I feel really unmotivated. Like, what’s the point? Really.
ROB, Calgary CANADA
May 2026
Sarah’s take:
First off, maybe I am not the right person to be answering this question for you. Maybe this question needs to go to your counsellor or your GP and not to me. I’m only allegedly adulting here, so I really hesitated before responding to you, Rob. But assuming you are having a moment of ennui rather than experiencing something more like depression (I can relate to both), I hear you. There are some days when I wake up and say yes to sad bastard music all day long, and there are other days when I find myself dancing to MmmBop before realizing what is even happening. But MOST OF THE TIME, when I ask myself “what’s the f*cking point?” put on another Iron and Wine song and bunker in, it’s a sign I am feeling like a victim. And being a victim means I have taken my hands off the proverbial steering wheel and let Toonces the cat take over. If you remember the SNL sketches, you’ll remember how well that turned out. If you don’t, well, you can imagine what the success rate of letting the cat drive is. It’s about 0%.
One way to get out of victim mode is to start taking responsibility for the car you are driving. Ask yourself some questions -- What IS the f*cking point? What AM I doing here? Where AM I headed off to, anyway? That responsible human in you has more to say than “Who cares?”, that’s likely just your victim cat talking. Victim Cat would also be a cool band name.
If you are wondering about depression, that brutal beast of a chameleon can look different for all of us. Check in with someone who cares for you if you have a niggly feeling that this is what might be sapping your motivation. And if you’d like to check in about this with someone outside your inner circle, you can reach out to me directly if you’d like. I can’t be your healthcare pro, but I can relate. The world is not making it easy on the optimists these days, but we don’t have to throw up our hands and let the cat drive forever. Really.
Sandy’s take:
Sounds like you're feeling stuck, and I have some thoughts – though fair warning, they might look more like questions than answers. Hopefully that's enough to get you moving.
"What's the point?" can mean different things depending on what’s going on for you. It might mean I'm exhausted and can't remember why I ever cared about this job. It might mean nothing I do here seems to matter. It might mean I've outgrown this place. Or it might mean something that has nothing to do with work at all.
So before you try to fix the motivation problem, it's worth exploring what's actually underneath it. Motivation doesn't usually disappear for no reason. It tends to drain out slowly when something important, like connection, progress, autonomy, recognition, or purpose, has been missing for a while.
Try asking yourself: When did I last feel genuinely engaged at work? What was different then? That gap – between then and now – is usually where the real answer lives.
Two more questions worth sitting with: Are you unmotivated, or are you depleted? Those two things feel similar but need different things from you. And, is this specific to work, or is it showing up in the rest of your life too? If it's the latter, that's worth paying attention to – and possibly talking to someone about.
