Some days, we wake up feeling like we can conquer the world, while on other days, we don’t even want to get out of bed. Sometimes, while we’re at work or at school, we just want the day to be over.
We see all these people on social media, always motivated and seem to be accomplishing their goals and here we are just waiting for the day to be over in the hope that tomorrow will be better.
I am not judging. We all have those days when we want comfort food and mindlessly scroll social media. Some of us have more of them than others. Have you ever wondered why?
Think about it. We humans are at the peak of evolution right now on this planet. We are the most evolved creatures in the known universe.
We have the most complex neurological system, we have a very vivid sense of memory and a great sense of imagination.
How rich is our memory determines everything we do. It governs our thought process and impacts the things we do today.
The other important aspects or dimensions of our lives are our present experiences and our sense of imagination for tomorrow.
And this is all due to our highly evolved minds. It’s what places us at the top of the food chain and enables us to do extraordinary things.
Sadly, from early school to college, we’re taught about everything in the world but not about being human and how to live our precious lives to the fullest.
We’re not taught to discipline this mind and body. As a result, our own mind turns against us. We still suffer from what happened a few weeks, months, or years ago.
Things from the past still bother us, and we worry about what might happen tomorrow.
If you sit back and really think about it, the two greatest aspects of being human, our vivid sense of memory and a great sense of imagination have become the things that we suffer the most. How extremely sad is that!
Just think about the fact that it took 13.4 billion years for humans to appear on this planet, and each of us will not live for more than 70-100 years, which is just a tiny blip in the grand scheme of time.
So many people lived on this planet before us, great people who shaped the world as we see it today.
Some of them were kings, historians, scientists, philosophers, and artists, all of them are dead now. The point is, life is short and it will be over before we know it.
We only get to live for a teeny tiny fraction of time. Sometimes, we forget how lucky we are to have this life. We’re alive, but are we truly living?
I get it, we all have to work hard to make a living, and life becomes exhausting. Modern-day life has become so demanding that it takes a toll on our minds and bodies.
But we are allowing that to happen to ourselves and that’s why we feel so overwhelmed on some days that we don’t want to do anything.
That’s why, on certain days, we end up on the couch, mindlessly scrolling through our phones, watching Netflix, and munching on snacks. But let me be bluntly honest, These things are not going to make you feel energetic or positive.
So why do we feel in such a way and what can we do to avoid having days like these? And more importantly, what to do when you don’t feel like doing anything? That’s what we’re going to talk about in this blog. So let’s dive right in.
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What Does It Mean When You Don’t Feel Like Doing Anything?
You might be wondering why you feel like you don’t want to do anything at all. Things that used to make you happy are not so joyful anymore, and you might lack the motivation or energy to do them.
You might even start doubting yourself, thinking, “Is something wrong with me?” or “Why do I not enjoy doing things?” or “Why am I so apathetic?”
Believe me, you’re not the only one who goes through days like this when nothing seems enjoyable.
To solve any problem, we first need to figure out why it’s happening. So, let’s talk about the reasons why you might not feel like doing anything.
Lack of Dopamine
The main reason or the underlying reason behind not wanting to do anything at all is because of the lack of dopamine. Dopamine is a happy brain chemical that is related to reward.
It is known as the “feel-good” hormone because it’s associated with feelings of pleasure and satisfaction.
Our brain releases dopamine when we engage in pleasurable or rewarding activities like achieving a goal, consuming delicious food, receiving compliments, etc.
This release of dopamine is what motivates us and want to do all these things again. It encourages us to seek out and pursue rewarding experiences.
Drugs trigger dopamine more than anything that’s why people want to do them again and again because nothing else gives that feeling.
If you’re not motivated and find it hard to get out of the couch and do anything, it could be because of the lack of dopamine.
But you still achieve some sense of pleasure in activities like having a pizza and consuming excess calories, scrolling on social media, etc.
