How To Find Motivation When You’re In A Funk
I’ve written multiple blog posts about motivation this year, and here I am I’m doing it again. Probably because 2020 has been such a shitshow dumpster fire and everyone seems to be in a funk about it.
“I’ve been feeling so stressed lately about the state of the world and I know that working out would be good for my mental health. Just can’t get over this mental block of doing it at home. Any tips or thoughts?”
This sort of thing seems to be coming up for my clients a LOT. Me as well. So while I’m writing this post with movement in mind, I think you could apply it to almost anything that you’re trying to accomplish right now.
The first thing I want to tell you is that there’s nothing wrong with you if you aren’t particularly motivated to do anything at the moment.
This feeling is more common than many of us care to admit. Not a lot of people are talking about it openly. Mental health is suffering for many of us. And depending on how the events of the world (the stress of the election, the pandemic, pretty much every piece of bad news that shows up) affect you personally, you could be experiencing it a lot worse than others.
To be clear, you don’t have to be productive 24/7.
Although society would like to tell us otherwise. You deserve a nap and a day off and a vacation (though who knows when that’s gonna happen). In spite of this, I’m pretty sure that you don’t really want to be sitting on your couch doomscrolling for hours on end? I also know that there are probably some things that you’d like to get done. Things that would help your mental and physical health, get you spiraling back up again, and give you the energy to show up better for the things that matter.
For many of us that includes some sort of workout or movement.
Changing your physical state has a profound way of changing your metal state. The feeling of physical strength can translate to mental and emotional strength too.
So knowing this, how do you get yourself to just do the thing you know will make you feel better?
Here are my top tips for finding motivation when you’re in a funk.
Take the next small step.
When you’re in a funk, completing something like an entire workout can feel insurmountable. So what can you do? Can you get off the couch? Put on a sports bra? Roll out your yoga mat or get out your weights? Do the warmup? One set of squats? Let whatever you have the energy for be enough. More often than not you’ll find you’re capable of more than you thought and that it actually feels good!
Know yourself and stop expecting unreasonable things.
Not a morning person? Feel too drained after work to do anything? Stop scheduling your workouts at those times. Not a big fan of virtual fitness classes? Stop expecting yourself to participate in them. Know yourself and remove as many barriers as possible.
Find little boosts that align with your identity and beliefs.
I like to remind myself that lifting weights as a woman feels like giving the finger to the patriarchy and I love that. So does wearing my F*ck Trump lipgloss (sorry not sorry for going there). Think about it. When you lack control over the state of the world, what are the little things that make you smile and give you a boost? How do they align with the bigger things you value?
Listen to music.
Make a playlist if you have the energy, or even just pick a few random songs that uplift or inspire you. Music can help invoke the kind of mood and vibe you want to have. While it’s important to stay in the loop with the news, and podcasts are great, make sure you’re not constantly filling your ears and brain with things that feel heavy.
Set boundaries with people & things.
Remember that your time is your time. In order to prioritize the things that are important to you, you’re gonna have to say no to some other things. There is nothing wrong with letting your phone go to voicemail or letting an email or text wait. You can say “no” to a coffee date or last minute meeting just because you don’t feel like it. Just because you technically have “free time” doesn’t mean you owe it to anyone else.
Set boundaries with social media.
Scrolling can not only be a time suck but also a big drain on your mental energy. Pay attention to what sends you into a negative spiral and limit it where you can. That might mean deleting certain apps from your phone, taking designated days for social media breaks, or editing your alerts/notifications/people you follow so that you’re not consuming too much draining content.
Pace yourself with activism.
Or any kind of work that requires a lot of mental and emotional energy. Much like fitness, it’s important not to bite off more than you can chew. Otherwise you risk burning out and it will become an all-or-nothing sort of thing. Better to pick small actions that you can sustain over the long term as opposed to constantly trying to do all the things.
Remember that your self care comes first.
This should be a stand alone statement. But because I know so many people have big things they want to take care of right now: family, work, the ENTIRE FREAKING WORLD, I’ll say this: You’ll show up better for others if you first show up for yourself. Self-care looks different for everyone. What does it look like for you right now?
At the end of the day, what it really comes down to is knowing what fills you up and what drains you.
Figure that out first. Then make sure you’re taking the time to replenish your own energy before you expect yourself to have the motivation do anything more.
