Now this little innovation prevents exactly that...
We added some "Quick Actions" to the App. 💪🏼
So maybe we can prevent 1 or 1 irreversible decision.
Okay, now we can start!
💭 Why do we lose motivation so often?
You'll be surprised, but it's mostly to do with a hormone called Dopamine.
Dopamine is one of the happiness hormones. 🥳
Explanation: It is produced in the area of the brain responsible for emotions and reactions, so the dopamine released makes us feel satisfied and happy. This is why we call it the happiness hormone.
It doesn't end here...
Dopamine is also responsible for reward. When we complete a task, we get a good feeling in return, well that's Dopamine. 👌
The problem is that in today's world, we can "find" Dopamine almost anywhere with almost ZERO work. Like TikTok, Insta or YouTube.
So, our brains rightfully do NOT want to work hard for what they can easily get anywhere. 🥊
💡 Side note: Our Dopamine Detox article and the Mini Documentary we made about it are especially topical here. I'm linking to both:
This is made worse by the fact that while in the past we had to wait for certain rewards, in today's world the opposite is true.
For example, you open TikTok and you get a funny video that makes you feel good.
You didn't have to do anything for it, just click it on your screen. 📱
And if that wasn't enough...
Add to that the fact that today's young people are far more stressed than their parents were at that age. 😫
This is mainly due to the compliance pressures imposed by social media.
They don't know what they really want to do, but they feel a pressure to decide and act now. 😐
That's when the devil comes out, in the form of fear, which asks you the question...
😈: And what will they think of you if you fail?!
They are powerful enough on their own, but taken together they are absolutely devastating!
By writing this down, I better understood why it was so difficult to start my business back then and why all young people procrastinate and delay their decision making.
But here's some good news...
Not everything is black and white!
You can do something about it, and not a little. ✅
Before we go any further, a small request...
This newsletter only grows organically, which means that the only way to get more people to read my writing is if you find it valuable and send it to 1-2 people you know.
I'm doing it all so that I can help as many young people as possible by sharing my experiences and thereby create a better world for ourselves.
Thank you if you help me with a forward! 🧡
🧐 How to keep your motivation up?
This is a million-dollar question in itself.
Many people have devoted their lives to solving it, and I'm going to try to answer it for you in a 2,000-word blog post.
It would be hard to compete with them, so I'm going to try a new technique, because I think it will help you get the point...
It's called reverse thinking.
I'm not just telling you what to do, I'm telling you what NOT to do. That way you will see the solution more easily.
Let's look at 7 reasons why you'll quickly lose motivation:
1. You don't have specific goals. 🎯
You're just going with the flow and always getting caught up in things. You don't take anything 100% seriously and you don't want to commit to it. 🤷♂️
Mostly you just have dreams of what you WANT to achieve, but no idea how you're going to achieve it.
📖 Lesson learned: Get a pen and paper and think about HOW you want to achieve your dreams.
📕 Book recommendations: Read "Find Your Why" by Simon Sinek, this will help you make sure you start off in the right direction. You'll find it summarized in BookBase! 🎧
2. You are making someone else's dream come true. 👨👩👦
You don't feel ownership of what you're working on.
This is a direct result of the previous one. A typical example is when Dad wants you to be a lawyer, but you want to be a vet. 🤵♀️
Since it's not your goal, it will be hard to motivate yourself in the long run.
Maybe with superhuman perseverance you could make it all the way, but in the end, you wouldn't feel happy about it. 😪
📖 Lesson learned: Look at what you really want and always go for it!
💡 Side note: Maybe this is what ruins most people's lives. This is the one you should pay the most attention to!
3. You keep overloading yourself. 😪
You're under a lot of pressure every day.
All of which, when added together, can be overwhelming.
School, extra classes, training, side hustle, friends and more. 😵💫
So, you have no energy left to even start one!
📖 Lesson learned: Prioritize and let go of the things that don't serve your goal
📕 Book recommendations: "One Thing" by Gary Keller is written specifically for this, explaining that the more things you try to do at once, the less likely you are to finish any of them. A must read, it's on the App! 🎧
4. You're stressing about something else. 😣
An old event in your life has happened that's completely distracting you and you can't concentrate.
Imagine your brain like the RAM in your computer - relax it won't get too technical I promise -. 🧠
You know it's responsible for making your computer fast. The more things you have open at once, the slower it is. 🐌
Because there is a specific amount you can use up.
