065: How To Find Motivation In Your Business (+ Never Lose It Again)
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Today’s talking point:
Do you feel a lack of motivation right now? Have you ever felt a lack of motivation? Do you want to learn how to find motivation?
I feel you boss. Believe it or not, I have plenty of down days and days when I don't feel motivated. To get back our motivation, we need to figure out what the reason is for our lack of motivation.
A Conversation About Boundaries
What happens if we don't have motivation? We want to…
Watch TV
Sit down
We don't want to eat the best foods to fuel our bodies
We don't want to complete the projects we know we're supposed to be working on in our business
We feel like we're using this time very unproductively, which in turn makes us feel guilty.
But is this a bad thing? You might actually be quite relieved to hear that the answer is no. Though the other question is, could it be a bad thing? And the answer to that is yes.
How can we avoid this if it's not the healthiest thing for you or your business right now? I speak from experience when I say that motivation is tough.
When we lose it, all we have to do is find it again and grab on to it. Now that sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Well, don't worry, because in this episode, you will learn how to find motivation in your business, and how to grab on to it so you don't lose it again.
Ways You Lose Your Motivation
When we lose our motivation, we lose our energy. Energy is connected to motivation; so if we keep our energy levels low, then it's really hard for our motivation to be high.
I want us to dig to find out where your motivation went when it decided to hide from you.
And I'm assuming it's because you're spending your energy on two things:
#1 | Feeding worrying, anxious thoughts.
If we're spending our energy feeding those thoughts, it's a vacuum. It's sucking up all of our energy because we're feeding negative thoughts. It’s not wrong to be anxious or worried, but when we feed into it and make those thoughts grow, that’s when they become negative, harmful and unhealthy.
#2 | By avoiding all of your emotions
By watching Netflix, overeating, or any other coping mechanism. (I’m here with you because there have been plenty of times where I've used Netflix to allow myself to get distracted from real world problems.)
I remember years and years ago before I met Tom, I went through a really bad breakup. For so long, I just watched TV.
I didn't do anything else.
I didn't want to journal.
I didn't want to self-coach myself.
I didn't want to talk about it.
But when I spent my energy on that my motivation was lost, and I lost motivation for everything. If we're spending energy feeding the wrong things, or avoiding our emotions entirely, then our motivation runs away from us.
Finding Your Motivation
The problem is that your motivation doesn't give you any clues as to where it went to hide. Now on top of that, a lot of us don't even have a proper routine anymore due to COVID-19.
There are a lot of distractions and it's natural for us to feel like we've lost our routines.
So I want you to ask yourself this one question right now, or it or write it down on a sticky note if you can.
What do you want this season to look like for you?
This is the question that pulled me out of my funk. Because this is just a season. And I want that to be a reminder for you. It's not eternal. It's not going to last forever. And this is a good thing.
So ask yourself:
What do I want this season to look like for me?
If I could measure the success of this season, what would that look like?
What does a successful season in the current circumstances look like for me?
How can I make this actionable?
Brainstorm a list of actions you can take to get on track and feel re-inspired. We lose motivation when we lose our vision of what we're working towards. That’s how we can learn how to find motivation in our business and life.
Just imagine before this pandemic hit, before this was declared a national emergency. What was happening?
We were working. We were walking.
We were walking towards a clear vision.
We knew what kind of business we wanted to create.
We knew our goals, etc.
Then all of a sudden, this big gust of wind just goes through and knocks us over. And we lost sight of our vision and motivation. It is easy for us to stay knocked down, but we want to get back on top of our goals and get moving toward our vision again.
You can change your vision, pivot your business or set new goals. Whatever you choose to do, start now. It’s ok to feel lost, but let's figure out what the right tasks are for your business. That's exactly why I created the Busy to Boss Academy.
If you want to start working on this now (it’s never too late!), click here to watch my brand new free training on how to know what tasks to focus on in your business without working 24/7. It’s a game changer!
This is a really good chance for us to reevaluate and map out where we want to go. Whatever success looks like to you, that's what matters here. Whether it is homeschooling your kids everyday, diving into self-care or setting a sales goal - set goals that are right for you, right now.
We lose motivation when we lose our vision of what we are walking towards. It makes us not want to walk anymore because then we think:
Well, what's the point of walking?
What's the point of going any further?
What if I'm going in the wrong direction?
What if I’m wasting time?
You are the master of your own mind. Your mind can create misery or magic. What do you want to do? You have the choice to make the season you're in right now look however you want it to look, and you have so much more power than you might feel like you have right now.
Solving Lost Motivation
Let's talk decision making.
Right now we are faced with a problem, multiple problems with different faces. And what do successful business owners do when they are faced with a problem? They go to data, and then create a solution.
Data is the catalyst for creative ideas that actually generate results. If you want to come up with a super creative and profitable solution to any problem you are facing right now, the only way to achieve that is through data. Data can look so different, but what it really is is feedback, feedback based on strategic questions.
It's like a problem we all have in business: coming up with content ideas.
Instead of just staring at a blank screen with a blinking cursor and forcing content ideas to come to life, get on a few calls with people from your email list, Facebook group or Instagram, and ask smart questions that lead to amazing data that you can use to craft your content.
It truly needs to be an instinct to seek data and to be curious before crafting any solution for your business. This is how successful business owners respond to problems.
We have two choices when faced with a problem:
Reactive decision making
This looks like making a decision in the moment, it looks like making a decision based on your immediate thought, belief or feeling.
Data decision making
This looks like responding to your immediate feelings by brainstorming solutions and deeper problem solving.
Reactive decision making can look like immediately focusing on the negative, becoming a victim and making incorrect assumptions. Data decision making is analysing the situation and your immediate response to think of solutions to meet your goals.
Our job as business owners is to solve problems and create solutions.
A Final Note
If you are ready to tackle your limiting beliefs and make the mindset shifts you need to succeed in business and if you don’t know what tasks you need to be focusing on right now for your business, I am here to challenge you.
Because what got you to this point in your business won’t take you to the next level.
If you continue doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results, that’s the exact definition of insanity. Doing the same thing again and again and expecting something different. Or letting the gust of wind knock you over and staying on the ground, or getting up and forgetting where you’re heading towards. Where you ‘re heading towards needs to be at the forefront of your mind ALWAYS.
So if you’re struggling with the implementation of that or even your belief in your ability to succeed, I have worked through this over the last few years in my business and I have a brand new FREE resource for you.
It’s a free masterclass called: How To Know What Tasks To Focus On In Your Business WithoutWorking 24/7. It includes 3 of the biggest mindset shifts that you need to make to succeed in business.
These are the 3 beliefs that changed everything for me. Because honestly once you shift your mind, everything else falls into place.
Resources Mentioned In This Episode:
Watch the free masterclass here.
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