Sometimes you might find yourself a little sad or depressed. Not because your emotions were caused by an external force, but by an internal hollowness or feelings of purposelessness. This might make it a little difficult for you to feel motivated to strive and get things done. However, you don’t have to remain in this headspace if you don’t want to. You don’t have to fuel the negative thoughts swimming around in your head. There are steps you can take to help manage your emotions and help kick self motivation back in.
Have a self-care day
Spend time with yourself. Take this time to get to know yourself. Do the things you want to do to nurture yourself. Walk around naked, journal, watch movies, binge on your favorite snack. Let go of the external persona of who you are to become. Today, you don’t have to be anyone but yourself. Learn to please and care for yourself. Do the things that you want to do and make you feel pampered. There is power in making yourself feel good.
Know when you’re self-sabotaging
Create a list of ways in which you’re self-sabotaging then set limits on your bad behavior. Sometimes we say we want to do one thing but then go against ourselves and do what we know we shouldn’t. In turn unconsciously creating the very result we don’t want. Self-sabotage is when destructive behavior is directed at yourself. It’s not easy to notice that you are doing this. But now, try to sit down and think about it. In what ways are you sabotaging yourself and your progress?
Begin to set limitations on your behavior. If you notice that you procrastinate a lot, try to learn discipline. If you lack self motivation to start projects, you don’t need to wait for the motivation. You just have to start. Learn what works for you and where to draw the line.
Give yourself space
Allow yourself to live and experience life without judgments. Give yourself the grace to make mistakes and to learn from them. Allow yourself to be stupid and silly and childish. You don’t always have to be so tense and serious. Allow yourself to relax, and to relax into yourself. Just trust in your decisions and trust that they will bring about the greater good, as long as they’re sound.
Focus on your garden
This means to focus on yourself. Do not look at what others are doing with their own lives and compare that with yours. It’s easy to compare your progress with that of another’s while forgetting that you are two different people on two different paths. This kills self motivation. Do not live life based on the expectations of others, or even the experiences of others. Discover what holds for you and focus on that.
Surrender and let go
Let go of the things you have no control over. It’s unnecessary to worry about the things you cannot change. And there is so very little that we can change. When you accept that both the good and bad events of life are natural happenings that are beyond our control, you free up the chaos in your mind.
Remain in gratitude
It’s easy to complain when things aren’t going the way you want them to. But you have to now pause, take stock of the situation in your life, and try to find the things you should be grateful for. Notice how even through the hardest times, you still pulled through. Sometimes, even the toughest situation is what creates the opportunity for bigger blessings. Choose to live life with an air of positivity and gratitude. Choose to believe that whatever is happening is for the greater good, and watch as you begin to appreciate even the smallest aspects of life.