Finding Motivation for Self Care

Motivation is one of the most powerful forces that compel us to take action, and follow through on thoughts and emotions. You may have ideas or desires, but your current and persistent level of motivation will ultimately determine the end result. It can be challenging to quantify or define motivation because it is such a personal experience, so for the sake of this article, we will be taking a closer look at motivation as it relates to self-care and self-betterment.

The team at Danielle Counselling provides a comprehensive range of therapy and counselling services to help people from all walks of life. We understand that the first step is often the hardest to make and want you to know that you are not alone in that feeling. Taking action and making changes can be frightening, but there are steps and decisions you can undertake to make it happen. Our team will hold space for you here, for when you’re ready and when you need it most!

What Motivates You?

Motivation is complex. You can be motivated, feel motivated, desire motivation, and lack motivation. It can come from external sources or stimuli, from the things you see or hear during the day. However, it ultimately manifests within yourself - you can sit through 100 motivational seminars, but if the topic doesn't interest you and connect with you on a personal level, you won’t feel motivated.

Motivation can be defined as “the general desire or willingness of someone to do something” as well as “the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.” 

With that said, we encourage you to take a moment and think about what motivates you. Do you do things because they make you happy; help you build relationships; help you financially; or because they are good for your physical and mental health?

Finding Motivation When You Have None

You can’t force motivation, so the question becomes; are there ways you can create and strengthen motivation. Thankfully, the answer is yes. To help get you started, here are 3 tips and tricks that you can implement into your life immediately!

Act Motivated 

This might sound strange; but going through the motions and ‘acting’ like a motivated person would, can actually get the wheels turning and inspire the beginnings of motivated and intentional actions. 

We aren’t asking you to be disingenuous with yourself, it’s simply an exercise to break habits and get you thinking in a constructive way. Oftentimes, mental health can dramatically affect a person's motivation; so performing these manual exercises helps break you free of those restraining behaviours. 

Reinforce the Opposite

An unmotivated person could think of 100 reasons not to do something; however, we encourage you to instead focus on the opposite scenario. Yes, a situation might be uncomfortable, tiring, or stressful. But it might also be fun; it might also be enlightening and leave you with a great story to tell. 

To help, ask a friend to argue for your current position. For example, your friend may argue for all of the reasons why you shouldn’t start that new exercise program. You will likely find yourself countering with the reasons why you should! 

For every negative thought, there is a positive outcome that is as equally as possible. This way of thinking will encourage you to be much more motivated and excited about opportunities, instead of shying away from them. 

Poor mental health can take people to darker places; leaving you stuck in cycles of negative thoughts and self-sabotaging behaviour. The point of this exercise is to break that cycle, see the positive opportunities for what they are and restore your motivation seek out self-care, and better your mental health.

Ready to get started? Call us or schedule an initial consultation online today.

Practice Self-Compassion

As we mentioned above, you cannot force motivation. In fact, forcing someone to do something or telling them they need to care about something often invokes the opposite response. Motivation that occurs more naturally will always be more powerful and have the greatest impact.

Studies have observed acts of self-compassion being strongly tied with greater and more resilient levels of motivation.

Apply this to the way you speak to and treat yourself. Make a habit of being forgiving and gentle with yourself and you are much more likely to develop a more natural and authentic form of motivation. It’s when we try to force ourselves to be motivated, and then punish ourselves that our motivation suffers.

Set healthy goals for yourself and understand that mistakes are okay and normal. Psychologist Kristin Neff reminds us that failure does not make us abnormal, but rather is a unifying experience for humanity. We all know the feeling of failure. Giving ourselves permission to fail takes the pressure off, increasing the likelihood that we will try again. In this way, failure is seen as an opportunity as opposed to a defeat.

Smaller Goals Make For Easier Wins

One of the biggest motivation killers is feeling overwhelmed. This is frequently used as a way for people to excuse themselves from getting the help they need. Looking at the entire process and trying to wrap your head around how to get from A to Z makes it seem impossible. 

Instead, focus on what it takes to get from A to B; which could be picking up the phone and speaking to a friend or family member about how you’re feeling. Then you can focus on getting from B to C, which could be setting aside 10 minutes of your day for mental health and self-care. From C to D, you schedule a single therapy appointment to see if it helps, and so on.

Aim small, win big. Achieving a series of small, obtainable goals will create a positive snowball effect that will manifest into confidence and motivation.

Finding Motivation for Self Care 

If you want to see change, you have to make change. This is an important part of learning to care for yourself and your mental health. If you know that you are stuck; or you know that you need help and are just missing that support element, you need to make a change. 

We encourage you to implement the strategies talked about in this article, and work your way up to speaking with a professional counsellor or therapist. Under the guidance of a professional, you can learn to compartmentalize your problems, face them one at a time, and experience a surge of motivation as your mental health begins to improve. 

One phone call can serve as your first step in the right direction.

Counselling and Therapy Services Available in Oshawa, ON

If you or a loved one is struggling to find the motivation needed to get help, the team at Danielle Counselling encourages you to take the first step, and reach out to us today. We can schedule an initial appointment and we can help you with ways to build motivation for self-care before all else. 

For more information about our complete list of services or if you would like to schedule an appointment, call our office to speak with a member of our team or schedule a consultation online today!