Hey Guys, recently, I’ve been receiving this question a lot and it’s, “How do I stay productive, motivated, on the grind et cetera?
First of all, let me say that I am human, we all have good days and we all have bad days. I don’t wake up every single morning ready to work. Now, before I go to the three things that help me the most to stay motivated, let me first say that work-life balance is key. I don’t believe in just grinding it out day in and day out all the time. I believe in spending your time wisely. So, work, grind it out and then play, enjoy yourself, relax, and get recharged. What I think is a huge waste of time is when people try to do both at once. So, you know, like my roommates back in college would watch TV while working on an assignment for school. And you’re not really getting that much work done because you’re distracted by the TV, you’re not in flow, you can’t concentrate and at the same time, you’re not really relaxing because while you’re watching TV, you’re working. So, in my opinion, I think it’s a waste of time. If you guys disagree with me, I’d love to hear your comments down below.
Now, on to those three things that helped to keep me motivated.
Number one is; I LOOK TO PEOPLE WHO INSPIRE ME OR PEOPLE THAT I ADMIRE. One of those people would of course be Elon Musk. That guy is probably a Martian and he’s trying to get back home. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves is he even human, right? So, when I’m doing something that is particularly challenging or people are telling me I can’t do it, it’s impossible, I say, “Hey, Elon Musk was able to start this company, that company, you know, he is saving the world in this way and that way. If he did all that, I’m pretty sure I can do this one tiny little thing in comparison. That’s one way that I kind of re-frame my own challenges and my own obstacles and it helps me to get inspired and to get motivated.
So, I talked about this biomedical incubator, and this is an example where my friends were a little skeptical, some of them didn’t want to help because they said, “Well, I don’t know if it’s really going to work.” And, I approached many different faculties. A lot were supportive but there were three, I remember that just straight-out told me, “This can’t be done, we’ve tried before, don’t waste your time, don’t waste our time.” And, that sucked to hear but at the same time, this is what I wanted to do. I wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer. I was at least going to try and I said, “Hey, if Elon Musk can do all these things, I can start a biomedical incubator.” And fast forward one year, it’s well-established, we got funding, it’s successful and it’s constantly growing. So, look to people who inspire you and use that as motivation in overcoming your own challenges.
Number two, and I’m sure a lot of you guys will agree with me on this one is MUSIC.If I am having a slow morning, if I’m not pumped and energized, I will just turn on, you know, maybe one of my gym playlists or one of these songs that always gets me amped and that will help shift my energy to something more enthusiastic, pumped, you know, ready to go, ready to tackle the day. And I think that starting the day off on the right foot is so important. So, most mornings I usually do start with either a podcast or some music that puts me in a good mood.
And number three, this is possibly the most powerful motivator for myself, and that’s REMEMBERING THAT I’M GOING TO DIE. We’re all going to die one day and I think that the looming presence of death is a great motivator in life. And I don’t mean to sound really dark when I say this, but we all are going to die and just remembering that helps me think that if I’m not spending my time deliberately every day, if I’m not, you know, effective and efficient with my work and then effective with my relaxation and being present and spending time with my loved ones or doing things that I enjoy, I’m not getting that time back.
All right guys, I hope you found those three tips useful. Let us know in the comments below, what do you use to stay motivated? I’d love to read it. And as always, thank you for reading guys.
