly liked what you wrote about the lack of gratefulness. Our self talk can be motivation killers too. First I was missing it from this post and then I saw that you cover it very well in another post https://startupbros.com/overthinkers-guide-taking-action-complete-guide/. I think unsupportive partners can be motivation killers too. Most of the time they want you to be successful but have their own subconscious conflicting intentions and feel threatened by any change.

Great article. Can't agree more but a little bit amused that you wrote 'someone' wrote The Magic of Thinking Big. I said amused because I grew up in Indonesia and I read David Schwartz's book (TMoTB) countless times in Bahasa Indonesia, so did my friends at college. I bought the original (English) version when I moved to Texas. All said, motivation is a universal issue and your geographic location and mother tongue do not matter.

Some feelings, mate!

Oh wow. I really needed this right now. You put into words exactly what I already knew in my heart and with such humor! That's what really broke the dark cloud; being able to laugh at myself. Thank you thank you. The gratitude list was an instant boost and the comment on taking action, no matter how small, was reassuring. One small action at a time.

Um... Just searching for something and found this. THANK YOU for not being the stereotypical site about getting motivated. It's such a drag out there! I'd follow you on Facebook but I'm taking your advice and shutting that shit off. You do have a fan in me now. Thank you.

Thanks so much for this!

Not going to lie, I felt foolish writing "How to get out of bed when you feel unmotivated" but grateful to have found your post. It was bang on! There's a feeling of overwhelm, envy and lack of meaning. You raise so many great points such as focus on the task at hand and find ways to be better rather than "is this my passion?" Or limit your Facebook time - guilty! There are so many quotes and articles that keep saying "do what you love, stay forever motivated by doing what you love, etc." To be completely honest, it makes me wonder if everyone who says that truly loves what they do and if so, am I the only one who's suffering and who doesn't know what they are passionate about or jumping on the band wagon and living a lie. There's so much overwhelm that it's starting to blur my vision and stay focused. Thank you again for sharing your tips! I'm going to bookmark this and read it over and over again. I honestly don't need to look elsewhere for motivation. Like you said it's within us, we just need a few tools to reignite it. Keep thriving and inspiring!

I would just like to say thank you for this. I am a 14 year old kid and I'm finding school is really starting to take a toll on me. I guess my problem has a lot to do with overwhelm. I fell like I will try to take a break, then the next thing you know I've spent my while weekend just laying in bed wasting time I could have been doing work in. The next thing I know people are upset with me for being lazy and not caring about my work. I first skimmed through you're article then read it through and find that it was a big help. You seemed to know had to cope with every issue I had. I wold just like to say thanks one more time for being there when I needed something.

Thanks for the time you put into this, it was an eye opening article. I normally hate these kind of blogs and I never comment but you did a really good job attacking your points and explaining it from multiple viewpoints. I am chronically unmotivated and this made me think about some triggers I wouldn't have made myself think about otherwise. Most people think it's common sense to just start doing but I think that you see there are mental walls associated with those "killers". It's definitely given me some food for thought and for that, I thank you.

thank you for this :)

Thank you for the post on Envy!!! I've been searching everywhere (save the bible) for a post on Envy! A lot is written about jealousy, but that's a completely different thing than wanting what someone who appears to be more successful than you has. I suffer from Envy, perhaps because I come from a family with 3 other siblings, one of which is a twin whom I was compared to constantly. However, I've learned not to bury Envy but realise that it's a signpost to what I want. I remember when I was married, I was paying for my husband's acting classes (of which I found out he wasn't attending) and all along I was envious of him, but not only because I was stuck at home with the baby, but because I wanted to do what he was doing! So, after I divorced his azz, I started taking a few film course during university, then wrote some screenplays, learned about film production, and am now producing two films. One of which my daughter, who's now an actress, is in! This doesn't mean I don't still suffer from envy (especially in my industry) but using envy as a guide has brought me (and my daughter) to places I've never though imaginable.

I googled for help.. and amidst all the nonsense that came up..i found this little treasure which put into words what i've been feeling for over a year now. And it was so comforting to see words.. that made sense. That i could finally relate to. I still dont know why or how i reached this state. Of zero motivation. I am THE most blessed person i know, the most loving supportive family, married the man i love and we're so happy. Its sharing my life with him that gets me through the day. An amazing work environment that's gratifying as well. I've been running a successful small business for the last 5 years and its doing better than ever. Then why? you have no idea how frustrating it is to feel this way when u have no reason to. Am i seeking attention? What do i want? (other than have a child..but there's still time for that) what is it that's making me this loser that i hate every waking minute of my life. I still dont know why... but at least your blog helped me clear out the frustration and the anguish by showing me some clear simple doable tricks to try on myself. I still dont know how i'll ever make that map. But i'll try. Am so scared i'll be stuck like this forever. I cant "SEE" myself being a productive person again. I cant see myself waking up and wanting to get out of bed. And thats scary. :( But thats where i kill inaction with action instantly. Its powerful.. and motivating.. hehe.. that sentence. I'll try it. lower the bar, and take one tiny action. lol. Anyway.. sheesh sorry for taking up all this comment space. But THANK YOU Kyle.. :) thank you very much. It's time to get out and make the bed. *fingers crossed*

Im like a one woman motivation mafia. I murder motivation exceedingly well. I put concrete blocks on my motivation so it swims with the fishes. I suck. I'm stuck. This great work of yours illustrates how far I've risen in the methodic killing of my motivation. I'm going to read it again. Thanks.

