- Michelle Jones
Stop Saying, "I'm not motivated" —Do this instead.
Let's talk about this word, MOTIVATION:
The word itself and our association to it trips us gals up. I experience it e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y. You say,
"I'm just not motivated."
"I don't know how to get motivated."
"How do I stay motivated?"
Sound familiar? As if it's some sort of ethereal force outside of your grasp? I've gotta tell you, it's not.
You're most likely psyching yourself out based on your (real or perceived) lack of desire to do the thing... and I totally get it. We all face moments - sometimes moment, after moment, after moment - when we resist the tasks before us.
Here's the thing though: some of those tasks are essential to: keeping your family well, keeping your job, keeping up on your personal health, etc.;
The tasks you're resisting? They still need to happen.
Read on and learn my favorite exercise for finding that force within you that will propel you to keep moving forward.
First, let's define what it means to be motivated:
Motivation is the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.
That's it. The reason. I know you've got one of those. Let's find out what it is.
(I call this Motivational Mad Libs.)
Don't over think this + be honest with yourself:
01 - How do you feel when you look at your messy space?
02 - What do you dislike about it?
03 - Why did you decide to get your space sorted out?
04 - What do you like about your space?
05 - What pumps you up?
06 -What's the consequence of not following through with getting your space Sorted? How will you feel if you quit?
Grab a piece of paper, open up your notes app or click below to download your copy of Motivational Mad Libs and answer these questions. It works for all kinds of projects and procrastinations 😉.
I'm willing to bet that you're already gaining some clarity, simply by taking the time to unpack your thoughts around your "messy space".
Now for the fun and motivating part! Write out the following statement, using your answers to fill-in-the-blanks:
When I look at my messy space, I feel (ANSWER 01), because (ANSWER 02). I'm super pumped to (ANSWER 03) and to highlight (ANSWER 04)!
This is my mantra and my motivation. I'm going to (ANSWER 05) before I get started working on this project, every day for the next 5-7 days. I know I can do this and (ANSWER 06) is not an option for me. I'm ready to Re-Imagine my space and get it Sorted.
This is like unpacking something heavy, in the lightest way possible. It all begins by creating more attention and awareness to what's causing our thoughts, actions, reactions... and what we can do about the way it all makes us feel.
Let's talk about our words, spoken and unspoken, and the effects they have on us.
Jennice Vilhauer Ph.D. writes, in Psychology Today, that "What we control, and where we really start to create our reality, is in how we perceive/interpret/think about the events in our life that generate our feelings about those events, and how we subsequently respond with our behavior.
You have the power to change your thoughts.
When you create clearly worded guidance statements for yourself and you actually use them, you begin to experience how your thoughts can change your reality. You begin to find that your hyperbolic, self deprecating thought + speech patterns are showing up less and less and you will find, you are actually getting things done!
It's not always about wanting to do a thing in a given moment. It's about becoming aware of the reason you decided to do it in the first place + keeping that reason top of mind while you do it.
Even if you don't have the skill set, time, energy, etc., it's still beneficial to work the statements in order to identify your motives and prioritize your project.
Once you've done so, you have 2 options: you outsource OR you level up and turn your motivational madlibs into a daily affirmational mantra, until your task(s) are complete.
You can do the exercise again and again. Your feelings and motives may change. In fact, they will change. That's why I included this download, so you can come back to your statement and tweak it as many times as you need!