Maintaining your motivation when everyone depends on you.
“How on earth am I going to do this for another year?” you wonder, the weight of the words squeezing any vacant space from your mind.
Your motivation, limp. Your enthusiasm, sodden. You’re exhausted.
You have two options:
1) To deflect your feelings & tell yourself to toughen up & get on with it, or
2) Acknowledge your feelings & show yourself a little kindness
For years, the former was my selection of choice. A decision that battered my sense of self & left me feeling like a slave to my existence. Thank goodness those days have come to an end!
Today, I acknowledge my thoughts in the moment & step straight into the bubbling cauldron of sticky emotions weighing me down.
Today, I recognise the importance of being able to momentarily let go.
While the days we are light on our feet, giddy in a state of flow are marvellous, they simply can’t be every day. Reality is, we all experience moments of languish. Days we drag our feet through boggy realities, stuck in a trough of life’s undulating intensity. We feel stagnate, empty & least of all, motivated. And guess what? That is ok!
No, none of us can be motivated 100% of the time.
When your livelihood is dependent on your individual performance, moments of waning motivation can be scary. “What if it never comes back?” a thought never far from your mind.
Life’s highway is intense.
The person in control of the intensity within which you live, is you.
Our wholistic well-being depends on our ability to listen to ourselves. To slow down. To speed up. To accept putting along. There is no denying or avoiding it is all connected & a huge responsibility to bear.
While we love celebrating the highs, we must have ways to wade through the lows, preserve our sense of self & believe they will pass.
Because they always pass.
Here are a few pearlers I’ve accumulated & lessons I’ve learnt, that help me dig myself out of a motivational rut today:
Don’t pretend you’re OK when you’re not
It is now widely accepted that ignoring negative emotions is detrimental to our mental health . Pretending to be someone we aren’t goes against our integrity & wastes precious energy most of us can’t afford to lose.
Acknowledging how we feel & saying that feeling out loud makes it real. A trusted friend, family member or psychologist, great ports of call.
Connection offers a sense of relief during a time we need to be reminded we aren’t alone.
Don’t work harder
I’ll let Martha Beck do the speaking here;
“My friend Sonja once came up with some useful advice for men who would like to improve their performance in the bedroom. “Here’s a hint,” she said. “If whatever you’re doing isn’t working, don’t do it harder.”
Thank you, Martha & friend.
Clear the diary of what can wait
For me, waning motivation equates to a crowded, muddled & tired brain. There is something strangely cathartic about clearing the diary of what is unnecessary.
Suddenly what seemed urgent, can wait. What was important, seems less so. And I often find myself realising people are more forgiving than I first thought.
When you have too many priorities, you have none.
Waning motivation is a warning sign my priority needs to be my mental health.
Set a timeframe for mental recovery
I’ve learned these times are finite. By setting myself a fortnightly timeframe for recovery, I give my brain permission to pause & reduce expectations of myself.
Almost always, it never takes that long & I bounce back more enthusiastic than ever.
Dive into your discipline
If only a mental recovery meant we could escape the practicalities of life - at home & at work.
Discipline has long been a strength of mine. Understanding it better, I now realise how its gotten me through the times I was languishing. I knew what had to be done. Even if it was the bare bones, I got it done.
Sometimes we need to force ourselves to be disciplined to meet the commitments we can’t avoid.
I allocate time, the same each day for what I can’t avoid. Equally, I allocate time for mental recovery.
Work on you rather than your business
As a business owner, relentless hunter of growth & someone who manages high functioning anxiety, I’ve accepted my brain constantly works hard. Making it stop, is a conscious effort.
Aside from life’s practicalities, I make an extra effort during these times to turn my efforts inwards & invest in my personal growth. It’s an investment that always pays off & alleviates any feeling of neglect to the business.
I like to think of it as investing in my business in a different way.
Be inspired
I recall years ago being asked “What inspires you Peta?” The blank expression on my face said it all. I had no idea.
Today, it’s one of the first questions I ask my coaching clients.
Inspiration is powerful. The return in energy worth the investment of discovery.
What inspires connects us with our values. It sparks creativity, stimulates our sense of purpose & energises our cells.
Whether it is a someone, a something or a somewhere, know what inspires you. It is an elixir for your mental health.
Remember your vision
Remind yourself that despite your rut, what you are working towards hasn’t changed. This is a part of the topsy turvy journey. A detour.
I’ve always found creating a physical version of my future vision reassurance for my mind. A plan on an old fashioned paper page never disappears.
Lastly, never forget your well-being fundamentals - physical, mental, emotional & spiritual nourishment. While it sounds obvious, it’s amazing how they can become the first compromise we make when we slam our foot down on the accelerator of life.
Take care of you,
Peta x
Sales performance coach, Consultant, Speaker
Author of My Beautiful Mess, Living through burnout & rediscovering me
Looking to inspire your team? Reach out to explore Peta’s speaking & coaching service.