But what could be the reasons behind the lack of dopamine levels in our body? Let’s take a look at them
Stressful Lifestyle
One of the main reasons for low dopamine levels in our bodies is our stressful lifestyle. I’m sure you will agree when I say that our modern-day lifestyle is getting worse and is the reason for most of the health problems. Both mental and physical.
Most of us have desk jobs that keep us indoors, disconnected from the outside world with very little social interaction. Our day job takes up much of our day and is extremely stressful and demanding.
We spend most of our time glued to screens, either working or watching TV and scrolling through social media. We do very less to no physical activity and consume processed foods that are high in sugar and saturated fats.
Our sleep cycle is all messed up and we get insufficient or poor-quality sleep. All this has a very adverse effect on our overall health.
This super demanding and stressful lifestyle is a major reason for our stress levels going up. Stress messes with the hormones in our brain, including dopamine.
It increases a stress hormone called cortisol and decreases the levels of the happy chemicals in our brains.
Nutritional Deficiencies
As we briefly talked about in the previous section, our daily diet is getting worse with the modern-day lifestyle.
We don’t consume a well-balanced diet due to which there is a lack of certain nutrients in the body such as vitamin D, iron, zinc, certain amino acids, etc.
These nutrients are essential for the production, secretion, and functioning of happy brain chemicals including dopamine.
Mundane Routine
You might be surprised, but doing the same things every day can sometimes make life feel dull. The excitement you used to have for those everyday tasks starts to fade away.
When there’s not much mental or emotional excitement, your brain doesn’t produce enough dopamine, and that can leave you feeling uninterested and unmotivated.
For many of us, this is one of the main reasons why we don’t feel like doing anything. Because the activities that once felt very joyful and pleasurable have now become normal.
We don’t feel that level of excitement anymore. We are free to do anything with our time but we’re suffering our own freedom.
For example, Imagine you love watching a show on Netflix and you watch it once a week. It’s something that you look forward to every week.
But if you binge-watch the entire show episode after episode every day, suddenly you won’t find it as exciting.
Because that has now become a normal routine for you. It becomes a regular, predictable thing, and your brain doesn’t get as excited, which means less dopamine.
Think about it like celebrating Diwali or Christmas every single day, will it feel that exciting? Over time it will lose its charm and become ordinary, and may start to feel tedious and uninteresting.
External Factors
Weather
Apart from lower levels of dopamine in the body, there could be a few external factors that can lead to the feeling of not wanting to do anything.
Weather conditions have a significant impact on how we feel and our motivation level. While some people love rainy days, others don’t.
Similarly, some people enjoy a bright sunny day while others can’t stand the sun. So weather can greatly impact our mood and motivation level.
Seasonal Changes
Some people are sensitive to changes in the seasons. For example, during fall and winter, when there’s less sunlight, our body’s internal clock can get messed up which can lead to hormonal imbalances in the body.
Also, in colder months, when we spend less time outside and don’t exercise as much, we can feel more tired and less motivated to do anything.
What To Do When You Don’t Feel Up To Doing Anything?
Now that we’ve figured out why we sometimes don’t want to do anything, what can we do about it?
Since we know that our stressful lifestyle and low dopamine levels might be the main reasons, let’s start by discussing a few things that can help with that. We’ll take them step by step.
1. Pause and Take a Break
The first and most important step is to listen to your body and give it a break. Things will get better with a little time and effort, but the basic need is to let your body rest.
Feeling like you don’t want to do anything is your body and mind’s way of saying they need a break.
Acknowledge that your lifestyle is stressful and allow yourself to take a pause. Otherwise, it can lead to burnout, which can negatively impact your productivity and mental health.
Do what you think will help. If it’s taking the day off from work or school, do it. Understand that taking a break doesn’t mean slacking off or procrastinating.
It’s an intentional effort to recharge your mental and emotional batteries. So, don’t feel guilty about it.
Given the kind of lifestyle we have today, it’s important for all of us to take breaks now and then to recharge and refresh ourselves.
