Goals, habits and motivation
Finding motivation to work on your goals can be hard sometimes. But it doesn't have to be. It all depends on how you define your goals and on your habits.
Good goals have intrinsic motivation
One thing I noticed about lack of motivation is that it can simply mean having set the wrong goals. Goals that don't truly excite you.
A goal that immediately makes you jump and take action is preferable to a goal that sounds good in theory but keeps you struggling with lack of motivation to even start. Also, good goals are long term. So pick something that motivates you long term as opposed to something you need to struggle with long term.
Often times this is a question of self-honesty. What do you really want to do versus what you think would be cool to do.
One big project I had was restoring an old farm house that I bought in Romania. It took me 6 years during which I went through different jobs, different relationships, I traveled, I had different habits... Sometimes I took breaks but my goal was always there and I never needed to push myself. I just worked on it naturally.
Good habits motivate you
Unlike goals, habits are a very different story. Habits are the small things you do every day, over and over again. They are not always exciting. You might not always wake up thrilled that you are going to brush your teeth and head to the gym or go for a run (unless your long term goal is to become a professional bodybuilder or athlete). However, they are good for building up momentum. Good habits give you an energy boost when you do them despite not feeling like it. Both physically and mentally.
Flow
Pick long term goals that excite you and easy to keep habits that uplift you. Where the two meet, you have flow.
Working on your goals should just come naturally. If you are struggling, pick other goals to work towards. Keeping your good habits however will require a little bit of work and self-discipline but they will give you extra motivation to work on your goals even in your worst days.