Last week I was feeling very unmotivated, lazy, even a bit bored, and as a result - I was absolutely unproductive. I have many things on my to-do list, books to read, things to study, but I just couldn’t find the motivation to do any of it. I spent the entire Saturday binge watching Netflix for 13 hours straight (this is what I didn’t want to admit!) I was avoiding, numbing and just wanting to be engrossed in something that made me forget about the current situation we are living in. After 4 weeks of isolation, I was struggling. Maybe you are feeling this way too...
I know that if I stayed in this avoiding mindset, I can easily go downhill- sleeping too much, being lazy, constantly eating, and not keeping up with self-care. These things can quickly snow ball into decreased mood, increased negativity and anxiety, unproductivity, and even depression. I know how easy it is to slip into that and I don’t want to go there. But how do I get myself to do something, when I don’t FEEL like doing it? Sheer willpower and “just DO it” was no longer working.
And then as I was laying on the couch- I suddenly remembered I had a Zoom call with my accountability girls. I picked up the phone and told them “I’m struggling with staying motivated - I have been laying here on the couch for hours”. I thought they were going to (lovingly) kick my butt and tell me “Yurika! Get up, do this, do that, what are you doing? Why are you wasting time?”. (I’ve been telling myself that all week!) To my surprise, I didn’t get any of that. I got the opposite! I got affirming words for everything I have accomplished, I got love, support, and encouragement. Even to my Netflix binge confession- they said “hey, maybe that’s what you needed for a day”. Wow. It was strange- and also strangely motivating. I was reminded of Yin and Yang. I was operating from the Yang (masculine) energy with “do do do, goal, action, results”- I guess I needed some gentle, loving (feminine) Yin energy and encouragement. Things are more effective and in harmony when they are in balance. So after that conversation, I set an intention for the next day and did these 3 things:
Set a daily intention
One of the most POWERFUL things you could do every morning is to set an intention for that day.When you set an intention (whether that’s to be more kind, to notice beauty in nature, to feel connection, etc.), your brain will automatically seek and look for that throughout the day. I’m sure you’ve heard this many times but do you actually realize how much we live on autopilot? Most of us wake up, have our coffee, go to work, eat, watch TV/workout/meditate/other activity, and go to sleep. We repeat this cycle over and over, day after day. What if you set an intention each day? Your day will be a lot more intentional, I'll tell you that much! I challenge you to try it every single day for 1 week. You’ll believe it when you see how powerful it really is.
You have a choice
It’s no surprise that we as humans have the power of choice. That means that even if we don’t “feel” like doing something, we can choose something different. It’s ironic that often the thing we are not wanting to do (working out, meditating, eating healthy) has immediate benefits and we KNOW we will feel better after we do it! Yet we make excuses “I’ll do it later, I don’t feel like it” or we dismiss altogether like it’s no big deal. I’m not saying that you need to do every single thing that you don’t “feel” like doing, but make it a point tobe mindful about your choice to NOT do it.(Example: I know that I will feel better after doing my work out, but I am making a conscious choice to not do it today).With this awareness, at least you are being mindful about your choice- and not just making an excuse.
Clarity & Vision
I’m not sure how much you believe in synchronicity and divine intervention, but through three different forms- I was told “Yurika,find clarity. Reconnect to your vision, your WHY”.Despite “not feeling” like meditating, I consciously chose to sit on my yoga mat, and meditated because I know that I will feel clear, focused, centered. I then journaled and reconnected to my big vision, WHY this work was so important to me, and what it is exactly I strive for every day.What 3 qualities does the “highest version of me” embody?Mine were:Live, Love, Impact.Did I live fully today? Did I love wholeheartedly today? Did I impact a life today? After I got clear about these 3 qualities, it became my check point and I began to ask myself these 3 questions every night before I sleep. This is powerful.
When I got clear and reconnected to my vision, when I made conscious choices, and set an intention every morning each day- my motivation increased,and well for now- I'm back on track.