I decided to do a post on how I went through my lack of motivation which went on for almost a year! Yeah, that long. In this post, I am also sharing tips on how I got out of it and bounced back again.

You wake up in the morning and you know what you should be doing but you don't want to do it. That's just the basic feeling when you lack motivation. Then you feel drained of energy even before you start a task. Also, you are discouraged and ask yourself what's the point everytime you are working on a project. Honestly, I felt so much better not thinking of my business at the time because of the guilt I had for not making any efforts in that domain of my life. 

I used to be extremely motivated and managed to get things done no matter what in the past. And later it was the total contrary. 

My lack of motivation scared me. Yes, it did! I thought it was never going to end, considering how long it lasted. But it's back now and I feel as charged as I used to be to achieve my business goals!

So moments like these should not scare you that much or get you to think that you can't make it. It's a phase of your entrepreneur life and you will experience many of them, just that the intensity will vary.

My lack of motivation was severe as I went for almost a year without producing nor planning for my business. Aside the fact that I was a student and school was taking my time, I didn't feel motivated anymore. All I did was to wish for things to happen or wish to be motivated once more.

And yes I lost customers. You know that is the thing with being a sole proprietor. Everything depends on you and everything you do affects your business (reminds me of my secondary school economics lessons on the advantages and disadvantages of sole proprietorship).

When my motivation came back, it was like starting afresh. That was not so long ago. I'm now working on getting new customers and building my brand again.

I have had other periods when I lacked motivation recently and this has been mostly because of the discouragement from not having desired results after putting in so much effort.

If you feel discouraged and not motivated, it's OK! You can't be motivated all the time. You are human to feel bad when things don't work out as you want or expected. So accept your present mood and remember that you are just being human. 

Give yourself a break. It's a break to not think about your projects for even just a day. Don't try to force things or you may keep getting more discouraged and disappointed since you are not putting in your best and you can't think more objectively.

You could no longer be motivated because you overworked yourself like in my case. It could also be because you don't feel skilful enough to do things. You may also lack motivation because you are afraid of not doing things right or not being able to meet expectations. It could also be a lack of support from friends and family or negativity from your customers in relation to your goods or services. 

You need to find out the source of your discouragement to know how to deal with it.

Face the reason why you lack motivation. 

- If they are negative customers accept the critics that are true and decide to work on them. 

- If it's lack of support from family and friends then talk to them and ask for their support or give them a reason to support you by working even harder to achieve your dreams. 

- If you are discouraged as a result of overworking yourself, a break will be nice for starters. You can try to take a short holiday so that your mind relaxes as well. 

Read, watch and listen to motivational write-ups, videos and speeches. This will do you a lot of good. There is nothing more comforting than to know that our case is not different and someone else is or has been through what we are experiencing. You may find someone who's wording will uplift your spirit and your desire and motivation will start building up once more. So feed yourself with positivity. As much as you can get.

Talk to yourself and face your fears that have discouraged you. Tell your lack or motivation self that you are only going through a phase that will soon be over. Also, tell yourself that you can get back to how motivated you used to be because you are working towards it.

Talk is good but it still doesn't get things done. You need to make little plans and enjoy the feeling of accomplishing little tasks. 

Take baby steps towards working on your business again. Take it slow and don't pressure yourself. I hope you get your motivation back soonest.