2. Go Outside
Going out and connecting with nature is the best thing you can do for your mind and body. We are an extension of this planet and it’s extremely important for us to stay connected with Mother Nature.
You don’t have to plan a big adventure. Just take a short 15-20-minute walk in a nearby park, and if you can, try walking barefoot on the grass or soil.
Feeling the earth beneath your feet can make you feel really good. The fresh air, the sound of leaves rustling, and the open sky can do wonders for your mood and motivation.
When you go out and spend time outdoors, your body releases endorphins, one of the happy brain chemicals. Being in natural light also helps regulate your body’s internal clock, which can improve your sleep.
And if you want, you can invite a friend to join you to make the experience even more enjoyable. There is no better medicine than nature and human connection.
3. Meditate
Sure, you’ve probably heard about meditation, and it seems like the latest trend that everyone’s recommending these days. And for good reasons because it is highly effective.
Meditation is the practice of disconnecting yourself from your thoughts and watching them from a distance. It makes you realize that you are so much more than the current stream of thoughts running through your mind.
You don’t have to take it too seriously because life is much bigger and brighter than this.
Just like you need exercise to keep your physical body active and fit, meditation is an exercise for your mind. It keeps your mind healthy, reduces stress and anxiety, and improves your mood. It also improves your cognitive abilities.
You may find it hard at first to meditate because the practice requires sitting quietly in a peaceful setting, focusing on a single point or thought, and consciously removing any other thought that comes to mind. But as with other things, you get better with time.
Meditation is something that you should incorporate into your daily schedule regardless.
It’s something that we should all practice daily because it reduces stress and calms the mind which eventually results in lower cortisol levels (the stress hormone).
When cortisol goes down, your brain produces more happy chemicals like dopamine, making you feel better overall.
4. Journal
The next best thing you can do is Journaling. It can help you sort out your thoughts and emotions. When your mind is clouded with feelings of anxiety, frustration, or loneliness, it can be very hard to focus on anything else.
When you write in a journal, you’re essentially putting your thoughts and emotions on paper which allows you to look at them from a distance.
And once you see them from a distance, you can then work towards finding the reasons why are feeling this way.
Eventually, you’ll either find a solution to those thoughts and emotions or you’ll make peace with yourself that certain things are beyond your control and it’s best to let them go and move on.
Either way, journaling will prove to be a therapeutic process that will help you gain clarity on your thoughts and emotions. If you make it a daily habit, you’ll find patterns in your mood and behavior. You’ll see how certain times or situations can affect how you feel.
Once you identify these patterns, you can then work towards making a positive change.
5. Dopamine Detox
As we’ve discussed earlier, following the same routine every day or doing things we love too often can lead to overstimulation of the dopamine system which makes us less sensitive to pleasure and joy.
Those activities become normal and are no longer a source of joy for us.
You would have experienced this, a song you stumble upon while listening to the radio might feel more joyful than if you intentionally played it on a streaming service.
Similarly, a movie that you randomly find while surfing through TV channels can feel much more interesting than if you were to select it intentionally on a digital platform.
We live in a world where we’re accustomed to instant gratification. Whichever movie or TV show we want to see, whichever song we want to listen to, and whatever food we want to eat, nearly everything we desire is just a few clicks away.
Due to this, we expose ourselves to high levels of dopamine which makes our brain’s reward system less and less sensitive.
Over time, our brain requires more and more stimulation to experience the same level of pleasure which makes it harder to find satisfaction in everyday activities.
And because our brain is accustomed to receiving dopamine rewards easily and quickly, it makes it hard to stay motivated and work toward long-term goals or engage in tasks that don’t provide instant gratification.
Dopamine detox is a self-imposed period of staying away from the sources of instant gratification. It involves consciously avoiding or significantly reducing exposure to activities that trigger a surge of dopamine in the brain.
