Does anyone have any tips on how to keep motivated at stuff you keep doing with no results? Stuff like art and applying to jobs? I feel like there's no point to doing these things if they don't produce results, and I end up not doing it, even though I want the rewards.
I'm not so great at this sort of thing, but when I get down in the dump I just try to envision how things will be once I achieve my goals. That's usually enough to prod me along. But I gotta agree with you, it is disappointing to work hard for something and get no results, but giving up just means you'll never attain them rather than just it taking forever
I've tried that, and always end up at the conclusion that what I want isn't really worth the effort to put into it, even if I don't say it like that to myself...
hehe well I do that too sometimes and when I do, I just tell myself...."You ain't doing nothing else girl, so you may as well keep doing the thing"
After much effort and little to no payoff in many things, I am now a Nihilist. So do what makes you happy and do what you enjoy doing, because if it's all a big nothing you might as well enjoy it.
Yeah but the point is I've been doing TOO much nihilistic thinking, and the things I enjoy doing require me to not keep doing that long enough to get a job.
You need a good cry. Sometimes just feeling your life fall apart is exactly what you need to prioritize your goals. I often get motivated the most on my worst days. Sometimes you need to feel like you have nowhere to go but up. Sometimes you need to cautiously enjoy things you're nervous about. I fear success but I still impressed myself and tried really hard this last semester. I felt like I deserved my success for the first time. I was embarrassed to do well and scared of feeling proud of myself but I enjoyed being good at something. And in the end, I'm encouraged and galvanized.
I've done plenty of crying, and none of it ever did me any good. And I can't remember the last time I felt like I deserved success. It's always just been expected. By me and others. The only thing I ever feel like I earn is failure.
I definitely know how that feels. I say take a new approach to pain. Confront it analytically and figure out what you can learn from it. It should inform your actions and better equip you for the future. Whatever you're trying to do, you need to be able to accept that pain and failure are natural parts of the process. You will never get more job offers than you applied for. You will never produce more art you're completely proud of and satisfied with than you will stuff you're at least a little disappointed in. It's the error-correcting and learning side of doing things, you need mistakes to get better and to find success.
Results aren't everything. Sometimes it's just in how you look at it. I think it was Thomas Edison who was asked if the 100 plus odd attempts he had done before inventing the lightbulb were failures. His response has always made me think. He said, and I'm paraphrasing, they weren't failures. He discovered 100 ways to not make a lightbulb. When we do something over and over again with no payout or pour our hearts into something that doesn't get results, it can be unbelievably hard to take. Unfortunately there's no magic recipe to stay motivated and I wish there was. I guess what I ultimately look to is actually a quote from the last Rocky movie. Whenever I've felt like tossing in the towel I usually end up watching the movie. Anyway, the quote is this: "Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that!" I know what I'm worth and even though I've hit a slump personally and professionally, I'm not going to let this slow me down. Do what you love and love what you do, everything else is secondary.
The things which worked best for me is - 1) Get something like a whiteboard or blackboard of a decent size. You want something that is easily modifiable. The world changes around you in over a million small ways every day and you need to be able to adapt to these changes. 2) Mount it (hang it, not the naughty type of mounting) somewhere that you cannot avoid looking at it. 3) Once you have something like this set up, consider your main goals. 3a) If your goal is art, this becomes a great place to practice, or at least plan out what you need to do. 3b) For goals like "finding a job" keep in mind that some aspects of this (like hiring you) are out of your hands... Instead, identify smaller progressive steps you CAN take unilaterally towards the main goal... Such as "update CV", "identify sources of free educational material", or "get boots to the ground and pass out resumes in person". 4) Once you identify smaller manageable steps which you can take towards the main goals, write them onto the board 5) Make a big show of crossing them off as you finish them. 6) Don't let the board go blank. Fill in the space with more manageable goals, art, and other creative works. Accomplishing goals is not always easy, but the harder goals are more rewarding. =^_^=
one of the things i now know is ano its a bit unrelated but with depression going to the gym (just to release endorphines and get out the house) can help redicusly