How to Motivate Yourself
Happy Motivational Monday – and what better topic to discuss than motivation!
Lately, I’ve actually been struggling with motivation. I couldn’t figure out why and it was really frustrating me.
Often I hear the advice for motivating yourself was to remind yourself of personal goals, creating an “Inspiration Board”, writing down reasons for your goals, listening to that one stirring song, or reading inspirational quotes. While these are good ideas – they are short-term and extrinsic influences. They work well when you’re already somewhat motivated – but not when you’re in the slumps of de-motivation (my newly coined phrase).
The other day I had to really think about how my sources of motivation. The things that usually enthused me like crazy had absolutely no effect – I simply didn’t care. Normally I’m driven and determined with an “I can do whatever I set my mind to” attitude, but I was in a state where I felt like maybe I just couldn’t do it all. I just didn’t feel like it.
If you’ve ever felt like that, you know it’s discouraging. You also know that reading a motivational quote at that moment is not going to do anything – except maybe depress you because you feel like you can’t live up to the splendor of the words.
So how do you get out of that kind of slump? How do you fill yourself full of motivation again?
On Saturday, I kept thinking about it – normally I’m happy to pursue my projects, assignments, deadlines, family projects, do my workouts, and eat healthy.
Yet, as I mindlessly plowed through a workout I had no desire to do, I wondered, “Why does everything sound hard? Why don’t I feel as driven right now?”
I asked myself what pieces are in place when I’m feeling the MOST MOTIVATED and then I realized what the problem was. If you’re struggling with motivation, then maybe you should ask yourself the same question.
Here’s what I discovered – when I’m the most motivated/most excited about life I do THESE THINGS:
I am rested and sleep well at night
Despite Project Morning Person, I haven’t slept well in a while. People, I’m sure you know that if you’re exhausted EVERYTHING sounds like a drag – except maybe a pint of cookie dough ice-cream and a long sleep. Not only that, but it’s harder to make good decisions when you’re tired, which is where the ice-cream often comes in. I really need to work on this. I’m learning how to get up early, but I haven’t fixed the part where you go to bed early too.
I have quality time with God every day – not just reading the His Word, but having good talks with Him and having an attitude of learning from Him
While I try not to ever skip time with God, lately it’s been quicker since I’ve been getting up early with school. When this piece of my life is out of balance, everything else is too. I’m learning to take advantage of all my long car travel time for praying – it’s so awesome!
I workout, but I also have rest days
Lately I think I’ve been over-training. I do hard workouts every day and I started wondering why yesterday I could do 25 pushups and today I’m struggling with just 10. This makes it feel like you’re getting “worse” at being fit, rather than stronger every day – which is disheartening. I’ll do a workout and be shaking through it wishing it was over (and I love working out). The over-training mixed with being overtired make the combination even worse.
I think you can workout 5-6 days a week, but alternate days between intense and intermediate workouts. I’m going to be switching my workout schedule so I don’t do HIIT or circuit training every day, but mix in some lighter workouts like short runs or Pilates in between the harder days.
I eat well (meaning less sugar and carbs) and drink lots of water
When I get tired I crave sugar and carbs. It’s a vicious cycle because the more carbs and sugar you consume, the more tired you get.
I keep myself organized
From recipe development deadlines, college assignments, website to-dos, and home projects I try to tackle small bits of things ever day. Once I let the work pile up, I can get overwhelmed because everything needs to be done at once! Time needs to be made for some relaxing (it’s good for your brain, body, and spirit) – even if it’s just 30 minutes in bed reading or having a hot bath.
So largely, summed up, the key for me to stay motivated and excited about life is:
- Quality time with God
- Quality sleep
- Healthy eating & hydration
- Balanced exercise
- Keeping on top of projects (not procrastinating)
Once these things are in place, it’s easy for me to be motivated! From there, I have a fresh joy about the life God has given me and I feel that I have the strength to be more disciplined and driven to do the things I need to.
How do you keep yourself motivated? Any tips to share?
Category: Healthy Living | Tags: how to become inspired, how to become motivated, how to become motivated to lose weight, how to motivate yourself, intrinsic motivation, motivation for healthy living, motivation tips, tips for motivation, ways to be motivated, ways to find motivation, ways to motivated when you don't feel like it, what do when you have no motivation, what to do when you just don't feel like it 19 comments »
Charissa! I have been following your blog for a while now, love your healthy recipes! I just realized that you are a christian though, and that was such a great surprise! THanks for this post, definitely what I needed!
Ive been feeling the same lately. Nice tips!
Great post! The 3 biggies for me are rest days, adequate sleep and eating wholesomely most of the time. Along with the physical benefits of rest days, I need that mental break from working out…it’s amazing how recharged I feel after a day off!
Thanks soo much for this post! I needed it. I’m not motivated to create an inspiration board or write down reasons for my goals, but I am motivated to get more time in the Word and more sleep. I loved this post.
Those are the same things that work for me. To get motivated, I need rest, simplify goals so they don’t seem as overwhelming, and trust in God to see me through.
Great post and timely for me! I’ve been in a bit of a workout slump lately and have had to drag myself to the gym. Perhaps I’m overdoing it. I will save this post and read it often :-)
This was the PERFECT start to my day. I’ve been struggling big time with motivation, plus my daily life has been exhausting and challenging, despite not being any “harder” than normal. I was procrastinating doing my online schooling assignments, and your blog got me to force myself back to the right mindset.
I worked out.
I have a glass of water in front of me.
I will do my devotional (which I have not *seriously* done in quite some time) when I take my first “mind-breather” break from class work.
Thank you for this post!
I feel out of balance if I am not spending time in the Word. Great post! I find that I go through phases, and it’s usually due to hormones!
Great post. Because I’ve been feeling the same way. Too tired, not enough time with God… those are my major issues. It’s so hard to get things done when you just don’t feel like doing anything at all… It’s discouraging too. Thanks for the reminders. Hope you’ve been doing well!
you nailed it for me with sleep and spiritual.
I NEED BOTH TO FEEL MOTIVATED.
I just loved this post. I love the focus on God, and just had to pin the bible image. I have many sources of inspiration and motivation…I do believe that as long as we make Him the focal, the rest can fall into place. Thanks for the AWESOME reminder. By the way, are you a part of #SheReadsTruth?!
What an awesome post with great tips and beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing this.
Great post… it really is all about balance and priorities,
reading blogs keeps me motivated! you guys are my support system! great pictures! you are beautiful!
Those are all the things that will sap my motivation too. The overtraining thing was a biggie for me. I’ve scaled back my workouts a few times a week and it’s already making a huge difference.
I so needed this post! I have been doing the same thing this week and really had to think about what is causing my slump. Thank you so much for this post!
Um, did I write this? Seriously, I have been in one bad slump lately and just like you said, the typical “motivations” aren’t going to pull me out of it. Yesterday, I pushed through my day with sheer motivation. Today was assisted by lots of black tea (and coffee!). Maybe I need to sit down and ask myself what are the things I need (one of them is sleep also!) Thanks for sharing this with us! It will help others too (like me)!
~Ang
I couldn’t agree with you more.
I do those 1st three things. I realized that when I start my day right, the rest of it will be productive. Sleeping right is of course part of it because if I have a good night sleep, I’d wake up feeling great and the rest will follow.
However, working from home brings a whole lot of challenge in motivation. That’s why I use a little bit of help from Time Doctor. It’s a tool that keeps me motivated by making sure I’m focusing on work and staying away from any kind of distractions.
[…] Another great post came from Charissa with a bit of self-reflection on reasons her motivation could be waning for some things…and how to fix the issues at hand. Get yourself motivated again! […]