We all lack motivation, from time to time. At least, that’s our sense of it.

But a lack of motivation is not our problem. Even if it looks like that. Even if it feels like that. Even if those are the words we use.

Why? Because “motivated” is our default position. We were born motivated. We remain motivated. We ARE motivated.

And so, it’s not that we’re lacking motivation. It’s in there. It always was. It’s that there’s too much noise preventing our motivation from coming through.

Witness that now when we think about our response in a crisis. Motivation is not injected into us, from the outside in. It certainly might seem like that. But really, it’s awoken from within us, with the power of a thought. And in directing our attention to that powerful thought, we let go of all the other low-level noise that’s been dragging us down.

Don’t agree? That’s fine. But let me make an invitation of you: to experiment with this alternative perspective.

That the work to “get motivated” is really the work to “rid myself of the blockers to my most motivated self”.

Here are 6 ideas to get you started …

#1 Engage in more useful thoughts

It’s always the thought of the thing and not the thing itself that blocks our motivation. So begin it. Drop the thought of the entire task. And instead, make your thought ONLY for beginning it. Consciously shift the focus to beginning the task.

#2 Have energy be the source

Get oxygen flowing to the brain with outdoor time, exercise, self-care and other well-being activities. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking your motivation issue is exclusively a work issue. It’s a Whole Self issue. So, work on the Whole Self.

#3 Eradicate the tolerations

If you’re feeling you don’t have the motivation to do anything productive in any given moment: take the time to eradicate your tolerations. Those energy drains hiding in plain sight. Declutter your working environment. Sort-out those long-held aggravations. Clean-up your lists. And anything else that gives you back time and space.

#4 Upgrade your down time

When we’re not feeling the motivation, any time not spent on our task is wasted, feels shameful and just contributes further to our sense of demotivation. Upgrade that time to intentional rest and recuperation. Do it with a simple decision: this is downtime. And place your focus and attention on it, in place of your task.

#5 Find the right level for planning

Get out of any daily and weekly levels of planning, and out of the minutiae. But also resist the urge to go too big, too quickly. Both can stress us out and exacerbate that sense of lacking motivation. Instead: move to the month level. Sketch out a diagram of the month-sized outputs you’re focused on, right now. Make links between each of those outputs; and to your bigger picture.

#6 Turn Pro!

Remind yourself you’re a professional. That means doing the highest-standard of work, even when you don’t feel like it. Drop having to feel motivated completely out of the equation. And get back to professional discipline and practice. Ask yourself: what would professional me do now?