ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The Easiest Way to Motivate Yourself

Updated on January 30, 2020
Paul Ledford profile image

Paul is from Alabama but has spent his adult life in Hawaii and Japan. He teaches, translates, and writes about life.

Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash
Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash

Whether we're trying to stay on track in our careers, prepare for a big test, quit drugs or alcohol, or just trying to muster up the time and energy to spend with family or just to exercise, getting motivated to do things can be difficult at times. Procrastination is like a disease that eats away the precious time we have on this earth. So, when you find yourself feeling like a couch potato but could, or should, be doing more meaningful things with your life, just follow this routine.

Be sure to do this when you're feeling down or just feel like you're procrastinating. It only takes only 5 minutes depending on how good your imagination is.

1. Lie down or sit in a comfortable place.

Lie down on the floor, outside in the grass on a sunny day, in a comfortable chair, or anywhere that makes you feel at peace. Make sure you're not too sleepy when you do this. You also want to turn the TV, music, or an unnatural noise that may interfere. This will help you really focus on your thoughts.

2. Close your eyes.

Try to keep your eyes closed during this whole process. Keep your body still and stay in a comfortable position.

3. Think of a large hospital near your house.

The hospital can be any hospital that you're familiar with. Try to imagine the layout of one of the overnight patient rooms. It has a typical hospital bed with machines on each side. A small bathroom in the corner. Maybe it's a two-patient room with a curtain divider for privacy. The window looks out over the parking deck. Think of as many details as you can as a way to get yourself absorbed into this scene.

4. Imagine that you're 80 years old.

If you're already 80 years old, imagine whatever age you consider to be close to the end of your life.

5. Picture yourself lying in the hospital bed.

You're lying down in the hospital bed with an IV stuck in your arm. You have different tubes and pads connected to your body. The "beep, beep, beep, beep" sound from the machine monitoring your heartbeat is very vivid.

6. You get your diagnosis results.

Imagine that your body has become frail and weak from your age. The doctor comes in to tell you that you only have a few weeks to live. The words sink in deep. You will no longer be alive on this earth much longer.

7. Think of your regrets.

This is where you can let your imagination run wild. Think of things that you wish you had done during your life.

  • People who you should have been better to
  • People who you should have cut out of your lives
  • Relationships that you should appreciate more
  • Things that you could have done better if you tried harder
  • Things that you wasted too much time on
  • New things that you wished you could have tried

This list can go on and on, but try to be as detailed as possible.

And now it's time to go to work.

Photo by Manasvita S on Unsplash
Photo by Manasvita S on Unsplash

8. Come out of your relaxed state and start your new life.

Now, come back to reality and get a pencil and paper. Write down the things you imagined that you would regret. After you finish your list, cross out any of the things that are literally impossible (not to be confused with just things that you think you can't do). For example, being nicer to someone who has already passed away is impossible.

Next, put a priority number next to the things on your list. There will only be a 1 or 2.

  • Write a "1" if this is one of the most important things to you. You can have several 1s.
  • Write a "2" if this is important to you but you feel like it's more for someone else's behalf or more important to them than it is to you.

There may be things that seem like exceptions; for example, when sacrificing things you want for your child or spouse. But in this case, these should be most important to you as well, therefore, having a "1" written next to them. This will let you know how to prioritize things. Now, cross out all the things that you wrote the number "2" next to. You should focus on all number 1s. You'll ultimately want to reword these into measurable things with dates that you can keep track of. A few examples of how to change the wording are:

  • I want to lose weight → I will weigh 200 pounds by December 1st
  • I want to spend more time with my daughter → I will spend 2 Saturdays per month on a day date with my daughter
  • I want to sleep better → I will not watch TV after 7PM and I'll go to bed by 10:30PM.

And make the goals realistic or you'll be setting yourself up for failure. But for now, just get off your butt and get started. Because the fact is, we will end up on that hospital bed as some point. Make sure you do everything you can each day to reach your goals and do the things you want in life. And try to spend at least 5 to 10 minutes each day working to achieve the things on your list. People have done much more difficult things, so do your best and you'll become a happier person that you can be proud of. Good luck!

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)