“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot
If you are like the thousands of people who have a hard time getting on top of task, then this article is for you. For some people, there may be days that you’re so unmotivated, even the most simplest tasks are like moving a one ton truck. “I don’t get it. You seem so motivated. What get’s you going?” Asked my friend over the phone. She found days often tiring, “over-it,” and “ugh” feeling. She felt irritated that others were go=getters and where could find her ounce of strength through the haziness and darkness. She would rather flip the blankets over like a pancake and bake in her bed.
There are days for everyone. I would be surprised that there is someone who wakes up every single day motivated. There are gym days that make us want to moan and groan up until we sloth over to the treadmill. There are days we’d stay tucked in our home but force the smile on our face for a work event or a personal event that you have to go to.
Where’s the answer? You’ll need to do a few simple self-seeking, soul searching items first. (You’ll have time since you’re most likely avoiding what needs to get done as you read this post.)
First, identify the challenges in your life that cause you stress, if any. (You could potentially just feel lazy but if there’s a deeper, hidden feeling that you’re not conscious about, then it’s time to use the power of self-reflection)
1. Grab a piece of paper, use a whiteboard (love these), use your journal, use your phone’s notes app. Write your challenges and stresses down now. Why? When we see what we have paved in front of us, sometimes our head thinks it’s more than it really is. When I was a College Counselor, I sat with one student and he realized, that all the things that fluttered in his head wasn’t that much on paper. You could break it down between your realms of life: school, work, family, special events, special circumstances. Here is something I wrote simply on the board to help me see my stressors:
2. Find inspiration. (See post on finding inspiration). For me, music is key. If there’s a song that motivates me, a YouTube video that showcases triumph from hardship, or a podcast/TED talk that guides me, now is the time to put it on. Why? You gain perspective from inspiration. Sometimes, when you find that someone may have challenges and stresses that sound beyond their control, you may realize that your challenges are surmountable. In addition, find laughter. Laughter relives stress even if it’s temporarily. Find quotes on Pinterest and pin them. Find YouTube songs and save it to a playlist of “Rockstar Motivation.”
3. Write one small goal today. For me, I will work on transcribing one lecture from class. Small goals are small accomplishments that add up big overtime. You may have a long list ahead of you but like that one short story with every starfish that goes back to the ocean (Loren Eisely), “It made a difference for that one.” At the end of the day, you at least accomplished one small goal instead of nothing.
4. Next, think about a moment in your life that you accomplished a goal. Was the work so hard and so draining, that you were at the brink of almost giving up? However, when you accomplished it, you realize how strong you’ve become and the people around you give you that praise or compliment. Think about the end goal. For me, December is like Christmas the last two weeks of the month. I’m done with school (for now), work’s tasks will subside, and for just one second, the world takes a breathe to relax. My professor in grad school once said “you are either going through a storm, into a storm, or out of a storm.” There may be a time when you’re out of this storm. Grasp those moments and hold on to those feelings of achievement, success, empowerment, and strength. They will carry you through the most challenging times. Think of yourself as this resilient force, strong as titanium, bending but not breaking, standing but not tilting, and hanging but not letting go.
5. Finally, and optionally since privacy is important to all of us, post your progress. My friend is now a fitness queen, looking over 30 lbs. She posts on Facebook and Instagram about the power of loosing weight, strength in those most struggles of wanting to work out, determination to eat healthy and clean even if she asks “What would you eat every day?” For me, I use my journal but alternatively, you could use Twitter which you can keep private to post to only friends and family. You could alternatively use Vent (similar to Twitter). Post the real struggles and the triumphs.
Motivation isn’t a pill that can make you that go-getter. I wish it was then the world would function so easy that life would be a little too easy. Your inner self requires some inner strength. Just like your muscles that require some sort of physical activity, so does your mind. If the above does not help you, then one thing that people have reported was to talk to yourself in 2nd person “You can do this. You got this. You can, and you will.” It turns out in some research studies, talking to yourself in 2nd person increased confidence and peers rated the subjects’ performances better.
Comments