Where did all my motivation go?

013. Where Did All My Motivation Go 1052x591

If you’ve been a goal-driven, success-oriented, financially-focused business owner, you may find at some point that you don’t have the motivation and drive you used to. When this happens you’ll probably try to work hard to get your drive back. You may experience depression or anxiety, or both. To some it feels more like burnout. And some read it as a signal that it’s almost time to retire.

Two different things are going on here. At one level, you may well be deeply tired after years of hard work and stress. You can gradually recover from this, but you might be surprised that you never recover the full motivation you had before. The other thing that’s going on is an expansion in your consciousness.

The strong drive that makes you work hard to be successful is rooted in fear. It can be fear of failing, letting yourself or others down, being poor, living like your parents, being mediocre, not being good enough or something else.

Fear can only take you so far, and in the end it becomes self-defeating. If everything you do is to avoid something painful or uncomfortable, at an energetic level you’re constantly inviting that energy into your life. In your desire to avoid feeling inadequate, for example, you’re constantly playing with the energy of inadequacy beneath the surface, so you never really solve the problem, however successful you become.

Once fear is no longer a powerful driver for you, something else needs to take over. This is where many people get confused. You find yourself searching around for purpose, but even if you find it, it rarely feels as powerful as the motivation you’ve been used to. Goals don’t grab you like they once did and you’re no longer as hungry for money.

The next level emerges gradually, often over several years. Rather than a stick beating you from behind, it’s more like a carrot beckoning you into the future. It works on principles of love and attraction, not fear and control.

In my experience, it feels like there’s a power drawing me inexorably forward. It’s subtle and it links with my deeper visions for the future, both personal and for all of us. It operates as a guiding principle and sense of direction rather than as a compulsion or necessity. The more conscious I am and the more willing I am to take responsibility for all aspects of my life, the stronger it becomes.

 


Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash

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