Feeling reluctant. Everyone knows how bad it can be. And at the same time it can feel quite nice. Sometimes it happens after a long working day. Sometimes you wake up and still feel tired. And sometimes the stress has just become too much, you feel like doing nothing anymore. Groaning and moaning, you try to motivate yourself, because you still need to do a lot of things. But just the idea of still having to do all these things is only increasing the reluctant more. You rather just jump on the couch to do nothing. Or even better, just say in bed all day.

Pitfall: the more you give in to reluctance, the harder it gets to start again

When we experience negative emotions this can influence our motivation and energy. It can be tiring when we don’t feel fine and it can be extremely difficult to get up and do something. It’s okay to recharge and do nothing sometimes, but there’s one big pitfall: the more you give in to the reluctance, the harder it gets to do something. You usually see a downward trend in the energy and motivation or pleasure to do things. This pitfall can cause a negative vicious circle to become active.

Tips for more motivation

Maybe it’s put a bit bluntly to say “Just do it!”. If it works for you, you should definitely do it. But here you can read some tips that might help you feel less reluctant:

• It can cause even more negative feelings when you think about all the things you still have to do. Try to keep it small and try to only focus on the first thing you have to do. The rest will come later.
• The first step can feel like climbing a mountain, but once you started everything becomes easier. Try dividing an activity into tiny pieces and only do the tiniest part first. For example only take your books out of your bag. Or put 1 pan on the stove. After this, you can still decide whether you’re gonna continue or you still feel too tired and need a rest.
• You can motivate yourself the same way you motivate others. Tell yourself you can do it and give yourself some confidence. Saying things out loud can help to overshadow the tangle of thoughts that are in your head.
• Hard work should be rewarded. Try rewarding yourself when you manage to overcome the reluctance. Compliment yourself for do something nice. Be kind to yourself will help to decrease the reluctance next time.
• Also do things for yourself. Put on some music at fixed times, eat something nice, play a little game or dance through the room. You don’t have to work hard the entire day.
• Freshen up. Take a shower, go for a walk or call a friend for some renewed energy. We easily tend to stay in the rut and these are simple ways to move your attention.
• Put on some different clothes. Your body gets used to the sensations and this can help maintaining those negative feelings. Take off your working clothes when you get home and put on something comfortable. Or switch your outfit in the middle of the day!