Get Off Your Butt: 16 Ways to Get Motivated When You’re in a Slump

By Leo Babauta

But it’s not hopeless: with some small steps, baby ones in fact, you can get started down the road to positive change.

When I fall out of exercise, due to illness or injury or disruption from things going on in my life, it’s hard to get started again. I don’t even feel like thinking about it, sometimes. But I’ve always found a way to break out of that slump, and here are some things I’ve learned that have helped:

1. One Goal. Whenever I’ve been in a slump, I’ve discovered that it’s often because I have too much going on in my life. I’m trying to do too much. And it saps my energy and motivation. It’s probably the most common mistake that people make: they try to take on too much, try to accomplish too many goals at once. You cannot maintain energy and focus (the two most important things in accomplishing a goal) if you are trying to do two or more goals at once. It’s not possible — I’ve tried it many times. You have to choose one goal, for now, and focus on it completely. I know, that’s hard. Still, I speak from experience. You can always do your other goals when you’ve accomplished your One Goal.
2. Find inspiration. Inspiration, for me, comes from others who have achieved what I want to achieve, or who are currently doing it. I read other blogs, books, magazines. I Google my goal, and read success stories. Zen Habits is just one place for inspiration, not only from me but from many readers who have achieved amazing things.
3. Get excited. This sounds obvious, but most people don’t think about it much: if you want to break out of a slump, get yourself excited about a goal. But how can you do that when you don’t feel motivated? Well, it starts with inspiration from others (see above), but you have to take that excitement and build on it. For me, I’ve learned that by talking to my wife about it, and to others, and reading as much about it as possible, and visualizing what it would be like to be successful (seeing the benefits of the goal in my head), I get excited about a goal. Once I’ve done that, it’s just a matter of carrying that energy forward and keeping it going.
4. Build anticipation. This will sound hard, and many people will skip this tip. But it really works. It helped me quit smoking after many failed attempts. If you find inspiration and want to do a goal, don’t start right away. Many of us will get excited and want to start today. That’s a mistake. Set a date in the future — a week or two, or even a month — and make that your Start Date. Mark it on the calendar. Get excited about that date. Make it the most important date in your life. In the meantime, start writing out a plan. And do some of the steps below. Because by delaying your start, you are building anticipation, and increasing your focus and energy for your goal.
5. Post your goal. Print out your goal in big words. Make your goal just a few words long, like a mantra (”Exercise 15 mins. Daily”), and post it up on your wall or refrigerator. Post it at home and work. Put it on your computer desktop. You want to have big reminders about your goal, to keep your focus and keep your excitement going. A picture of your goal (like a model with sexy abs, for example) also helps.
6. Commit publicly. None of us likes to look bad in front of others. We will go the extra mile to do something we’ve said publicly. For example, when I wanted to run my first marathon, I started writing a column about it in my local daily newspaper. The entire island of Guam (pop. 160K) knew about my goal. I couldn’t back down, and even though my motivation came and went, I stuck with it and completed it. Now, you don’t have to commit to your goal in your daily newspaper, but you can do it with friends and family and co-workers, and you can do it on your blog if you have one. And hold yourself accountable — don’t just commit once, but commit to giving progress updates to everyone every week or so.
7. Think about it daily. If you think about your goal every day, it is much more likely to become true. To this end, posting the goal on your wall or computer desktop (as mentioned above) helps a lot. Sending yourself daily reminders also helps. And if you can commit to doing one small thing to further your goal (even just 5 minutes) every single day, your goal will almost certainly come true.
