How do you motivate yourself when you’d rather not start?

I try to motivate myself by making a time schedule and making it kind of a game. I also use the 'just start' deep work routine...

I think of it as priming a pump- once you have that first little bit, the rest is suddenly possible. I know that once I get up off the couch and take the literal first steps, inertia is suddenly on my side instead of against me.

Whatever I do is for my own good living and that’s why I try to do my exercise , to eat a good breakfast and drink a lot of water because all of them makes me to feel more energetic

It helps if I tell myself I only have to start and have permission to quit immediately. After I get started, I usually don’t want to quit.

I reflect on why it is I do not want to start. Intently. There is always a reason for the resistance. Finding that reason already brings relief to that resistance, and more often than not there is actually something I can do to alleviate it even more: if I feel too tired, I take a short nap/pause, if I’m stressed about something else, I note down exactly why and adress it later, and so on.

I use videos (at FitnessBlender.com) and while the intro runs I make the bed, so it is easy to press play and then the warm up eases me in. Also, I use their calendar so my workout is already picked out ahead of time. If I’m feeling extremely anti exercise, I’ll substitute a shorter video, even just 5 minutes is better than nothing.

You are the boss of you. You tell yourself to do it, and just do. One of the most motivating things ever is realizing that motivation doesn’t exist. There is no bank of it handing it out, and no group of people collecting it door to door. There are those who do and those who don’t. The difference is if you want what you think you want, or if you want laziness.

Acknowledge that you don’t want to start, then gently ask yourself why. I often find if I’m avoiding something it’s because I feel overwhelmed by it, or by the idea of it - and that includes the task plus whatever emotion I’ve attached to it - usually fear, which then blows it up in my mind into something bigger and scarier than it really is. Break the task into pieces. If it still feels overwhelming, break it into still smaller pieces. Keep breaking it down into smaller and smaller pieces until you have one tiny action you can start with. If it seems pathetically small, great. Do that one tiny little action, then celebrate. You have started!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

My ways to motivate me are rather simple 1. I remember "why" am I doing this and remind myself everytime I tend to lose my path. 2. I set my alarms with motivational songs. When the beginning is right, rest automatically follows 3. If I lose motivation after I gave been on the path for a while, I tell me "Don’t waste/disrespect what has already been invested i.e. take it all the way now, it’s my obligation to myself" 4. Last and the most powerful one is to remember, time once gone will not come again. Either I can win now or can remain a loser forever. You are doing it for yourself. Not for anyone else but for your own happiness. Don’t compromise. You deserve everything! Be happy and make it happen! Goodluck 🌹

I start as quickly as possible. Every second I dwell on my lack of motivation makes it harder to start. I tell myself, Do It Now.