Do This When Motivation Fails

Your conscious mind wants change. But your unconscious mind wants safety. That’s why you feel stuck. In this post, you’ll learn 5 simple steps to stop self-sabotage, reprogram your habits, and finally take action—even when motivation fails.

6/28/20253 min read

Carl Jung once said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

Think about that for a second. How many times have you promised yourself something—something that would clearly improve your life—but you didn’t follow through?

Maybe you said you’d start going to the gym.

Maybe you wanted to lose weight.

Maybe you planned to wake up early, stop scrolling so much, or finally start that side project.

But it didn’t happen.

Why?

Because most of the time, you’re not actually in control. Your conscious mind—the logical, planning part of your brain—has good intentions. But it’s not the one calling the shots most of the time. Your unconscious mind is. And it doesn't care about your goals. It’s not concerned with happiness, growth, or success.

It wants one thing: survival.

And survival, to your unconscious mind, means sticking to what’s familiar and saving energy.

Change? Risky.

New habits? Threatening.

Going to the gym? Burning precious calories and exposing yourself to discomfort.

Trying something new? Danger ahead.

This is why you might feel resistance when trying to do something good for yourself. Your unconscious mind is running the show from behind the scenes, using emotions, fears, and old patterns to keep you stuck—while your conscious mind wonders, “Why can’t I just do it?”

Now, can you fully make the unconscious conscious?

Not entirely. It’s a deep ocean that even psychologists can’t fully map out. But here’s the good news: you can influence it.

And that influence can change everything.

Here’s how you can start:

1. Make things simple

Your brain doesn’t like hard tasks. Complexity equals confusion, and confusion leads to hesitation. So break your goals down into ridiculously small steps.

Not “go to the gym 5 days a week” but:

→ “Put on my gym clothes.”

→ “Drive to the gym.”

→ “Walk on the treadmill for 5 minutes.”

Start there. Win the first battle. Your unconscious mind is more willing to cooperate when the task feels easy.

2. Consistency beats motivation

You don’t need to feel fired up every day. What you need is consistency.

Even if the action is small, doing it every day creates momentum. The more you repeat something, the more your brain says, “This is who we are now.”

And when that shift happens, things start to get easier.

Habits are how we reprogram the unconscious mind.

3. Use emotion to imagine your future

Facts don’t move the unconscious mind. Emotions do.

So instead of just saying, “I want to lose weight,” close your eyes and feel what it would be like to live in a stronger, lighter, healthier body.

Imagine walking into a room and feeling confident.

Imagine playing with your kids without getting tired.

Feel the pride, the freedom, the joy.

Then flip it:

What will your life look like if you don’t change?

If you keep doing what you’ve always done, where will you be in 3 years?

What will it cost you—physically, emotionally, financially?

The more emotionally intense you make these visions, the more power they have.

That’s how you wake up the unconscious and get it to listen.

4. Focus on the first step

Don’t try to climb the whole mountain at once. Just take the first step. That’s it.

The unconscious mind gets overwhelmed by big leaps. But it can handle one small move.

Ask yourself:

What’s the next action I can take today?
What will my life look like if I do this every day?
What happens if I never start?
Make the answers emotional, not logical.

5. Know your obstacles and plan ahead

Most people fail because they don’t prepare for the moments when things get hard.

What’s going to stop you from taking action?

Laziness? Distractions? Lack of time? Fear?

Now create a strategy:

If I feel tired, I’ll do just 5 minutes.
If I feel unmotivated, I’ll watch a video that inspires me.
If I’m tempted to skip a day, I’ll remind myself of the pain I’m trying to escape.

Preparation beats willpower. Always.

Final thoughts

The biggest lie we tell ourselves is: “I’ll do it later.”

But “later” is just your unconscious mind’s way of saying, “Let’s stay safe. Let’s stay the same.”

If you want to grow, you have to start noticing when your brain is trying to protect you by keeping you stuck.

And then, take one small action anyway.

Every time you act despite the resistance, you're sending a message to your unconscious mind:

"We’re not just surviving anymore. We’re growing."

And that’s how transformation begins.