8. Get support. It’s hard to accomplish something alone. When I decided to run my marathon, I had the help of friends and family, and I had a great running community on Guam who encouraged me at 5K races and did long runs with me. When I decided to quit smoking, I joined an online forum and that helped tremendously. And of course, my wife Eva helped every step of the way. I couldn’t have done these goals without her, or without the others who supported me. Find your support network, either in the real world or online, or both.
9. Realize that there’s an ebb and flow. Motivation is not a constant thing that is always there for you. It comes and goes, and comes and goes again, like the tide. But realize that while it may go away, it doesn’t do so permanently. It will come back. Just stick it out and wait for that motivation to come back. In the meantime, read about your goal (see below), ask for help (see below), and do some of the other things listed here until your motivation comes back.
10. Stick with it. Whatever you do, don’t give up. Even if you aren’t feeling any motivation today, or this week, don’t give up. Again, that motivation will come back. Think of your goal as a long journey, and your slump is just a little bump in the road. You can’t give up with every little bump. Stay with it for the long term, ride out the ebbs and surf on the flows, and you’ll get there.
11. Start small. Really small. If you are having a hard time getting started, it may be because you’re thinking too big. If you want to exercise, for example, you may be thinking that you have to do these intense workouts 5 days a week. No — instead, do small, tiny, baby steps. Just do 2 minutes of exercise. I know, that sounds wimpy. But it works. Commit to 2 minutes of exercise for one week. You may want to do more, but just stick to 2 minutes. It’s so easy, you can’t fail. Do it at the same time, every day. Just some crunches, 2 pushups, and some jogging in place. Once you’ve done 2 minutes a day for a week, increase it to 5, and stick with that for a week. In a month, you’ll be doing 15-20. Want to wake up early? Don’t think about waking at 5 a.m. Instead, think about waking 10 minutes earlier for a week. That’s all. Once you’ve done that, wake 10 minutes earlier than that. Baby steps.
12. Build on small successes. Again, if you start small for a week, you’re going to be successful. You can’t fail if you start with something ridiculously easy. Who can’t exercise for 2 minutes? (If that’s you, I apologize.) And you’ll feel successful, and good about yourself. Take that successful feeling and build on it, with another baby step. Add 2-3 minutes to your exercise routine, for example. With each step (and each step should last about a week), you will feel even more successful. Make each step really, really small, and you won’t fail. After a couple of months, your tiny steps will add up to a lot of progress and a lot of success.
13. Read about it daily. When I lose motivation, I just read a book or blog about my goal. It inspires me and reinvigorates me. For some reason, reading helps motivate and focus you on whatever you’re reading about. So read about your goal every day, if you can, especially when you’re not feeling motivated.
14. Call for help when your motivation ebbs. Having trouble? Ask for help. Email me. Join an online forum. Get a partner to join you. Call your mom. It doesn’t matter who, just tell them your problems, and talking about it will help. Ask them for advice. Ask them to help you overcome your slump. It works.
15. Think about the benefits, not the difficulties. One common problem is that we think about how hard something is. Exercise sounds so hard! Just thinking about it makes you tired. But instead of thinking about how hard something is, think about what you will get out of it. For example, instead of thinking about how tiring exercise can be, focus on how good you’ll feel when you’re done, and how you’ll be healthier and slimmer over the long run. The benefits of something will help energize you.
16. Squash negative thoughts; replace them with positive ones. Along those lines, it’s important to start monitoring your thoughts. Recognize negative self-talk, which is really what’s causing your slump. Just spend a few days becoming aware of every negative thought. Then, after a few days, try squashing those negative thoughts like a bug, and then replacing them with a corresponding positive thought. Squash, “This is too hard!” and replace it with, “I can do this! If that wimp Leo can do it, so can I!” It sounds corny, but it works. Really.

