What keeps you motivated?

Mortgages, loans and impending college tuitions. Otherwise, right now I would be asleep under a tree!

I think one good method for me is to have a long term goal, but then break it down into smaller, short term goals. Even though I can’t see myself hitting my long term goal yet, I can see my progress in the smaller steps towards it. I find it keeps me motivated and my spirits high as I reach the short term goals.

Right now, absolutely nothing. Which is really not good.

I struggle very much with it.

My genes lol.

What @Cruiser said, and guilt.
Lots of guilt.

For my retirement, I knew that I would receive a new Glock 40 handgun. That’s about $700 cost in this weapon. This was not the only prize at the end of my work rainbow. I received a party and cash and my fellow officers wishing me goodbye. This was a sad moment for me, but I knew that getting up at 430 am each morning was about to come to an end.

I also think the above procedure has kept “the new” in our 45 year marriage. My wife and I both plan for something for us to do, all of the time. This gives us something to look forward to. Like, our vacation this year. We talk about it and look forward to that day.

I think having a goal is most important in a person’s life.

I get motivation from where ever I can get it. Such as stories of courage, struggle, failure and success. I also get motivation from my exercise journal that I’ve kept continuously since 1983. It contains a lot of information which tells a story of much hard work, cruel and tragic injuries, successful recoveries, victories and failures. I think that my journal has given me much of the motivation that I need. Every day I must enter what exercises that I did that day and that also helps me to chart my future workouts.

Even though I started regular workouts (running, racing and exercising) in 1979, my record shows that I’ve run/jogged well over 56,000 miles since January 1, 1983. I’m 22091 days old so that means that I’ve run/jogged over 2 ½ miles for every day that I’ve been alive or over 2 ¼ times around the Earth at the Equator.

So where does most of my motivation come from? It comes from within. Mostly way down deep past all the negativity, anger and pain.

There are moments when I cannot find any motivation. Usually in this situation I just start traveling to relax.

But when it comes of having a long time goal… well that’s a bit bad. Because at some point you can reach it and then find yourself without any motivation. It’s best to just adjust that goal. When you are close to it add a bit to it so it can’t be reached easy.

when you really are into something and the whole world doesn’t exist. When you really really really want something enough, you’ll get it

There are some things that I am not the least motivated about, and I have to force myself, such as healthy exercise (walking) and house cleaning. With some other things, I can’t hardly wait to do, and motivation is more like compulsion.

When you work really hard for something, you’ll eventually get it. A lot of things keep me motivated. Life expiriences keep me up and moving.

Normally I need to find the joy in whatever it is I am doing or I am not motivated. The idea of the long term payoff helps but it seems so far away that it doesn’t really help with motivation, especially when I am encountering obstacles to my goals and feel discouraged.By focusing on enjoying the process of getting there I am living in the moment and finding what I need in that moment, not waiting hopelessly for a ship that may never come in. Of course, sometimes there is a lot of work to be done, not all of it joyful and much of it grueling, what I cal the grunt work.
You have to be sure of what it is you are working towards and why. Is it for yourself or for someone else? It’s nice to make other people happy and we all need to do things out of duty and responsibility at least sometimes, but when it becomes all of the time it isn’t surprising that we lack motivation. When confronted with having to do things I’d rather not do but which I am doing out of love, necessity or commitment to a higher cause, I need to reward myself after doing them by doing at least some small thing that I enjoy. Listening to music, having a nice meal, taking a bath. It doesn’t have to be an all expense paid trip to Paris although that would be nice come to think of it Know yourself. Know when you need to be tough with yourself and disciplined and when you need to ease up a little and be good to yourself.
All that said, right now I am having a time of very low motivation on my job. I feel very discouraged. My lack of motivation is telling me that it is time to move on. To motivate myself to do that, since I hate job hunting as most people do, I need to strengthen my belief in myself. I also think I need to reevaluate my goals. Hope this is of help to you. It’s kind of funny when I read it and think, oh, here I am an under-motivated person telling someone else how to get motivated, lol