Now your brain works the same way, if a bad event ties up 90% of your thoughts, you can only use the remaining 10% for other things, which let's face it is pretty low. 📉
📖 Lesson learned: If you know that you are facing such a situation right now, try to solve or close the main thing in your mind first and only then focus on your tasks.
5. You strive for perfection. 💎
And that stops you from ever finishing anything. You dare not let it out of your hands because it's "not perfect" yet.
So, you're stuck in a perpetual cycle of age, as you work a lot but make almost no progress. There is no tangible change and your brain senses this. ♻️
You can see that you have put a lot of effort into something, but have received no reward for it, good thing you don't want to keep doing it!
📖 Lesson learned: "Done is always better than perfect."
6. You want to prove yourself to someone. 💪🏼
You take up a new hobby or job just to "impress" someone. 😎
You've probably had that feeling when you see an interesting side hustle on YouTube or TikTok, and you remember that someone you know is doing just that.
Voila! Now you want to do it too... Even more than him! 🤦♂️
But of course, you don't want to ask him for help, because you want to outdo him immediately.
Because you are "better" than anyone...
📖 Lesson learned: Eliminate impulsive choices from your life, discover what YOU are best at!
📕 Book recommendation. Greg Mckeown's "How to Be Essential" will help you overcome this problem. You'll find it summarised in BookClub. 🎧
7. You don't have a framework for your day. 🌞
Sound familiar? Day after day you just go through your daily tasks in "robot mode". You don't even think about what you're doing.
You skip that certain workout, or you don't work on my idea today, "I don't have enough time, I'll do it tomorrow". 🫠
You're just Netflixing away the time you could be spending on the things that matter to you.
And there's the old anxiety at the end of the day... again. 😓
📖 Lesson learned: Every night, write down what you need to get done the next day! That way you'll have a framework for your day around which you can organize your "unexpected" events. Plus, you'll also have a clearer view of the work ahead.
I think that alone has helped you a lot, but don't worry, I won't leave you without concrete guidance! 😉
Let's see...
✅ What exactly do you do?
[ ] First, find your own WHY. ❓
If you need to, read the book "Finding your WHY" by Simon Sinek.
[ ] Step two, set goals that will lead you to achieve your dreams, but through your WHY. 🎯
For example: if my why is to educate young people and my dream is to have an online business and travel. Then it is a relevant purpose to create an App that helps educate young people. After all, the App allows me to work from anywhere and also supports my WHY.
Do you get it?
[ ] Step three, break down your plan into steps and rule out all other possibilities. 🤏🏼
"To say YES to something is in itself to say NO to something." ~ Unknown
If you need to, read the book "One Thing" by Gary Keller here.
[ ] Step four, make an agenda for yourself. 🌞
That way you avoid mindless scrolling and nonstop Netflixing.
[ ] Step five, every night, set 3 key steps you can take the next day to achieve your goal. 📌
[ ] Step six, don't let the non-stop "glitz" distract you from the journey. 🤩
If you must, read this article I wrote specifically on this topic:
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🔥 Biggest obstacle
To incorporate what I've learned in the new book into BookBase.
Perhaps the biggest hassle of all is accurately measuring my time. So, when-what-I-do and doing it to the minute for 2 weeks. 😪
Ultra-sucks, but it will help me see how much unnecessary stuff I'm doing.
And at the end I'll rate myself on a 1-5 list (where there is no 3's) to see how efficiently I'm working. 😲
There will be tasks that I will get rid of, that I will outsource or that I will delve into even more. ✂️
The goal is to increase my efficiency and support BookBase.
For this I found the Toggl App, which can track my time semi-automatically. I've only been using it for 2 days, but I've already come up with some interesting things. 🫢
I recommend you to try it once!
📖 What have I just read?
I read the book "Business Maths" by Greg Crabtree. It's mind-numbingly dry, but should be taken as a dictionary for successful entrepreneurs. 📚
I learned what EBITDA, Profit Before Tax, Labour Productivity, Breakeven Point and more are.
I realized that until you understand this, you are running your business completely blind. 🫣
This was the 2nd book on this topic and I plan to read 2 more this month.
When I have those, I will summarize them in a Blog post. I'll warn you in advance it will be brutally chunky and 99% not current for you yet, but better now than never! 🤓
"Knowledge is power."
🎧 What have I just listened to?
I heard a brilliant podcast about an App that lets me track my feelings. Kind of like an emotional diary. You should know about me, I'm pretty bad at judging my emotions.
I can't tell the difference between happiness and ecstasy or sadness and tiredness. But this App helps me a lot to recognize my current feelings. It also helps me develop my Emotional Intelligence. 💪🏼
