Are you jazzed and enthusiastic about where you’re headed in your life and your work? Or feeling stuck trying to move it forward? For many of us, that can change from day to day. I tend to refer to this as gas pedal energy because it feels very “stop and start” to me. Accelerating. Slowing down. You may also relate to the messy experience that one of my clients calls “trying to push spaghetti up a hill.” (A visual that sums up the feeling state quite well!)

However you imagine it, over the last year, this ebb and flow of motivation and state of “languishing” has become a common experience. Even when you’re creating exciting next steps, the collective stop/start energy of pandemic life has influenced many of us.

One effective way to navigate this and get into a feeling of natural momentum and flow is to reconnect with what you know tends to motivate you and pull you forward naturally. Tapping into this natural motivation — that you already have — allows you to let go of the pushing and prodding and forcing yourself to do the things that you know you “should be doing,” but that you just, well, aren’t. It allows you to rethink motivation entirely.

In other words, the difference you’re feeling from week to week or day to day may have less to do with what you’re working on or where you’re headed. The real key to moving forward with ease and excitement may be hiding in how you’re thinking about those things, better understanding why they matter to you right now and drawing the direct connections to your values.

What is it that you are truly passionate about having or being in your life?

I’m not talking about the six-figure salary or the new car or that promotion you’ve been setting yourself up for. It’s not the house or finally starting the new business. Those are fantastic goals, but they lay on the surface. What’s underneath wanting what you want? What energizes you about the direction that you’re headed and what you want to create for yourself and others?

Maybe it’s a feeling of personal freedom and autonomy. Maybe it’s proving that you can do things that you never thought you could (or that others thought you couldn’t do). Maybe it’s achieving mastery or recognition in your area of expertise. Maybe it’s raising your family in the way that you always imagined and providing a legacy that’s infused with personal meaning for you. It’s the feeling state, the true desire, the deep motivation that you want to tap into here, the why under the why.

It's far easier to stay motivated and in action when you’re fully centered in your own personal intrinsic motivations.

Who is it that you want to be at this time in your life? What is it that you’re truly after right now? Is it…

Time

Many of us are time-challenged, or at least we believe ourselves to be. It’s almost a badge of honor in some circles to have a schedule that’s so full that you’re exhausted just thinking about it. (Juggling many responsibilities is also a reality at some times in our lives, and that requires a separate level of care and boundary setting.) Imagine letting that go for a few minutes and imagining that you have all the time you crave for your family, your partner, your most meaningful work, for that hobby you’ve set aside, for fun, pleasure and self care. Is having your time allocated differently what really motivates you?

Money

Many people say they want more money or that they find money to be a potent motivator. But do you really want the coins? Or what they represent to you? Money, in its essence, is an energy you’re exchanging for something else. It’s a tool that is incredibly practical and useful in our world. And often, its real value is the value we have assigned it in our life. What is it that more money will afford you: a new home, a lifestyle change, the security of having plenty of savings in the bank, more power, more choices, the ability to provide for your loved ones? What are all the underlying motivations that really fire you up?

Space

Sometimes life feels physically crowded. Maybe a lighter schedule or fewer commitments are called for in your life right now. Perhaps your body needs more rest or you crave more connection to your spirit or spirituality. Space comes in tangible and intangible forms, and when we desire to feel more spacious in our lives, that can be a strong driver of our decisions. How is a desire for space playing into your motivations or your slowdowns?

Contribution

Giving back to our families, communities and professions can be an incredibly powerful motivator, and it shows up in many forms. Maybe you are motivated by a desire to create a legacy that will outlive you. How does this impact what you’re creating in your life and work right now? How does it impact when you feel most motivated to get after it.

Confidence and Competence

Being on a learning curve — in life or in work — can drive what we’re doing or not doing. Are you intent on learning something important from a personal situation or achieving mastery in your work? Growth, in all its forms, can pull us forward if we’re committed to it. Being uncomfortable with new learning and stretching yourself can also contribute to a slowdown or a feeling of not being in your flow. Tapping into other motivators can be helpful at these times.

When you connect to what’s honestly driving you, your perspective is able to shift to what’s most important.

Decisions become easier. Life is less complicated. Personal energy increases. Things start to happen with more ease, flow and connectedness.

Try this

Spend a few minutes doing whatever it is that centers you — journaling, listening to music, taking a walk, running, sitting in meditation, closing your office door for 5 minutes. Then ask yourself these questions:

What is it that you’re really after? Has that changed?

How does this connect to your personal values?

What about this direction truly motivates you on a deep level?

What are you doing or hesitating on doing that’s aligned with what is most important right now?

How is this connection impacting your personal energy and flow of motivation?

What might you do differently if you centered what’s truly important to you?

Report back. I’d love to hear more about the "whys" that truly motivate you at this time in your life and how they connect to your larger vision. Plug into that repeatedly and your acceleration will be smoother, your natural motivation will be more accessible and you won’t be flailing around trying to get that spaghetti moving uphill.