It’s not uncommon for people to wake up one day and not feel like doing anything. It’s not unusual to feel exhausted and confused about life. We don’t wake up every day ready to take on the world and all its challenges. We don’t usually get up in the morning with a cape on feeling super about ourselves.
There are plenty of days when we find it hard to function because we are demotivated and uninspired. Times like these, sometimes a person just needs a little push or friendly nudge to get the fire burning again.
Motivation isn’t hard to give. However, it’s also exactly not as easy to find. But it can be done if you just take the right approach with the right people. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach but perhaps some of the following can help you help someone rediscover their passion for life.
Give credit where credit is due
More often than not, a genuine compliment and recognition of effort is a great confidence booster. If you ask employees for feedback or have them take an employee engagement assessment program, you’ll probably end up with a majority of them saying all they need is a little appreciation at the workplace. So give credit where credit is due. Even outside the workplace. If you see someone doing a good job at something or see them doing the very best they can, then tell them about it.
Discover what gets them energized
Discovering something that energizes and drives a person can help bring back some motivation in his or her life. It can be an incentive, a reward, a vision, a purpose, anything that gets them going. Talk to them and ask them about their dreams and ambitions in life, things they are passionate about. Ask them what their vision is for their life and what their purpose in life is. Identifying these things should serve as good reminders to get them back on track.
Take it one step at a time
Sometimes people get overwhelmed by everything going on around them that they end up getting paralyzed and stuck in a rut not wanting to move. Perhaps it’s out of fear, maybe it’s out of exhaustion or frustration. Whatever the case is, remind them to take things easy and just go at their own pace. One step at a time, one day at a time. The important thing is they keep moving forward.
Help them gain access to resources they need to grow
There are cases where people tend to lose momentum and stop dead in their tracks because they have stopped growing. When this happens, people lose excitement in life and begin to feel lost and purposeless. Give them avenues to grow and let them have access to things that can add value to them as individuals.
Challenge them
Different people are motivated by different things. There’s no such thing as blanket motivation that covers all types of personalities. If you know someone who has stopped growing because he or she is no longer challenged by things, help them reframe their perspectives and look at things from a different perspective. Show them a different take on things and the challenges that go with it. This can help spark their drive and get them up and reach for new goals.
Listen to understand and empathize
Sometimes all an uninspired and demotivated folk person needs to get back on his feet again is knowing that someone else understands what they’re going through. They just need someone who will listen to them without any judgments, a person who will seek to understand where they’re coming from. You don’t even need to say anything. Just be there to lend an ear and hear them out. Things can get too overwhelming and folks tend to get overburdened by unnecessary things that they just run out of gas. An empathic friend can help do wonders for them.
Motivation is important. It helps drive people to achieve things and realize their potential. Each one of us needs a little help in that department every now and then. If you know someone that needs some encouragement, help them out. Don’t withhold inspiration and motivation from them. The time will come when you’ll be the one in need and hoping that someone will give you reasons to keep going in life. Take care of those around you and others will take care of you, too. That’s just how life is.
