Books were scattered all over the ground. Shelves tilted over, some fallen completely. Papers torn. Files strewn across the space. I could see my path on the other side of this mess. Not fully but clearly there. A light glowing in the direction it's headed. And me. On the path, yes. But the chaos of research, references, inspirations, coursework, experiences......NOISE! I've laid my path, I see it but.....Must. Clear. The. Blocks.
This is "the thing" that had historically stopped me from progress, from feeling motivated and energized. Clutter. MIND CLUTTER. OVERWHELM. Too much jumbled together in a mish-mosh of lessons, experiences, and past achievements & failures alike-- and plans for the future. Getting motivated wasn't even the problem (yet). I was too busy beating myself up for not doing that project and distracting myself with....anything. For days, weeks, months. Standing in a mosh pit, it's hard to think clearly. Especially when you didn't notice you were in it. These days, I notice and I notice quickly. When it's literal, it's easier to notice the source of overwhelm and its impact on your ability to motivate. It's a dead weight. When it's happening in your mind, your body feels and responds to the weight whether you are aware of it or not. And when you're not aware, your intellect will make choices that are not usually aligned with who you are/what you want and your body will resist or shut down. Awareness lightens the load which shows up as stress (physically, physiologically, and/or mentally). Allowing yourself to see what the matter is is the first step to making the conscious choices you need to clear the heaviness and feel more light and free. This imagery I shared above is a glimpse of my quick "snap out of it" process that is the first step to nip the lack-of-motivation-drag in the bud. It brought me to the AWARENESS of what's happening to me and, most importantly, to the next step to break free from a downward spiral of avoidance and status quo (aka 'no progress, no growth, no motivation'). THE 4-STEP PROCESS TO DROP THE WEIGHT & MOTIVATE When you're unmotivated and need to kick into gear, it can be challenging to even take these steps. How do you motivate yourself to get motivated? In the next section, I'll offer you some tips/hacks to do just this. If you've gotten this far in reading this, you may be ready to jump right in -- so let's go: STEP 1: (Be) Aware
My thoughts are coming at me in an avalanche. I can't get to my path with this mosh pit before me, around me. Mosh pit.....it's like a mosh pit- rumbling, jumpy, enthusiastic AND suffocating. I feel overwhelmed! It feels heavy and suppressing in my body. I don't really want to look at it-- I can do something else, something easier. 'Oh I see....Overwhelm. So: how are you overwhelming yourself?' Right, I just need to take one step, not all the steps at once. I see what's happening now, I feel it in my body, and I have tools for this. STEP 2: Align
STEP 3: Act
STEP 4: (Be) Agile
MOTIVATE TO MOTIVATE. How? It's truly in the action that creates the progress. Imperfect, conscientious actions are better than no actions or waiting for a perfect action (which usually means no action). As long as you are ready to accept and shift or pivot based on the outcome, you are ready to act. If you're not ready for this-- not even to go to that space of awareness (--it could feel scary TO SEE yourself truly) -- there are ways to prepare and elevate your readiness. Here are some of my go-to hacks:
This is just my short list and there are many more options. What are some of your go-to's to prepare yourself to motivate in your best interest?
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AuthorI am the Essential Soul Mama. I am a mama, a soulful-spiritual teacher, an intentional storyteller, and a lover of stories of all kinds, in all forms. I write about emotions, parenting, natural health options, mind-body-soul connections, and anything that elevates our lives. Archives
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