10 common habits that kill your motivation

Motivation is the force that pushes us to do incredible things. But unfortunately, there are certain thoughts and habits that can kill your motivation and burn it to the ground.

Here are some of them:

1-Waiting for the perfect moment

How many times you wanted to do something and you felt really motivated, but you waited for the perfect moment to come?

I personally did it many times and I never did what I wanted to do. The thing is that perfect moment never actually comes because there isn’t a perfect moment at the first place.

So try this, the next time you think about making a serious change in your life, take the first step right away and don’t think twice or you have to wait for this and that to happen. Having something done is better than never starting anything.

2-Comparing yourself to others

Constantly comparing yourself to others is one of the fastest ways to lose motivation.

For example: when you get into the gym with your buddy for the first time, both of you will make some gains but he might have better results than you, even if he eats and train almost as you. So, you will be disappointed and quit.

Not only will you stop working out, but you will also lose the motivation to do anything as you feel like a loser.

So, Instead of comparing yourself to others, focus on yourself and try to improve your abilities to be better at what you do.

3-Doubting yourself

If you don’t believe in yourself, who else will? Motivation is very sensitive to your beliefs. If you want to get in great shape, but don’t fully believe that your gym efforts will get you there, then you won’t be motivated to go to the gym or stick to your diet.

So, stop wasting time and energy by tearing yourself down. Next time you’re feeling down, force yourself to think of one thing you do well. It will feel weird at first, but eventually you will realize that you are doing better than you thought

Related: 8 practical tips to stay motivated and consistent with training

4-Trying too much at once

The best way to find motivation is to focus on the tasks you want to complete. If you have 100 goals that you want to achieve at the same period of time, you won’t get anything done.

I’m a firm believer in taking baby steps until you achieve all your goals eventually. So, start small to keep your goal unintimidating; even when the reward seems distant, your workload will be bearable and you’ll be able to push through to bigger and better things.

5-Not having a clear goal

If you don’t have a clear goal in your mind, you won’t be motivated because you don’t know where you’re going or where to start.

Not having goals is like trying to find a new Chinese restaurant that you heard of, without having an address.

So, you need to figure out what you want and where you want to go with your life and then your motivation will kick in and take you there.

6-Not rewarding yourself

We all study so hard before an exam even though we hate studying. Why?

Because we want to have better grades, better jobs and better life eventually. This is called the reward.

It’s what you expect to achieve from doing something even though you hate it. And without this reward you won’t be motivated to get off your bed.

So, if you want to achieve anything in your life like losing weight, you have to reward yourself with a cheat meal every time you achieve a specific weight goal. This way you will stay on track and motivated to reach what you really dreamed of.

7-Leting negative feelings hold you back

Motivation has a short-term and long-term meaning. You can be motivated to be fit and healthy in general, but you are not always motivated to exercise in this very moment.

In other words, you can want something in general, but don’t want it at any given moment due to your feelings and circumstances.

Because the things we want tend to require hard work and effort, it’s easy to want them, but not want to put the required work in to get them.

So, you have to know that the feeling that you are not motivated to work at this moment, cannot stop you. It only stops people when they confuse how they feel as being the same as their long-term desires.

8-Being afraid of failure

Fear of failing is something that hits a lot of us. It’s actually the number one reason which prevents you from moving forward even if you are fully motivated to do so.

You will be telling yourself “What if I spend all this time, energy and money on something that in the end doesn’t even work?” It’s a scary question, right?

The only thing you need to remember when it comes down to this, is that there’s nothing worse than not trying. Failure is far better than not trying because it’s a step in the right direction. At least you will have learned something from it.

Would you rather go through life wondering what could have been, or actually finding out for yourself how far you’re able to go?

9-Distracting yourself

Every day there are many activities which we do that burn our time. From TV, to the Internet, to social media, the list goes on and on.

These useless activities will not only waste your time but also make you feel lazy to take any serious step toward your goal. In other words, it kills your motivation.

So, you have to learn how to shut out these distractions. Need help? A great way to focus is to schedule your time. If you want to go to the gym regularly, set a specific time for your workout session. This way, when you’re tempted to read about the latest celebrity gossip, you can remember your time is already spoken for.

10-Waiting for motivation to come

Motivation is based on your emotions and environment. When you feel sad or tired, you feel lazy and you don’t want to do anything.

So the best way to increase your motivation is to change your emotions or environment. But how do you do that?

Simple… Take action.

Many people believe they need motivation to take action, but motivation more commonly follows action.

Think about your motivation levels prior to and during a workout. Once you begin, do you notice an increase in motivation to finish? Of course, because nothing is more motivating than taking action, which triggers an emotional shift and changes your environment in one fell swoop.

If you always wait for motivation to come first, you’ll be waiting half your life. And waiting for motivation has been often demotivating! But if you get the process started, your emotional state and motivation will align with what your body is already doing.