Hi! I am 60 year old widow, with severe motivation issues since my husband past away. I found your post, which I think is amazing! (thank you!), and a question aroused: are "doubt" and "fear of making the wrong decision" motivation killers? Because that is what keeps me paralyzed. I want to move out of Mexico City, buy a house with the money I have left, but I'm afraid of taking the decision for the 2 reasons a.m. I heard once the phrase: "if you feel doubt, better do nothing". I apologize for my English and hope for a reply... Thanks!

Sob story though personally I don't feel it much anymore (the parent dying part) but it provides clarity. My mom passed away about 4 years ago now. That in itself is a crappy turn of events but the whole world seemed to crash around that. A month before she passed I was forced to go to her country and abandon all my friends and everything I knew to go live in this place that I was and still am not a fan of. Technology is very behind and the weather is humid 90% of the time. 6 months after her death I turned 18 and made my way back to New York (it's cliched and probably egotistical but you can see how desperate I was to be somebody important being raised in NYC and being in Colombia would never provide that sense of purpose). I finished high school which I had to repeat a year because I left the country midway through my senior year. By then I got reconnected with all my friends who were all now working and in college pursuing their dreams and making good money. I was left behind and it wasn't their fault but it's something I saw every day I hung out with them. I started working and also started my first semester of college but living alone and at my age it was impossible to have enough money to pay for school and live on my own. Eventually I went broke and couldn't make it past the semester and keep a roof over my head. I started looking for more work but after a year and a half of being there I just felt like I was going nowhere. My father helped me pay for a ticket back to Colombia and 2 years later here I am.. 21 years old with a failed semester at a community college, unemployed, gaining weight, and stuck in my room for over a year doing nothing but watching Youtube videos and playing video games. I wanted to compose music for video games. Even if I ended somewhere else in the music industry I'd still be doing something I really loved doing but all these setbacks have made me feel like I cant escape this rut. The longer I stay indoors the harder it is to even step outside. The last time I've been out of my house was 4 months ago now. I've lost all my friends whom I've known for almost a decade, I lost the city I love and all it's delicious food, and it all happened so fast that I didn't have time to prepare for it. Reading this is making me want to try again. I'm going to do 10 push ups today and maybe 11 tomorrow. Maybe run in place for 5 minutes or do a couple of jumping jacks. I'm going to read this every day. Odds are it wont work but It's definitely making me want to give it an honest shot. I really do want to work in the music industry. I know I'm talented and It's the only thing that really makes me feel confident. I want to go find work and I want to go back to school. I'm only 21 I still have at least 30 years left if I'm really unlucky I cant imagine being in this slump the rest of my life. Thank you and I hope I can push through this.. I don't have any social media or any friends at this point so I really just needed to vent somewhere and feel somewhat important I guess. Thank you

Awesome post, really helpful and inspiring. Thanks! My motivation seems to have completely run out today, and this was just perfect :)

What if a person is ambitious, loves his profession ad has the talent and ability to achieve but the stress of certain traumatic events in his relationship like being cheated by his GF is playing on his mind and drains him and he just sits in a mini trauma and is not able to work

Good work guys. I'm hoping the "stop looking for meaning and start doing the things that will create meaning." I've found in the last 24 months that the passion that I had for a particular creative discipline seems to have evaporated day by day. I have a feeling that it might be because I was using it as therapy or catharsis (to be specific, songwriting). Emotionally, I was quite er.... intense, I think is the best way to describe it. I was either everything or nothing, there was no middle ground. After a couple of experiences where people who I felt a lot for found this somewhat intimidating, I took the decision to not do that (after all, no one wants to be served with restraining orders!), but the only way I'd learned to deal with stress at a professional level was not to care, to switch off my passion for my profession, for the day job. I think I made the big mistake of doing that with my personal life and with my past times and creative outlets as well (more by accident than design, I think). Now I find myself caught in the cleft stick of something that gave me so much pleasure and passion for years now doesnt fire me up at all, which is profoundly disappointing as it seems to deprive life outside of work of meaning, purpose and direction. Now, it could be that now I have no personal or professional demons left to slay, no need of catharsis any more (because if you dont feel anything, what is there to get irked/wound up/motivated about enough to write songs/poems about, huh?) maybe this is the point that I no longer need to write about it for personal therapy, let alone as a potential career? All I know is that I think I preferred when I felt both that intense pleasure and pain than at the moment where I dont feel anything about almost anything - although I'm not socially isolated, my friends and family are very dear to me and I treasure them and stick by them like they stick by me - as opposed to this at the moment where I dont feel anything or have any kind of passion for anything. I'm hoping that the diagram you've got in this article might help me map my way back to that point, with all the good and bad, all the ups and downs of having a passion for life entails. Thanks guys. Keep up the great work, theres a lot of us out there of all ages who need your guidance. :-)

I like to drive, kinda like to think outside of the box, get away from the situation, get around the river where people are positive, riding bikes and walking dogs ,just being around it helps me think there is hope for me yet.

Just what I needed to get me thinking about what needs to change in my "life"! Awesome, thanks!!!

Thanks for this. I stumbled across it today, feeling somewhat listless and unmotivated. Really helpful and made me think.