How Do You Motivate Yourself?

Ruthanne said:
I've been taking an antidepressant for awhile now and have gotten up to a higher dose for about 10 days so far. My mood has improved. The problem I'm having is with motivation.

I have to kick myself in the butt to do many things. At least I'm getting a few things done but need to do more.

Anyhow, how do you motivate yourself? Thanks in advance for your reply.
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I motivate myself by looking at the extreme. I keep a clean house vs a hoarder, manage my health by eating right vs dieing of a heart attack early, etc.
 

Ruthanne said:
Thanks to all of you for all your thoughts and ideas on motivation. One thing I do is make lists and they do help especially after I check things off and see what I've accomplished. Makes me feel good.

The antidepressant Prozac has helped quite a bit too and luckily I haven't had any bad side effects. Makes me feel like living again. I was terribly depressed before it.

I also have been talking with a therapist every few weeks. She is very kind and understanding.

I relate to many of you and appreciate your ideas. (y) ❣️
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I make my coffee at night for the following morning and push the auto button, I wake up and get a cup of coffee , take both dogs out, then feed them, then I eat my breakfast and sweep the floor and water the plants and take my meds. This is all habit so I get it all done everyday. Oh, laundry isn't till the weekend. Habits keep me going and everything stays done. Plus, I like staying busy. I also walk to get 8,000 steps a day.
 
I look forward to a nice shower or bath in the morning, putting on body lotion and moisturizer on my face next light make up and fresh clothes. If I don’t, I seem to be useless all day.
 

Ruthanne said:
I've been taking an antidepressant for awhile now and have gotten up to a higher dose for about 10 days so far. My mood has improved. The problem I'm having is with motivation.

I have to kick myself in the butt to do many things. At least I'm getting a few things done but need to do more.

Anyhow, how do you motivate yourself? Thanks in advance for your reply.
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Well, you know, some of that may not be emotional, it may be medical. So, you might want to go over that with your regular doctor.

Go over blood sugar issues, various things.

Here's one motivation trick. Athletes use it a lot. Say that you have a routine of jogging 5 miles every morning. And many mornings you wake up and think..."Oh, there is no way that I am going to jog 5 miles."

So, the trick is that you say to yourself, "Ok, today, I am not going to jog 5 miles, I am only going to jog 1/2 mile." So, when you do that, your mind relaxes. And then when you start to jog, your adrenaline starts to kick in...and by the time you hit 1/2 mile, you rarely want to quit.

And you can do the same thing with any task. Say the basement needs an hour of cleaning. Just say to yourself, "ok, I am only going to clean for 10 minutes." Then, when the 10 minutes is up, your momentum is engaged, and it is easier not to quit.

take care.
 
JonSR77 said:
Well, you know, some of that may not be emotional, it may be medical. So, you might want to go over that with your regular doctor.

Go over blood sugar issues, various things.

Here's one motivation trick. Athletes use it a lot. Say that you have a routine of jogging 5 miles every morning. And many mornings you wake up and think..."Oh, there is no way that I am going to jog 5 miles."

So, the trick is that you say to yourself, "Ok, today, I am not going to jog 5 miles, I am only going to jog 1/2 mile." So, when you do that, your mind relaxes. And then when you start to jog, your adrenaline starts to kick in...and by the time you hit 1/2 mile, you rarely want to quit.

And you can do the same thing with any task. Say the basement needs an hour of cleaning. Just say to yourself, "ok, I am only going to clean for 10 minutes." Then, when the 10 minutes is up, your momentum is engaged, and it is easier not to quit.

take care.
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That's great advice.
I will try to remember this.

Reminds me of when I quit smoking... I would say: I'll wait 30 minutes before I smoke. Then after 30 minutes, I'd push myself further.
 
RadishRose said:
That's great advice.
I will try to remember this.

Reminds me of when I quit smoking... I would say: I'll wait 30 minutes before I smoke. Then after 30 minutes, I'd push myself further.
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yup, that is it exactly.

by the way, advice is not my own. I read it...
 
If motivation is a problem for you I suggest you talk to a medical provider about your medication and possible options. Do you have a purpose or something you enjoy doing? Seasonal depressive disorder is a real condition, perhaps as the days get longer and increased sunshine you may become more active and motivated.
 
Ruthanne said:
The problem I'm having is with motivation.

I have to kick myself in the butt to do many things.
Click to expand...
I was feeling the same way for about four months. No energy, aching muscles and generaly feeling like krap. I went to my next regularly scheduled doctors appointment and told him about it. Along with my regular blood work he added a test to check my levels of vitamin D and B12. My vitamin D level was very low at 5.5 ng/ml and my B12 was at the low end of the standard range. I was put on vitamin 50,000 of D2 twice a week and a shot of B12 once a week. With in days I was out the door and in the woods and doing my normal activities. The doctor nailed it. I am not telling you to get on vitamin D and B12. I am just saying getting blood work that might show a vitamin deficiency could be an option.
 
Ruthanne said:
I've been taking an antidepressant for awhile now and have gotten up to a higher dose for about 10 days so far. My mood has improved. The problem I'm having is with motivation.

I have to kick myself in the butt to do many things. At least I'm getting a few things done but need to do more.

Anyhow, how do you motivate yourself? Thanks in advance for your reply.
Click to expand...
Since losing my daughter I've felt quite un-motivated and draggy. As I have ongoing sleep issues I asked my doctor to revive my Trazodone prescription from several years ago. I used to take it for sleep, figured I'd try to 'kill 2 birds with 1 stone' and see if I can get some mood relief too.
Not happening yet.

In general: take baby steps, go for the "low hanging fruit", accomplish the simple tasks, grab the feel good reward of those, maybe go for the next level of tasks, if you're up to it. Don't judge your self....very common, I know...but very counter-productive.

I'm just about done reading a book called Tiny Habits, written by a Stanford behavioral scientist named BJ Fogg. The concepts are simple, most are familiar, but the thing that helps me is reading about what I already know, which reinforces that truth and acts a reminder of what works.
 
When you reach a certain age, the realization that there are not many years left can be quite depressing. I think people who tell you aging is not a negative thing and we should find meaning and purpose in old age, are still young. Old age is tough.
 

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