For more articles like this, visit Leo's blog at Zen Habits

About Alyssa Ulrich

The business that I presently operate, “Photos 2 Movies”, is my second business. I began and owned my first business “Alyssa’s First Class Eggs” when I was only eight years old. I was interested in chickens and lived in an area that allowed for agricultural living and animal husbandry. I started raising several flocks of chickens, ducks and
geese and eventually, bread my fowl and sold their eggs and baby chicks for profit.

In this business, I paid all operating expenses, made my own business cards and promotional materials. I was able to profit between $1,800-$3,000 over six years (it varied on-and-off due to poultrylife-spans and laying seasons). This business taught me responsibility, accountability and how to pursue quality and the value of money. I became skillful in approaching people to make a sale, explaining about my products, and how to communicate with potential customers. This experience taught me the responsibility of good budgeting and how to control my operating expenses. I also learned the importance of customer satisfaction through feedback from my product. I did this by customizing my egg cartons and the type of eggs my customers wanted (white, brown, tinted, blue and green varieties of eggs). Later, when I entered high school, I passed my business on to my younger
brother.

My next business, “Photos 2 Movies”, was born in March 2006. It happened after I finished my after-school activities at Blue Shadows Mounted Equestrian Drill Team. One day I had two hours to wait until my father finished work so he could take me home. In an effort to not waste my time, I went to the Apple Computer Store in the Glendale (CA) Galleria. The Apple Store offered free software classes for Apple computer owners. Our family had Apple computers, so I decided to attend their movie and DVD editing classes. I was especially impressed with the iMovie and iDVD courses. In these classes, I learned how to make movies from video and digital images.

When I returned home, I practiced what I had learned in the class by taking some old family photos, scanning them and then placing them into the program. I even took some new photos of my animals and used them too. I was extremely happy with the professional-looking results! My mother takes photographs of our sporting events. One day near the end of my brother’s baseball season,my mother asked me if I would be willing to make a DVD movie with all of the photographs. The project turned out well and I decided to sell copies to the team parents. This turned out to be a great business decision and soon the word spread throughout our small community. It did not take very long for other baseball teams to contact me.

Within one year, I was making team movies and another project began to surface. One of the baseball moms approached me and asked if I would make a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary presentation for her parents. Over the course of several days we sat down and created this project. From here, I developed the idea of individual customized products. By allowing the customer to participate, the product became more personal and special to each individual. My customers loved to see their names and favorite music listed in the screen credits. The movie projects developed and better project ideas grew. As my business developed, I applied what I learned about web design. I competed in the Cadbury-Schweppes© America’s Beverage Sunkist© Challenge Web Design contest for Sunkist© soda and was selected as runner up in 2007 and 2008. Eventually web design became a new addition to my business. When I was not creating DVD movies, I was learning web design. After designing some mock web sites, I showed them to potential clients. Several clients hired me to design or update their websites as a result. In the past, Photos 2 Movies only operated out of my home, which limited my customer base to only local citizens, and nearby communities. Talking with my family, customers and friends, we collectively thought it would be a good idea to expand my business to the World Wide Web. It was here that my Internet business expansion started. In the beginning of 2007, I created my own web site Photos2Movies.biz and customized an online store for my customers called “Whimsical Weimies”. Thanks to California DECA and my advisor, Dennis Mifflin I was able to apply and receive over $21,000 in scholarships through DECA.

Alyssa Ulrich
Executive Producer/Owner
Photos 2 Movies
Co-President of American Heritage DECA Chapter 
photos2movies.biz

Attention Class of 2009!

By Julia Joung

#1 Create a “Potential Colleges” List:

        You may have considered going to college in passing sometime during your underclassman years but realize now, it’s a reality. This means you will need to create a list of the colleges you are interested in and research a little bit about them. Making a list and researching which school suits your lifestyle, preference and atmosphere early on can make the whole application process easier, less stressful and taken care of a whole lot sooner.

#2 Talk to Your Parents about Funding for College

        Hey, let’s admit it, some of us are fortunate enough to not have to apply for a single scholarship and go to an Ivy League without any financial problems, but for the rest of us, this is a conversation that needs to be had before you apply for the colleges on your “Potential Colleges” list. Talking to your parents about your college budget will determine if you will simply apply to the school, apply to the school as well as the scholarships offered that you are eligible for or all of the above plus apply for the independent scholarships found on websites and other resources. Having this conversation will also be a wake up call for your parents that their little baby is growing up and is in need of greater support during the next several months.

