How to Be Motivated to Beat Depression - Don't wait for inspiration to strike; take action now

Stone Motivation / Pixabay

One of the most common symptoms of depression is a lack of desire to do the things you feel you can. You may believe, for example, that you lack the desire to workout, socialize your friends, or complete the long-overdue project. We all know that depression is a vicious circle, as I've stated in previous blogs. Avoidance, isolation, self-criticism, perfectionism, and hopelessness are all symptoms of this disorder. We should apply loss of motivation to this vicious circle and when you don't have motivation, you don't do the things you need to do to improve self-esteem, resolve avoidance, build your social network, and feel successful so you don't slip down a rabbit hole of hopelessness.

In this article, we'll look at some of the cognitive distortions that contribute to your loss of motivation, as well as some strategies you can use right now to reverse your motivation.

1. You don't need to wait for inspiration to get started.

Most of the misconceptions that underpin depression is that "I have to be inspired first in order to get things done." You don't have to like to do anything to do so. All you have to do is decide to do so and then follow through. For example, I work out for an hour almost every morning before seeing patients or doing some writing. I'm not particularly excited to workout. And I don't really feel inspired to compose. But I've stuck to the habit because I believe it's good for me, and I've committed to doing the workout even though I don't feel like it even if I'm not motivated. In reality, every day you go to work, you're probably doing stuff you're not overly excited about, but you're committed to doing a good job. This is a crucial aspect. Rather than hoping for inspiration to turn up, commit to action and ideals.

Inspiration / Pixabay

2. Motivation comes by taking action.

Motivation is sometimes thought to come before or after action, but it may often come after movement. If you workout vigorously, for example, you can see an improvement in your energy level and desire to do other activities. It's like recharging your batteries by engaging in physical activity. You will feel more likely to participate in future activities if you partake in more action now. It's as if you believe action generates its own momentum. You can transform a virtuous cycle of activity and optimism into a vicious cycle of despair.

Bussinesman / Pixabay

3. Pick a goal for yourself.

Make a list of concrete targets for the next day, week, month, and year. Waiting for inspiration to appear is a common pit to fall into, leading to increased passivity and alienation. Passivity and loneliness are well-known contributors to depression. 

I recommend that you concentrate on important targets or objectives. This could refer to the physical well-being, which includes things like fitness and diet. It could include creating a supportive social network, which could include or include reaching out to others, making plans, and carrying them out. It may even include activities that you have at work that are a part of your identification as a productive employee. Rather than asking yourself about your inspiration, you should ask yourself about your intent or objective, and then commit to doing steps that will help you achieve those goals.

Begin by making a list of two goals for today, four for the week, and six for the month. Then keep track of your success toward these objectives, and remember that you will achieve your objectives even though you don't feel like it. You must learn the ability to monitor your own actions. And this entails how to do what you don't want to do.

Self purpose / Pixabay

4. When you weren't depressed, how did you spend your time?

Take any of the steps to combat your depression. If you are now stressed, you will find that your behaviour has changed significantly from when you were not. You may be ignoring friends, walking less, making less plans, and getting lost on the Internet or in your thoughts. This is what we'll call your Depressive Behavioral Profile. It depicts how you seem when you are acting sad.

Now I'd like you to think about how you seem when you're not sad. What are you up to, who are you talking to, and what are you doing? Acting as though you're not sad so you can conduct your way out of depression is a big part of the behavioural activation approach to depression treatment. “When confronting adversity, behave,” as one of the fathers of behaviour analysis once said. To put it another way, if you're down, try something good. Make a list of all the things you enjoyed when you weren't down and begin planning them for the next week.

Beach / Pixabay

5. Any move forward should be rewarded.

When people are sad, they hardly praise themselves for their accomplishments. One frustrated man, for example, told me that he had worked on his resume, reached out to friends in his network, and exercised multiple times during the previous week. However, despite feeling a little better, he mentioned that he did not believe he was making progress. This is the lack of self-reward that characterizes much of depression which is at the root of the inability to motivate yourself.

You will get overwhelmed, give up, and lose hope if you do not praise yourself with even small strides forward. Anyone who has experienced depression knows how difficult it is to partake in these habits while stressed. That's the equivalent of ascending 10 flights of stairs while carrying a 100-pound weight and then asking why it was so tough. Would you believe that if you had workers and asked them to work 40 hours a week, they would be motivated to do so if you never paid them? As a result, you must reward yourself with each step forward. Even reading this post is something you should be proud of when you are attempting to understand something new.

Self-rewarding has the bonus that you can award yourself prizes at any time. You are still there to be the motivator you need. Praise yourself, give yourself credit for trying, and keep track of your success, even though it feels like little steps, will help you stay motivated.

Remember this:

You can get overwhelmed when dealing with your lack of motivation and things do not improve overnight. We can need to partake in good behaviour for a period of time before we experience the emotions, benefits, and consequences. You must invest in yourself by developing the necessary behaviors to propel you forward. But it will take time, and you must be gentle with yourself while rewarding yourself with each positive step. The more positive action you take, the more motivated you'll become, the more successful you'll be, and the less stressed you'll become. However, patience is needed.