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Have you started a project, idea, new routine, or habit with super ambition? A true feeling of ‘yeah, I can do this!’. Then later on due to something not working out for you, or perhaps for no reason at all, you ended up in this lack of interest frame of mind. You just can’t be bothered, it’s not worth it, who cares. Leaving you with no motivation or desire to even try. Well, that is normal. We all go through it at some point or other in life.

You first need to understand, when you have a lack of interest attitude, that it is based on emotion. It’s a feeling. Feelings are not facts. For one thing, deep down, you do care. Are feelings real? Yes, of course! Not only that, they are important. Sometimes you need to stop and accept your feelings. In the very end though, they don’t deal in facts or logic. So if your ambition or juice, the reason for doing something falls, and you’re feeling down, take the time to understand why you feel this way.

So everything started off wonderful. You were on fire. But now the ambition is gone and you’re feeling down in the dumps. Whatever the endeavor was you first need to acknowledge that you have a lack of interest state of mind going on. Now you can work on why you feel this way. Is it something to do with the project itself or is it an outside thing?

Possible outside things.

That’s right sometimes not caring about your new adventure may not have anything to do with it. Perhaps some friends and family made you feel it was a dumb idea. The keyword here is ‘feel’. Only you can decide if it’s a good idea or not. Maybe you got into an argument with your spouse or someone else. Perhaps something terrible happened like a death, injury, or job loss. Something outside your control. These things most certainly can happen. If that’s the case, once you have dealt with those issues, you can start working on getting back to a positive thinking attitude again, and then try again or continue with that great idea you had.

High Expectations

You have this looming lack of interest in your great idea because things aren’t turning out perfect or as great or as soon as you expected. Well, this is normal too. It’s what’s called high expectations. High expectations, goals, and targets are a double edge sword. On one hand, it is great because if you don’t hit the intended peak, you will at least have made an effort or some progress. On the other hand, due to the great excitement and boost of energy, overflowing optimism you got when first coming up with the idea, you’re left feeling like you failed, or worse. Again, the keyword is ‘feel’ not facts. It’s a normal emotion.

Physical burn-out

Another possibility for a lack of interest or rundown optimism for what you’re doing is physical. You could be burned out, whether your objective is taking up all your spare time, or the process is taking much longer than anticipated. Perhaps you’re burning the candle at both ends, meaning you’re working too hard while at the same time not looking after yourself. Or the learning curve is tougher and slower than you thought it would be.

So how to turn the lack of interest back into positive thinking, so you can get back on the horse and keep going forward.

Be smart

Always keep in mind that starting anything new there will be some learning, time to acquire skills, and obstacles will appear. These things don’t stop you, they merely slow you down a bit. You know adrenalin does not last forever. As a matter of fact, that first burst of energy you had tends to fade fast. When it happens use it as an opportunity to reevaluate your idea. If it still sounds good to you, then you can move on with confidence and prepare yourself so you can have more positive willpower to keep going.

Do your homework

Jot things down, look things up, and ask questions. Think ahead and consider what possible challenges could arise. That doesn’t mean they will arise. And most definitely do not just stop coming up with problems. More important is to start figuring out ways to work past them. Doing this type of homework prepares you mentally for a letdown. At which time you accept the feeling, then start working on how to conquer it with possible solutions to try. Information is power against negativity. Knowing the average length of time to learn, reach, or create something, gives you a guide. Keep in mind that average means sometimes it could be quicker but it also means a lot of times it could take longer.

Create a plan of action

If you don’t create a plan then you have no direction. Set goals, and milestones. Try not to use a timeline, instead, set it by levels or stages. That way you can celebrate each win. Instead of a timeline, create a schedule, which will turn into a routine, then it will become a habit. For example, if it is exercise, every Tue and Thur go to the gym to stay fit. If it’s computer work, each evening between this time and that time, I will work on it and stop. This way you’re not burning yourself out and it gives you something to look forward to. Also, even if it does take longer, you’re reaching milestones to celebrate which in turn keeps your ambition going.

Know your why

If you truly want to be able to keep going at any endeavor and conquer any possibility of lack of interest, you must have a reasonably clear reason why you want this. The better your reason the better the chances of you being able to continue and achieve success. Short-term goals are fine but are also more likely to fail. Where if you are able to choose a life change or something to achieve years down the road, with the other suggestions, you have a greater chance of success.

Do you want to lose 50lbs or do you want to be more physically fit in 10yrs time? Do you want to make big money quickly, or would you like to build a side career doing something you enjoy regardless if it pays a ton or not? Are you trying to learn a new skill to impress someone or to be better than someone, or do you want to make a hobby learning to do this because it’s fun, interesting, and relaxing? Only you can decide if your reason is right or not.

Just keep in mind a bad reason for wanting to do something could cause you to feel worse if you don’t succeed. The right reason has the power to turn into the personal development of joy even if the results aren’t quite as wonderful as you first hoped for.

So the next time you catch yourself in a lack of interest state of mind or feeling burned out, blaa about doing anything, especially when not long ago you were all gung-ho about something. It’s fine, normal, just don’t let yourself dwell on it too long. If your going to dwell on it a bit then do a mental checklist as to what the cause might have been, and use the ideas I gave you to try and work out a possible solution. And one last thing, if it turns out it truly was a bad idea in the first place, that’s ok too, now you can move on to newer and greater ideas. Failing is not the end, it’s just an opportunity to stop this and go after something even better.

What do you do when you feel like this? Let us know in the comments below.

Razz