Post: #1

Hey guys,

I'm in my mid-twenties, have just finished university with a good degree and am highly ambitious (want to be very wealthy in a few years), but..

I'm also VERY easily distracted, struggle with motivation and occasionally self doubt.

I have good days where I can smash out a good business proposal or eat 100% properly, but then I have bad days that seem to drag my whole psyche down. On the bad days I tend to put the ambitions in the 'too hard basket' and tend to revert to video games, movies etc to distract myself from doing the REAL work.

Any tips?

Thanks boys.

Post: #2

You've got to find that fire that's inside of you to motivate you on a regular basis. Everyone has their off days here and there, but that desire should keep you on track for most of the time! I'm currently learning Japanese and it's a daily grind of wishing I was great now, but I must learn at a slow pace and improve little by little.

It's not easy, but if something was easy, then everyone would be doing it, especially In our short attention span / social media crazed environment. You've got to find the motivation to get you addicted to the grind

Post: #3

One thing I've been getting into on weekdays is forcing myself up at 5 am.

I usually don't have class until 9-10, so that usually means an extra 2-3 hours earlier in my day or an earlier workout.

When you are up at 5am with no commitments for a few hours, you'll get work done. There's nothing else to do at that time.

Post: #4

(10-20-2014 05:38 AM)Captain Gh Wrote:  You've got to find that fire that's inside of you to motivate you on a regular basis. Everyone has their off days here and there, but that desire should keep you on track for most of the time! I'm currently learning Japanese and it's a daily grind of wishing I was great now, but I must learn at a slow pace and improve little by little.

It's not easy, but if something was easy, then everyone would be doing it, especially In our short attention span / social media crazed environment. You've got to find the motivation to get you addicted to the grind

Thanks Gh

Post: #5

(10-20-2014 03:55 AM)farbod000 Wrote:  Hey guys,

I'm in my mid-twenties, have just finished university with a good degree and am highly ambitious (want to be very wealthy in a few years), but..

I'm also VERY easily distracted, struggle with motivation and occasionally self doubt.

I have good days where I can smash out a good business proposal or eat 100% properly, but then I have bad days that seem to drag my whole psyche down. On the bad days I tend to put the ambitions in the 'too hard basket' and tend to revert to video games, movies etc to distract myself from doing the REAL work.

Any tips?

Thanks boys.

At your age, this is a good period for building skills. Marketable skills. Also a time for obtaining useful experience & just plain toughening up mentally. You've got a great platform already (good degree).

As a guy moving on from his early thirties to his mid thirties soon, i'm thankful for grinding away through seemingly mundane stuff & learning from mistakes i'd made in my twenties.
I started out in Engineering (Electro-Mechanical) & did the whole 'working for other people' gig & trying to eke out a career doing what mainstream culture demanded of me.
I then moved on to outdoor education towards my late twenties, as i'd discovered outdoor recreational stuff like mountaineering, kayaking, sailing, coaching people etc was where my true interests lay.
Do i think the Engineering principles i'd learnt earlier were a waste of time? Hardly. If anything, i believe it's made me a more strategic, detailed & meticulous individual. In short, a better person. More marketable in my field certainly.
I still don't have all the answers but right now i'm just thinking about process & progress over perfection.

My point is at your current level & not to indoctrinate you, the name of the game is skills not passion. What can you do or what do you want to be able to do better than 80% of those in your field? I'd suggest start getting with some great mentors/coaches/someone you can model an approach on...

You've already begun well by coming on the site & asking for tips. All the best to you!

Post: #6

(10-20-2014 07:15 AM)Frank Rook Wrote:  

(10-20-2014 03:55 AM)farbod000 Wrote:  Hey guys,

I'm in my mid-twenties, have just finished university with a good degree and am highly ambitious (want to be very wealthy in a few years), but..

I'm also VERY easily distracted, struggle with motivation and occasionally self doubt.

I have good days where I can smash out a good business proposal or eat 100% properly, but then I have bad days that seem to drag my whole psyche down. On the bad days I tend to put the ambitions in the 'too hard basket' and tend to revert to video games, movies etc to distract myself from doing the REAL work.

Any tips?

Thanks boys.

At your age, this is a good period for building skills. Marketable skills. Also a time for obtaining useful experience & just plain toughening up mentally. You've got a great platform already (good degree).

As a guy moving on from his early thirties to his mid thirties soon, i'm thankful for grinding away through seemingly mundane stuff & learning from mistakes i'd made in my twenties.
I started out in Engineering (Electro-Mechanical) & did the whole 'working for other people' gig & trying to eke out a career doing what mainstream culture demanded of me.
I then moved on to outdoor education towards my late twenties, as i'd discovered outdoor recreational stuff like mountaineering, kayaking, sailing, coaching people etc was where my true interests lay.
Do i think the Engineering principles i'd learnt earlier were a waste of time? Hardly. If anything, i believe it's made me a more strategic, detailed & meticulous individual. In short, a better person. More marketable in my field certainly.
I still don't have all the answers but right now i'm just thinking about process & progress over perfection.

My point is at your current level & not to indoctrinate you, the name of the game is skills not passion. What can you do or what do you want to be able to do better than 80% of those in your field? I'd suggest start getting with some great mentors/coaches/someone you can model an approach on...

You've already begun well by coming on the site & asking for tips. All the best to you!

Thanks mate

Post: #7

Watch this video. Definitely lights a fire in me during my days that aren't so good.

Post: #8

I suffer from this too and am also in my mid 20's. A few things that have helped me are:
>Find a hobby that you are passionate about instead of escaping into video games etc.
>force yourself to workout daily. You don't have to break yourself, but working up a sweat and getting the blood flowing will definitely make you feel better
>Task lists. Very-short, short, medium and long term goals are a good reminder of things. Check in weekly to see if you're still on track. Note, these goal need to be challenging but doable otherwise you'll revert to old ways quickly
>Reward yourself. You want that friday beer at the pub? cool, you can have it IF you've finished a.b & c etc.
>Associate with go-getters. Having a few driven people in your life will motivate you to excel, even if it's only to 1-up them

Good luck, it can get pretty tough at times

Post: #9

farbod000,

I'd recommend two books for improving your situation:

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

and

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

The former explains how intrinsic motivations (doing something because you enjoy it) are much stronger than extrinsic (doing something because you're paid to do it, or will be punished for not doing it). It explains why autonomy, mastery, and purpose are so crucial to maintaining intrinsic motivation, and gives you some ideas on how to establish those in your life.

The latter explains flow, a state of "deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life". It essentially explains how you ought to interpret reality in order to achieve maximum life satisfaction.

Both were game-changing books for me. The concepts they introduce now guide every major decision I make, and they've helped me to structure a life that I'm excited to live.

If you don't have the time/energy to read the books, check the Amazon comments in the links above. Often some generous reviewer will post an outline or full set of notes, which I find useful even after reading the books.