Figuring out why is the first step to making yourself do something that you might not want to do or that seems too difficult to try. It’s something psychologists have spent years researching, coming up with all sorts of theories to explain our behavior. The truth is it’s probably at the mercy of dozens of different factors, some of which we control and some we don’t.

You may see motivation divided into three components. It starts with activation, which is the initial moment when you decide to do something. You might purchase some equipment, sign up for a course, or approach a person who can help you.

Then there’s persistence, which is keeping going after that original act. However excited you feel about your plan at the start, there are likely to be obstacles before you arrive where you want to be. Persistence is when you fix the equipment when it breaks, invest time and money in extra tutoring to get through a difficult class, or start again when you lose a valued mentor.

Third in this particular conception of motivation is intensity. It means you can’t just want to achieve something; you have to pursue it rigorously. Extra practice, staying late, and seeking out additional opportunities outside of regular classes/work hours are all things that can improve your chances, but these are also things that can be very difficult to do. Without intensity, activation and persistence are less likely to pay off, and vice versa.

No one can be motivated all the time, and not everyone is going to benefit from the same techniques to try to improve their motivation. It can take time and dedication to figure out what works for you, so you can persist in all of your goals with intensity.

There’s no quick fix when it comes to obtaining a goal. You’re going to need patience. It’s easy to be discouraged when you don’t achieve immediately, and that’s when your motivation most in danger. Remind yourself of previous achievements and break current tasks into smaller chunks if you want to reinspire yourself a little. You can do it!

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It’s easier to get up for your vacation because you know there’s a sunny beach at the end of it. You force yourself to go to work because you need to get paid and you can’t afford to lose your job. As for the gym, now you really do need dedication to put yourself through the tiredness and pain in search of that elusive health goal.

Motivation can come from inside or outside yourself. Inside is intrinsic motivation, which is the drive to be better and improve yourself. It may satisfy personal curiosity or involve activities that you enjoy and find fulfilling. Psychological research suggests that intrinsic motivation can cause more long-term satisfaction, perhaps because it’s more closely linked to your own identity.

Extrinsic motivation is when you act for external rewards or for relief from external pressures. It could be monetary compensation or the admiration of others. You may want to stop an unpleasant experience. This type of motivation is generally harder to sustain and needs you to have a reasonable belief that you will get what you want in the end. It can, however, be very successful in the short term.

There are ways that you can set your goals to make them easier to achieve. You need to find a way to link even the things you don’t want to do to things you do value. Challenges can become learning experiences or ways to improve yourself. You also need to figure out how to gain and continue momentum once you have motivated yourself to get started.

One of the great enemies of motivation is procrastination. There are lots of recommended ways for dealing with this, from breaking large, difficult tasks into smaller and easier sections to finding prospective rewards that you can look forward to if you do finish. Sometimes a strict deadline can be a powerful motivator when an open-ended completion point encourages you to drag things out further.

Realistic targets are an important way to keep yourself motivated. It can also help to have friends or some kind of community group to support you. If you share your frustrations and successes, it can help create a sense of accountability, make achievements feel more rewarding and generally stop you from feeling alone in your struggles.

Sometimes a lack of motivation isn’t something you can fix. If you’re tired and have had a bad day, sometimes you do just need to sit and relax. It’s okay to feel like that, and sometimes acknowledging negative feelings is an important starting point toward managing them. You won’t be able to do anything until you’ve properly recovered anyway. Getting to know yourself and your own needs is an important part of figuring out what motivational techniques will work for you.

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