Motivation isn’t always there before you start what you want to do. It might be, but more often it shows up after you begin taking action. The mind can play tricks on itself and psych you out. It dwells on reasons why you can’t start or reach your goal. 

When that happens, motivation disappears, progress is elusive, and you feel stuck. You’re at an impasse. You can remain in this limbo, negative state, or you can turn things around.

If you’re ready to change the dynamics, I have some ideas to help. There are many ways to get unstuck, boost your motivation, and act on what matters most. I compiled three approaches related to focus, fear, and perspective.

3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Motivation and Get Unstuck

1. Motivation and Focus

“Focus on the seeds, not the trees. What seeds are you planting today?”

— James Clear

A common reason for a lack of motivation is feeling overwhelmed. It’s important to understand your overall goal or objective. However, focusing too far in the future on what it will take to reach that goal can be demotivating.

Instead, narrow your focus and stay present. This will help boost motivation. Invest in small actions that support your larger goal. Keep your attention on the now and your next step, while remembering your ‘why’.

Eventually, the seeds you plant will grow into the trees you desire.

REMEMBER: “Focus on the seeds, not the trees. What seeds are you planting today?” – James Clear

2. Motivation and Fear

“Any next action.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

A few months ago, Kara Cutruzzula, a writer, playwright, lyricist, and friend, wrote a piece on Substack called “Hop to the other side of fear.” She shared how being unprepared and scared can get in the way of progress, yet these are fixable challenges.

In response, I commented that fear, indecision, and uncertainty can be paralyzing and demotivating. However, taking any next action can help break that cycle.

• What fears are holding you back?

• What decision are you struggling to make?

• How can you get ready to take the next small step?

• How is uncertainty preventing you from moving ahead?

Taking action holds undeniable power. It encourages further progress, boosts motivation, quiets fears, and helps you move forward.

REMEMBER: “Any next action.” – Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

3. Motivation and Perspective

“Make your what-if questions positive, not negative.”

— Todd Henry

Someone once suggested to me that it’s unhelpful to ask ‘what-if’ questions. Honestly, that has never prevented me from pondering them. How you phrase the ‘what-ifs’ is essential.

Especially when you’re feeling stuck and lacking motivation, it’s more helpful to reframe your ‘what if’ questions from an optimistic perspective.

Instead of dwelling on:

• What if I never get my home organized?

• What if I don’t complete this decluttering project?

• What if I can’t change my unhelpful habits?

Instead try:

• What if I make my home organized enough so that our family feels calmer and less stressed?

• What if I finish this decluttering project so I can downsize to my new home?

• What if I change my bad habits to feel healthier and more energetic?

‘What if’ questions can motivate and encourage action when they are framed to highlight positive outcomes.

REMEMBER: “Make your what-if questions positive, not negative.” – Todd Henry

What Motivation Strategies Are Most Effective?

If “action precedes motivation,” as Julie Bestry, my friend and colleague, says, what helps you take that next step? Do you have motivational challenges? Which of these strategies resonates most with you?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

Do you need support with motivation, activation, or organization? I’d love to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – Local feel with a global reach.

Let’s talk. You can:

• Schedule a Discovery Call

• Email me at linda@ohsorganized.com or

• Call 914-271-5673

Organizing and sustaining motivation is possible, especially with support.

When I captured the image of these luscious, lively eggplants at a local farmer’s market, excitement rushed through my body. Their deep violet hue drew me close. In thinking about the pursuit of success, a similar feeling of vibrancy exists when we take action towards our goals.

Last week I attended the annual ICD conference with organizing colleagues and related professionals. We went to learn and connect. The focus of the conference was how we think, act and feel about possessions. As an organizer, these ideas are at the core of the work we do with our clients. There were many presenters including psychologist, Dr. April Lane Benson, Ph.D. who spoke about overshopping, artist Corinne May Botz who shared her work on the Secret Lives of Objects and counselor Carol Berns, Psy. D. who talked about grief and bereavement.

The learning was stimulating, but so was having the chance to meet face to face with my colleagues. Taking time to reflect, converse, and learn separately from my daily routine allows me to grow personally and professionally.

We are very much like the eggplants that were planted from seed and cared for. When we take ourselves away from our normal schedules to travel, meet new people and exchange ideas our beings get nurtured. It is essential to our success.

Allow yourself to step into new environments, be open to learning and slow down enough to appreciate what surrounds you. There is a good chance you will experience that surge of energy that comes from stepping outside of your “normal.” Let vibrancy shine as you move towards the success you seek.

Please join the conversation. What gives you energy and makes you feel vibrant?

This month I’ve focused on taking action towards the changes I seek. Many of you have done the same. As we’re half way through the month, this is a good point to stop and give ourselves a Change Check-up. A great question that ADHD coach, Cameron Gott asks is, “Where are we now?”

Locating where you are in the change process is important. Are you struggling to match actions with the changes you want? Or, are you able to make new choices each day to facilitate the changes that you desire? Perhaps you are experiencing a mix of struggles and successes. Sometimes we want habits or situations to alter, but we find it challenging to take the action steps, however small, to bring about those changes.

In the Readiness for Change fact sheet I created for the Institute for Challenging Disorganization, I wrote about the five phases of change: Initial Rumblings, Identifying Possibilities, Reaching Out, Beyond Talking and Life Jolts. These stages aren’t necessarily linear. We shift back and forth between the phases and can even straddle two simultaneously. For a detailed description, the ICD fact sheet is available as a free download.

Sometimes we need to pause and reassess where we are and how we’re doing. For example, I spent December and January setting goals and determining which changes I wanted to make for the coming year. When February arrived, I began setting some of those goals in motion by taking baby steps forward. Now I’m evaluating how I’m doing. Many of the changes I seek are in the works. Some have shorter time frames to accomplish, while others might take a full year or longer.

Each of us face challenges. For me, the most difficult ones seem to be integrating exercise into my schedule and cutting down on the sweets. Experience tells me that when I exercise more and eat fewer sweets, I feel healthier and stronger. As it turns out, getting out for that brisk walk or saying “no” to the very tempting cupcake or bar of chocolate is apparently not so easy.

I know that it’s difficult to make multiple changes at once. I haven’t given up on my fitness and health goals. They just may need to be postponed while I work on the other areas I’ve chosen to focus on.

Make time for your Change Check-up. Where are you now? Are you experiencing challenges or celebrating successes? I’d love to hear from you.

Like many of you, I have an ambitious list of things I’d like to accomplish. Some of these things are small and don’t require much energy. Some however seem so large that it’s not as obvious how they will get done. This can be overwhelming because there are so many choices for moving ahead. Lots of thinking has gone into these goals. For many of us, sometimes the thinking zaps our energy. At other times sometimes it energizes us.

At some point, though, in order for anything to actually happen, action needs to occur. This often begins with the next step. That forward movement can provide the momentum needed to propel us closer to our goal.

So right now for you, what is the one thing you’d like to accomplish? Whatever it’s size, try to determine your next step. Don’t be concerned that you don’t know all the steps. It’s OK to figure that out as you go. This is especially important because you’ll most likely need to make adjustments and be flexible along the way. In addition, if you let yourself get too detailed at the beginning, that detail could paralyze you from taking any action.

Just have enough of an idea of what you’re moving towards. Then pick one thing to bring you closer to that goal. See what happens when you do that. Keep going with the next step, the next and then another. Before you know it, you’ll be entrenched in the pursuit of your goal. You’ll be learning as you go and making new decisions along the way. You are no longer just thinking. You are now taking action.

As Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step.”