Ugh!!
As I write this it is Monday morning. The weekend was fine. No big deal.
I am tired and I am feeling no motivation to do anything but to roll over and go back to bed.
I know most people feel this way on a Monday, they don’t really like their job or at least the fact that it comes so early on Monday morning anyway. But, why do I feel this way and what do I do about it?
First of all, I have no reason to feel this way. I actually love what I do. I do research for my blogs, I write for you, I am studying for a class I am taking, I get to do it all from the comfort from my home, it is sunny out today, and I got an extra hour sleep because we changed our clocks this weekend. Yet, after all of that, I still feel kind of blah. It happens to all of us.
Our motivation is not supposed to be constant. How can it? Our circumstances change daily and sometimes hourly. So why are we so hard on ourselves about our motivation? I think it’s because we pay so much attention to what other people do and say especially through social media.
Never before in our history have other people’s opinions been so available as they are now. The reality is that we don’t actually need them, yet we get them, good, bad, motivational, depressing, shocking, whining, depressing, mean-spirited, loving and everything else you can and can’t imagine.
Even those people with the best intentions can be a distraction to our agenda. Motivation is a really tough thing to harness. But, how do we still move forward and pull ourselves up to get things done?
Here are a few things that I hope will help you.
1. Give yourself permission to have those feelings.
- Believe it or not, we all have these feelings, some more than others, so just accept it, concede that today is not going to be your best day and deal with it.
2. Spend a small amount of time to see if you can find the source of your feelings.
- Sometimes, there is an actual reason for those feelings. Did we get bad news, have a disagreement with a friend, are we feeling physically unwell, are we in a tough spot right now?
3. Decide that regardless of the source, you aren’t going to stay in the doldrums.
- Sometimes just deciding to pick yourself is all you need to get things back on track.
4. Change your situation.
- Sometimes this is easier said than done, but if possible, get up and move where you are. If you can work from another place, sit at another desk, change your lighting, put on some music you like, go wash your face, just make a change.
5. Eat something that helps your mood.
- We all have foods that just make us feel better, do that. There are also foods that are known mood boosters: Dark chocolate, Cereal, Oysters, Water, Spinach, poultry, Lentils, Bananas, Oats, Salmon, Brazil nuts, Coconut, Kale, Ginger Tea, eggs.
6. Get a little exercise in.
- Exercise is a known mood booster. I am not talking about stopping your work day and go get a workout in, unless you can, but getting a little extra movement in counts. Something, anything.
7. Turn social media off for a while.
- Social media is only a ‘highlight reel’ of other people’s worlds. They only tell you what they want you to know. It’s typically extremely filtered. So, turn it off and get authentic. Talk to a friend, call or in person. Getting real will help.
8. Know that tomorrow is a whole new day to start over.
- Looking forward to something either later that day, tomorrow, or something, can and will give you hope and something to aim for and can pick up your mood.
9. Fake it until you make it.
- I have mentioned this before, your body can’t tell a forced smile from a fake one, so fake it for a while and you will actually begin to feel better.
10. Spend some time in quiet meditation.
- Slowing your mind, quieting your space, relaxing, all work to lighten your mood. Quiet meditation has been around for a long time for a reason, it works.
Keep in mind, these are not things that will cure a clinical depression. You may need professional help if this yucky mood lasts for a long time. But if there is anything that can be done to make you feel better, naturally, I am all for it.
“Remember this, that very little is needed to make a happy life.” — Marcus Aurelius
