How To Motivate Yourself When You Are Struggling Mentally

Mental health is something that many people struggle with, and sometimes it can be difficult to motivate yourself when you are feeling down.

You might be feeling lonely, uninspired, or just generally down on yourself. It’s hard to get motivated when you feel this way and it can seem like nothing will ever change the negative feelings you have about your life.

The good news is that there are things you can do to help motivate yourself during these tough times!

Do you ever feel like your mental health is taking over? If so, read this blog post and get motivated! We all have had those days when we are not feeling our best. It happens to the best of us.

Sometimes it can be really hard to stay positive when things don’t go your way but there are ways that you can motivate yourself for the next day. Here are some proven tips on how to do just that:

Table of Contents

1. 5 Proven Strategies To Motivate Yourself

2. 1) Figure out what you want to do and why

3. 2) Break down your task into smaller steps, then take one step at a time

4. 3) Find someone who is doing something similar to what you’re trying to achieve

5. 4) Create a plan (schedule) for when you’ll work on the task or goal each day/week/month

6. 5) Reward yourself with something that’s not related to the task after completing it successfully

7. Final Thoughts:

5 Proven Strategies To Motivate Yourself

1. Figure out what you want to do and why

2. Break down your task into smaller steps, then take one step at a time

3. Find someone who is doing something similar to what you’re trying to achieve

4. Create a plan (schedule) for when you’ll work on the task or goal each day/week/month

5. Reward yourself with something that’s not related to the task after completing it successfully

1) Figure out what you want to do and why

This may seem like an obvious step, but it can really motivate you to stay on track.

Sometimes we just don’t know where to start in order to motivate ourselves and that’s why figuring out what you want will motivate you to go do something. What are the things that motivate you?

Think about your ultimate goal, or short-term goals, if there is anything else holding you back right now. Come up with a list of all the things that motivate you and when you’re feeling super unmotivated, refer back to this list.

Getting motivated from within yourself is the best way! If your motivation is external (meaning outside forces motivate you) then it can be harder for you to stick with it.

2) Break down your task into smaller steps, then take one step at a time

This is where a lot of people get overwhelmed. They think of the whole thing and how hard it is to motivate yourself when you are feeling down, so they never do anything towards their goal.

However, if you break it down into smaller steps, your motivation will spike when you see that you have come further than you thought or if you don’t feel like quitting, then motivate yourself by setting a reward for completing the task! If it’s something physical, make it as small as possible.

If there are things holding you back from starting any of these tasks, motivate yourself to start by figuring out the smallest thing that can get you into action so those excuses can be thrown away.

Who knows what could happen after accomplishing even the smallest step? Stick with this plan and continue taking one step at a time until your big goal has been reached!

3) Find someone who is doing something similar to what you’re trying to achieve

Find someone who has already done it, and motivate yourself by learning from their experience. What did they do that helped motivate them?

How did they overcome obstacles? How would you motivate someone else to accomplish this goal? The more information you have about a topic the easier it is for you to motivate yourself because you will know exactly how to make your plan.

It’s not about how difficult your journey is going to be but more about how much you can accomplish when you motivate yourself in a positive way.

You can also motivate yourself by finding someone else who is struggling with this same goal as you. You don’t have to go on the journey alone!

If there are people around you who want something but aren’t motivated, then motivate them!

4) Create a plan (schedule) for when you’ll work on the task or goal each day/week/month

Having a plan in action is one of the most critical steps to motivate yourself. When you know what you need to do, then motivate yourself by making it as convenient as possible for yourself.

For instance, if you want to work out more often but are not motivated enough yet, then motivate yourself by creating a regular time that works best on your schedule and putting it into your calendar app!

Just like a real schedule, you need to motivate yourself by saying “I will do this on days 1-5 and that’s it! Once I finish day 5, I can take a break from working but continue motivating myself!”

This is hard for some people, mostly because they haven’t done it before. You may not motivate yourself your first time creating the “schedule” of when you’re going to work on your goal each day and if you don’t motivate yourself after finishing off the plan then start all over again!

Having a schedule (a time frame for when you will do something) scheduled down, shows that you have made up your mind about what you want and how far you are willing to go in order to accomplish your goal.

5) Reward yourself with something that’s not related to the task after completing it successfully

This is another way to motivate yourself when you are feeling overwhelmed. We know that by setting a reward for yourself, your motivation will spike!

You can motivate yourself by rewarding yourself in whatever way you wish! Even if it’s a small reward or something that seems silly to others.

As long as it motivates you and gets you going, then motivate yourself by finding ways to motivate yourself.

If your reward is not easy to obtain – like getting a new car after working out more often for a month – then motivate yourself by having your reward be “getting closer” to the big prize. This will be easier on your brain and keep motivation flowing when you need it most!

Also Read: 30 Best Mental Health Quotes By Psychologists

Final Thoughts:

The key to staying motivated when you feel overwhelmed is figuring out what your goal is and why it’s important.

Once you have an idea of where you want to go, the motivation will come more easily as well. You can either start with a small step or set smaller goals for yourself in order to stay focused on the big picture that matters most.

Regardless of how you choose to motivate yourself, remember that sometimes taking care of your mental health comes first before anything else. How do you stay motivated when you feel overwhelmed? Let me know in the comment section!