Why do we feel unmotivated, doubt ourselves and how to deal with it?
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Tired all day?
Trying hard to get up and work but unable to do so?
We all have been there, trying to motivate ourselves to work but in vain. We know we need to complete that assignment, go to the gym, buy groceries, but we just don’t want to. Sometimes it could be because something happened like a fight with our loved ones, but many a times we can’t describe what the reason is. Even all those YouTube videos fail to motivate us.
Why does that happen?
It’s the fault of our brain divided in two halves.
The left half of our brain deals with logic and the right half handles creativity.
We think a lot about our productivity. We create a routine, a checklist of tasks to do every day. These tasks are like logical steps that our brain, specifically the left half follows. If we follow the routine (comprising of good habits) over a long period of time we can become the best version of ourselves. But there comes a point, a lazy phase, where we don’t want to follow that checklist and just be idle.
This is the productivity block.
The left half has reached the fatigue point. It’s time to bring the right half to use by doing things that we usually don’t, something creative, something that’s not mundane. Go for trekking instead of gym, take a trip, or learn a musical instrument.
Take a detour from mundaneness and bring in randomness.
Say, we take a trip with friends. We meet new people, learn the regional dialect, try the local cuisine. The right half of the brain is handling all this randomness. But, there comes a point where we start asking ourselves,
‘Why am I wasting my time when instead I can work on my business or gain some new skills?’
‘Why am I eating all this junk? I should make it a habit to eat healthy!’
‘What am I doing with my life?’
We’ve hit the creativity block.
We doubt ourselves and worry about our progress. Progress comes through consistency and consistency is an element of productivity. This is the time to bring back the left half to use by committing to our routine - work on our business or job, visit the gym, or eat healthy.
A good analogy to this is a pendulum.
From O to A : Left half of the brain
The pendulum starts at high speed but eventually slows down to come at rest at point A. We create a routine, follow it with full energy but eventually hit the productivity block feeling unmotivated at point A. The time is then to shift to the right half like the pendulum would.
From O to B : Right half of the brain
Again the pendulum starts at high speed but eventually slows down to come at rest at point B. We do creative things, enjoy our days but eventually hit the creativity block doubting ourselves at point B. The time is then to shift to the left half like the pendulum would.
Live life in cycles.
The pendulum lives it’s life going back and forth. It’s motivation is the gravity. For us humans, knowing when to shift gears between productivity and creativity sows the seeds of motivation.
Quote of the week
Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa on living life:
The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
Get 1% better ❤
Are you being productive or creative right now? Think on how you can shift gears in either case.
Until next week, ✌
Jainuine