Happy Friday to all of my event people and general blog readers. Let me know how your week was! Honestly, for me? It was a little rough. Here in Chicago this week has been gloomy not really raining but just cloudy, dark, foggy and overall just hohumy?
I am a morning person I love waking up as the sun is rising and opening all the windows and basking in the light of dawn, but this week I couldn’t do that. Do you all ever get affected by the weather or even just some bad event in your week and it kind of obliterates your motivation for the entire week. Like you don’t want to go to the gym or clean or get work done. This week I just wanted to stay in bed wrapped up in my covers watching the CW Flash and sleep. Of course I could not just do that! I wanted to write this friday article for all my people out there who are feeling this lack of motivation, whether it be because of the weather or hitting a roadblock at work or for whatever reason you may not know. I think it’s important to stay motivated and not just force yourself to go to work because you have to because then you live your days a tad bit…. Lackadaisical and inefficiently.
For me my biggest contributors to being unmotivated comes from feeling stuck in my professional life, or like this week the weather or even when things happen out of my control. (I am a capricorn we love control.) Here are 10 things I do to get motivated in times like this.
Stay with me here I know this might sound a bit “Californian” but maybe they are onto something because it really helps. I start my day meditating. This does not have to be you sitting cross legged in an all natural meditating room. It could be sitting on the bed or doing yoga. It is connecting your physical and mental state so that you feel more aligned and centered. Its grounding your mind so that you can start your day with a clear head so your neural pathways can fire on all cylinders. I take a few minutes to reflect on the previous day my goals in life and this time I will try to focus only on the accomplishments that I have made that is taking steps towards my goal. I like to think about all the positive things in my life like family and friends and work. But some days it’s just listening to calming music and trying not to think; its closing my eyes and counting my breath. It all depends on the day I am having and what I need to get out that meditation time.
I am a capricorn. This means that I am a workaholic. Sometimes what motivates me is just getting a piece of paper and writing out everything I have to do in life. It is goofy and nonsensical but organizing what I have to do into steps and timelines helps get me excited to start my day and get to work.
baking/ cooking helps if I have the time in the morning to cook or put together some time of dish I am not sure why but it gives me a sense of accomplishment and makes me feel like I have my life together and motivates me.
Event stalking….. I mean research. I love what I do for a living. I love everything about event planning coordination and management. Sometimes going to my instagram and looking at what other event or wedding planners are doing in the city or sports teams are doing for their foundation, helps motivate me to get to work and start on some event plans for my business or my day jobs.
Friends and Family. Something I always took for granted when I was younger was my family and friends. There are some nights where I am just like I want a hug from my mom and it helps center me. Also every successful person in life needs to have a friend that motivates them and knows how to do that. My friends know that introducing me to new businesses or updating me on their lives really helps bring me into a more motivated mindset.
Being around motivated coworkers or generally motivated people. Okay, everyone has to know that feeling when you go to a conference or go into work and everyone is all pumped and motivated and excited. Its an infectious feeling.
My plants. At work the other day I connected to a coworker because his wife and myself share the notion that we probably love plants more than any type of living organism. Being around taking care of my plants or even just being in nature it’s so motivating for me even when it’s all gloomy outside.
Food. I mean come on everyone loves food. You know that commercial I am not sure if it still airs and it goes like “What would you do for a klondike bar”? That sediment is so true. The other day I was so unmotivated but was hungry so I forced myself to go to the grocery store and got blueberries and popcorn as a treat to take to work today (Friday), because I knew this would be a long day and it gave me something to look forward to during the week.
Reading. One thing I will always do when I am feeling unmotivated and I just want to stay in bed is curl up with a book. But when I read particularly sad or depressing things it gets me motivated, because even when things in the world may not be the best I get to change my life’s story and I get all types of ideas from reading from new event ideas to fundraising initiatives, hotel event implementation ideas.
Journaling this couples with meditation but I put it last because while I start my day off with meditation I like to end it with journaling. I am not a person who writes a journal entry everyday to be honest. But even ending the day reading through old entry helps me reflect on how much I and life has changed and it helps me to go to bed motivated so then I may start my next day motivated.
At the end of the day these are just 10 things that help ME stay motivated. Some things here may work for you and they may not. We are all different but it’s important to focus on motivation because it is a sign of mental health. I wanted to write this article because it was fitting for the week I had but at the same time even myself am so conditioned to ignore signs of an unhealthy mental state and just push through to get the job done. I am a strong believer that at the end of the day the work will suffer if the person is. So find what helps you stay motivated and mentally healthy. Share and comment down below what you do to stay motivated.