No matter how motivated we consider ourselves as people, there are always going to be times when we are less than excited to take action. We all have those days where we just don’t feel like doing anything and morph into the world biggest couch potato. Be it in our job, our quest for health and fitness or our personal lives, sometimes procrastination takes over and we just can’t seem to find the motivation to get the job done.

If you are stuck in a motivation rut, consider the following things:

Know your why – Instead of telling yourself “My goal is to be healthy.”, ask yourself why you want to be healthy. Doesn’t “My goal is to be healthy so that I feel great, have more energy for fun things, stop wasting money on takeout, and will feel comfortable in a bikini this summer.” sound so much more motivating? When you have good reasons, you’re armed and ready for when the couch calls your name.

Think of your future self – We live in a world that craves instant gratification. Consequently, many of us get demotivated very quickly if we don’t see instant results. Instead of comparing yourself to other’s and getting down on yourself, try to visualize and manifest your future self. One saying that personally helps me and a lot of my clients is: “I may not be at my best, but I am working towards a better version of myself every day.” If you are in this for the long run and shift your focus on enjoying the experience as a whole, you’ll be much more likely to stay motivated when things aren’t going that well.

Eat the frog first – One of my favorite spiritual guiders, Melissa Ambrosini, always says: ”Eat the frog first.” By “frogs” she means those tasks that we enjoy the least and subsequently procrastinate on the most. The things that we don’t enjoy but actually really need to be done. The one’s that send you spiraling into procrastination and hang over your head all day like a dark cloud and fill you with guilt. So, how do we finish our frogs? The best advice is to get them out of the way first thing in the morning. Not only does it mean you get the icky stuff out of the way first, but it’s also incredibly rewarding and will make you feel incredibly accomplished early on in the day.

Now that we’ve talked about how to stay motivated, I also wanted to touch on stress. Sometimes we can get so stressed out and overwhelmed with the task at hand that we no motivational speak or pep talk in the world is going to get us out of the funk. Unfortunately, life these days is stressful and there’s just no escaping it. That’s why it’s so important for us all to figure out what our mind, body and spirit needs in moments like that. For the past years, I’ve been working on creating a personal toolkit of stress-relief methods, a SOS-list of things that help me in the moment, if you will. I’ve had to learn to tame that inner mean girl and develop those healthier, calming habits for myself in order to deal with the every day stresses, and as a result feel more motivated about life in general. Here’s some of my favorites:

• Yoga – I practice it almost every day
• Meditation –I’m currently doing a 30-day meditation challenge with an app called 1 Giant Mind
• Drink a cup of herbal tea (if you’re already stressed, don’t fuel that energy with caffeine!)
• Go outside, be it to go for a walk/run or just to breath some fresh air and feel the sun on my skin
• Alternative nostril breathing (have you tried it yet?)
• Light a candle while working
• Put a calming eucalyptus balm on my chest and neck for better breathing
• Another favorite of mine that I discovered only recently is Bach’s Rescue Remedy Spray. It’s a homeopathic spray that you can use in acute moments of stress and anxiety, and I love using in times of extreme overwhelm

Now, I want to challenge you. Create your own personal SOS kit of things you can do in times of stress!

 

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