When You’re Not Motivated, Try This!

Make no mistake, there will be moments when inspiration and motivation to do the ‘thing’ you said you wanted to do are absent.

You are not alone.

So what do you do when this happens?

First, recognize that motivation itself isn't reliable.

It's easy to feel motivated when things are going well.

But when they're not, that's when it leaves you in the dust.

Instead, rely on showing up for yourself.

Whether you’re trying to develop consistency in your workouts, making healthier eating choices you ‘showing up for yourself’ even if it looks slightly different than the expected ‘habit’, IS the thing you’re really practicing.

So when you aren’t feeling particularly motivated or inspired, show up for yourself by:

Giving yourself something easy to accomplish that's part of the larger habit.

Not feeling motivated to meal prep for days?

Give yourself a simpler task of making a snack or focus only on making lunch or breakfast for the next day.

Sometimes what you need is to reduce the overwhelm by focusing on an immediate need vs looking too far ahead.

Not feeling motivated to workout?

Give yourself 3 mins to get your body moving and warmed up to it.

Sometimes what you need is to get your body moving and blood flowing before your brain catches up.

Go off the beaten path by injecting play into your process.

Being hyper focused on the outcome of 'doing the thing' can often suck any joy and fun out of the pursuit itself, making it feel like you need extra motivation and/or inspiration to do it.

Shift that by weaving some playfulness into your process.

Dance in between sets.

Let your kids join you with their own cooking tools in making a fun meal or snack.

Break up a cookie over your yogurt snack for a playful and yummy twist.

Whatever you choose, do it giving yourself over entirely to the joy of the experience.

Are these foolproof? No.

Will they work for everyone? Probably not.

But, what I do know is that your success at establishing healthy habits that serve you, will mean always showing up for yourself in some way, shape or form.

That’s the REAL habit being practiced.

And when motivation is waning or inspiration is non-existent, the above examples are two ways of facilitating that practice.