#3 Begin Applying for Scholarships NOW

        There are scholarships of amounts as little as $50 and can go up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it’s a matter of you finding and applying to them. There are scholarships that award academic achievements, leadership, talents, experiences, specific ethnicities, religions, sexual orientation, and much more so anyone can find scholarships anywhere. Some useful websites are:

• www.FastWeb.com
• www.college-scholarships.com/
• www.AmericanScholarships.biz
• www.DECA.org

Remember: Your DECA participation is also rewarded with many scholarships that are offered at the State Level and International Level: www.CaDECA.org

#4 Apply to College Early

          Don’t be the senior with bags under their eyes everyday during the end of application months – DO THEM EARLY! Find out when the schools you are interested in are taking applications and plan your summer accordingly. Starting them as soon as possible allows you to relax, focus, pay more attention, and tell exactly what you want to tell the schools about you, not to mention be done way before the rest of the school.

#5 Create a Consistent Study Habit NOW

        If you don’t have a study habit yet, make it a priority to have one NOW because once you get to college, your mommy and daddy won’t be there making sure your homework is done and that you’ve read the 500 page book. Studying is a lifestyle that doesn’t happen over night, it has to be broken in, time has to be set aside, and practiced frequently. Getting it down now will ensure greater success in your college years.

#6 Run for Office in your DECA Chapter

        This is your last chance to get involved in your DECA chapter so take full advantage of it! Being a chapter officer is in deed a big responsibility with big rewards. As a senior, you have the influence and leadership skills needed to take this challenge and make a difference in your chapter. By taking part as an officer, you have the power to implement creative ideas, motivate and inspire your members and make this year everything you hope it will be.

#7 Begin DECA on DECA Time

         Start brainstorming what role plays you want to get involved in and what projects you want to write ASAP. It is a good idea to start early so that you can asses who you want to work with this year, what kinds of projects interest you and how much time you will need to execute them. Starting early will also allow you to have a consistent DECA Test Study Session, not to mention make the process a whole lot less stressful. Starting on DECA time will increase the quality of your performance, knowledge and projects; guaranteed

#8 Find a Job or Internship of your Career Interest

        As a pre-college student, independence, and a part-time-job are of essence. If you have never had a job, taking this summer or possibly even the school year to experience one will allow you to have valuable experiences, one more bullet in your college application and a few extra bucks in your pocket. If you have had a job before, you may want to take this time to search for one that fits your career interests. That way you can see if this is really what you want to study for the next four years in college or possibly explore other industries. If you are looking for a professional job, make sure to have a tailored resume, research a little bit about the institution you are interested in and be confident in your abilities at the interview.

#9 Plan Chapter Fundraisers for the Year NOW.

        DECA conferences are fun but not fun for your wallet if you don’t fundraise ahead of time. There are many creative ways to raise money on your campus, and community. Many individuals send letters to family members and the community for sponsorships and chapters do carwashes and bake sales on campus but as marketing students we know the concept of scarcity and not to tap the same resource dry. Monte Vista High’s DECA Chapter holds an annual Fashion Show, Castro Valley High School holds an annual Battle of the Bands, Alameda High sells raffle tickets for VIP seating at football games, and many others have sold merchandise in their own DECA student stores. The possibilities are endless as long as you plan a head of time and have fun doing it!

#10 Communicate DECA Dates Ahead of Time

        DECA involvement is a responsibility. One must make sure to maintain their grades and make arrangements with teachers, parents, sports teams, churches and jobs when leaving for competition. As soon as you find out conference dates, you should let your teachers know so that they can get you the materials needed for their class, and bosses can schedule another person for your shift; communication a head of time also builds your credibility as a responsible individual and will work for you as opposed to against you even if you will be missing those days of school and work.

Class of 2011...

By Klavdia Zemlianova

1. Talk to your business teacher and find out what classes you should be taking.
2. Plan test days and study for them ahead of time, especially AP exams!
3. Don’t wait until the last minute to do your summer assignments; they really do take a lot longer than you anticipate.
4. Turn in all your DECA registrations early.
5. Tell your friends to join DECA!
6. Talk to your class mates to set up group study sessions.
7. Consider taking the PSAT
8. Keep room in your schedule for your friends.
9. Don’t get too intimidated by the number or the size of your textbooks.
10. Don’t forget to eat breakfast; it is the “most important meal of the day.”

California DECA ICDC Winners!