The big difference that I have seen is after I started trying to work on things that made me happy. I have a list where I keep a track of things/thoughts/feelings that have really moved me, made me feel motivated and inspired and so on. There is also a list of all the things that have the opposite effect. I try and make sure that my short and long term plans are aligned with the positive stuff and at the same time eliminate the negatives. Going back to the list has been a constant source of motivation.
Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
101–110 of 184 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#102> I wanted a leadership position at my company, but I was hired for a position that has no decision making power at all.
If you were hired then I'd say it isn't your company. A way forward may be to start your own company. Build your own enterprise instead of someone else's.
> Everyone here seems dumb and working on a few useless things.
I don't think that attitude shows leadership potential.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#103My order of priorities: satisfaction, purpose (both are tightly connected) and finally enough money to make a living (see https://80000hours.org/articles/money-and-happiness/).
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#104in upper case letters: GO ON A LONG VACATION with as least planning as possible i.e. trip through south america, asia .... if you have family, take them with you!
gives you a new perspective, and perspective creates motivation
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#105"I need to find something with purpose,big money, and satisfaction." I think you need to be more realistic, sorry but you sound a bit like a child, everybody is dumb and doing useless things except you the little snow flake who comes to save the world and will be a billionaire if only he was recognized.
Long ago I settled for satisfaction in work only, discarding amount of money and I don't think I could be happier with the jobs I did so far. Granted I get enough money so that I don't really have to care about it. But for me once the threshold of enough is covered I fail to see why I would pursue more. Sure you can always go bigger and more and faster but does that kind of motivation really make you happy or more mo…
This might work for a 10x super star developer. But what about the above average ones who is in the mid 30s and constantly worried about ageism and outsourcing. So the logical tells to follow money and sacrifice job satisfaction. Sad but true.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#106a) >Everyone here seems dumb and working on a few useless things.
Read: Barry Oshry - Seeing Systems https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1241559.Seeing_Systems
b) >I was hired for a position that has no decision making power at all. Power isn't given, power is taken. Trust is earned. Leadership = Power * Trust
but if a) is your current view, you can forget b) especially the trust part. if a) is true, then change the company, best start your own.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#107I'm surprised that none of the top comments mentioned "So good they can't ignore you" (Cal Newport). It's an enlightening book. Long story short: "follow your passion" is crappy advice, you start enjoying what you do once you become very good at it (the author calls it "accumulating career capital") and by deliberate practice (i.e. always challenging yourself so that you are always slightly outside your comfort zone but not too much or you'll feel discouraged). Once you have enough career capital you can spend it to apply the changes you need in your life. For example, to ask your employer to work remotely to travel the world or reduce your working hours to attend college etc. (be careful about the "control traps" though).
The obvious question is: how can I practice something I'm not passionate about? And the answer is the same you'd give someone who wants to be muscular but is not passionate about going to the gym: be more disciplined. But that's an entirely different beast.
The way I see it: you force yourself to do something you know has good results (you exercise 4 days a week so you are already doing that) -> You start improving and appreciating your efforts -> You create a "mission" out of your work -> You get so good you can call the shots on something important -> Rinse and repeat. Eventually I think what makes us happy is not the prize but the appreciation for the efforts that led to it.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
I get 50,000 IU every week like it says on the bottle. I sleep around 8 hours a day. I lift weights 3 times a week and I play football 1-3 times a week. Saying I'm improving my motivation would be a lie. I'm not improving it and I can't lie to myself.
> I get 50,000 IU every week like it says on the bottle. I'm not a doctor but that sounds high enough to have side effects. Unless that dosage has been specifically recommended by a doctor, I think you should talk to a doctor about it before continuing to take that much Vitamin D.
Better, he should have his blood tested. I take 10,000 IU/day and my blood concentration routinely tests at the low normal edge. Individual responses, etc.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#109I suggesting looking at Cal Newport's So good they can't ignore you, and his blog.
The notion that you just need to find the right thing (passion/purpose) and then the big money and satisfaction (that you think you're entitled to) will roll in is misguided.
Exercising 4 days a week shows that there's sufficient motivation there.
At any rate, good luck!
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with loss of motivation?
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
I get 50,000 IU every week like it says on the bottle. I sleep around 8 hours a day. I lift weights 3 times a week and I play football 1-3 times a week. Saying I'm improving my motivation would be a lie. I'm not improving it and I can't lie to myself.
> I get 50,000 IU every week like it says on the bottle. I'm not a doctor but that sounds high enough to have side effects. Unless that dosage has been specifically recommended by a doctor, I think you should talk to a doctor about it before continuing to take that much Vitamin D.
I got my blood tested and it was low. I'm getting the levels back up.