It provides your brain with a break from constant stimulation. During this period, your brain’s reward system can reset, and you’ll gradually become more sensitive to everyday pleasures.
Here are a few things you should do:
- Screen Time: Completely refrain from using smartphones. Either use a keypad phone so that you can at least talk to your friends and family or use it in case of emergency. But completely stay away from social media, video games, and other digital screens.
- Junk and Sugary Food: Stay away from processed food with lots of sugar and unhealthy fats because they can give your brain a quick dopamine rush. Don’t order in, cook some healthy and nutritious meals for yourself.
- Shopping: Since you won’t be sitting in front of your computer screen or smartphone, you won’t be able to shop online but also refrain from in-person shopping sprees.
You don’t have to do a dopamine detox every day; you can do it once a month or whenever you want.
You may initially feel like there is nothing left to do and it is very boring but trust me, it will do wonders for your mind and overall mental health.
You can use this time to read a good book, take a walk in nature, go for a picnic, or anything else you enjoy.
The goal of a dopamine detox is to reduce the constant bombardment of dopamine-triggering activities and, in turn, recalibrate your brain’s reward system.
6. Self-Care
As the name suggests, self-care is taking care of yourself so that you recharge your mind and body and feel better.
It’s about making conscious efforts to prioritize your health and happiness by taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
It’s most needed when you’re feeling down and unenergetic. There is no specific set of activities that you need to do to practice self-care.
Rather it is highly individualized and personalised to your own needs and preferences. So you can decide what you want to do to take care of yourself. Here are a few suggestions that you can take inspiration from:
- Physical Self-Care: This would involve activities that are meant for improving your physical health. It would include exercise, a balanced and nutritious diet, proper and sufficient sleep, personal hygiene, etc.
- Mental Self-Care: Mental self-care is about taking care of your cognitive health. It would include activities such as mindful meditation, journaling, sketching, painting, playing an instrument you like, etc.
- Emotional Self-care: Emotional well-being is about taking care of your feelings. It’s about recognizing your feelings, seeking support if needed, and practicing self-compassion.
Some simple self-care ideas:
- Relaxation: Sometimes, all you need is a quiet moment. Sit in a comfy spot, take a few deep breaths, and let go of any tension in your body. Do some relaxing exercises like stretching.
- Pampering: Treat yourself to something special. It could be a warm bath, listening to calming music, or putting on a face mask.
- Exercising: I know this seems counterintuitive to doing nothing but exercising is a natural mood booster. You don’t have to do an intense workout – a 15-20 minute walk or a few stretching exercises might also help.
- Taking a Break from Screens: Give yourself a break from phones, tablets, and computers. Constant screen time can make you feel stressed and restless. You can use this time to do something offline or just enjoy some quiet moments.
- Enjoy Hobbies: Do things you love or try something new.
- Connect with People: Spend time with family and friends. Talking to your loved ones will improve your mood and provide support.
- Be Kind to Yourself: Most importantly, be kind to yourself. Use positive words when you talk to yourself. Understand that this is just a phase and it will pass.
Wrapping Up!
As we wrap up our journey together through this blog, I want you to remember that feeling unmotivated or down from time to time is a common part of being human.
We all have those days when getting out of bed or facing the world seems like a monumental task. And that’s okay; you’re not alone in this.
We’ve explored the reasons behind feeling this way, from our stressful and highly competitive modern-day lifestyle to mundane routines. Such moments are a natural part of life.
What’s important is to realize that it is a phase that will pass and you have to reclaim your zest for life. Hopefully, the strategies we shared in this blog will help you get out of such feelings and motivate you to live your best life.
But if these feelings persist and stay for a longer duration, then please don’t hesitate to seek help from medical professionals.
We’ve all got this one life so let’s try to quickly come out of such negative phases and work hard consistently to manifest our dream life.
Take it one step at a time, be kind to yourself, and trust that brighter days are just around the corner. You’ve got this! Namaste!
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