In today’s post we will dive into, what to do when you feel uninspired. Before we do that, let’s check in. Last week we talked about the fact that nobody has it all figured out. What were your thoughts and feelings on that? Whether you agree or disagree, I would love to hear why!
Okay, let’s get down to the nitty gritty details on inspiration. Have you ever lacked inspiration and creativity? Whether that be to work on a project, to work out, or even to eat healthy? How did you get through it? Well friends, that’s how I felt writing this blog post today. Now don’t get me wrong I love you guys, and totally appreciate you taking the time to read this! However, I still didn’t feel inspired to write, or do anything else for that matter! Why is that? I wondered what is it that causes a lack of inspiration, motivation, and/or creativity and how do you get it back?
What causes a lack of inspiration or motivation?
You may lack inspiration because of how you spend your time. If you spend your time watching television, drinking alcohol, or on social media, you likely aren’t going to be inspired. If you watch television, it’s probably mind-numbing shows like The Real Housewives (which I still love by the way). Have you ever noticed how television can be like a vampire? You sit down to watch one show, and the next thing you know it has sucked up all of your time. If you stopped watching television for 1 week or 1 month what would you do? I tried it and I thought I was going to go stir crazy that first week! After that week was over, I realized how many tasks I could get done in a day! That little experiment changed everything for me. Don’t believe me? Try it! As far as drinking alcohol goes it lowers your inhibitions. I don’t know about you, but once I start drinking, I lose focus and don’t get much done. Cut out drinking and you may find that you’re more productive. And lastly, let’s talk about social media. How much time are you spending on social media? What are you really accomplishing?! Social media can lead to imposter syndrome and cause you to start comparing yourself to everyone else. Who gets inspired after comparing themselves to someone who has the perfect life, body, family etc.? NOBODY! Cut the amount of time you spend watching television, drinking alcohol and consuming social media, down (or out) of your life and you’ll see big results!
Another reason people lack inspiration is because they don’t have a vision. They can’t see what is possible for their future. To get inspired, picture the end outcome, not all of the obstacles along the way. It’s so hard to be motivated or inspired about anything, when all you focus on is the problems; when you do that it makes the goal you are aiming for seem impossible. If, however you focus on how you will feel when you accomplish that goal, it will give you the power to push forward! The choice is yours, whether or not you will focus on the obstacle or the outcome.
Once you have a vision, surround yourself with things that remind you of the habit you want to create or the goal you want to accomplish. Do you want to run or work out more? Surround yourself with pictures of people doing that. Maybe you put a picture of someone working out (or whatever habit you’re trying to create), in your purse, on your car dashboard or even in a desk drawer. Put the picture in a place where you will randomly see it throughout the day, it will serve as a reminder and you’ll get excited about what you want to accomplish.
Last of all, you lack inspiration because you are resisting the very thing that you really want to do. You worry about failing, and that stops you right in your tracks. If you go all in on something and fail, it hurts. I get it, but failing is so much better than never trying! Stephen Pressfield has a great book on this called The War of Art: Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles. In that book Pressfield states “The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.” Do the task no matter what, because as Pressfield says, there is no such thing as a fearless warrior (or a fearless Badass).
Here’s how to become more motivated and inspired!
Do you know anyone who has accomplished what you want to accomplish? If you do, talk to them and find out what they did. If you don’t know anyone who has accomplished what you want to accomplish, I have good news for you. You live in a time where you can read a book, get on your computer and use Google, you tube, or a ton of other search engines, to find the answer to most of your questions. Find out who has accomplished what you want to accomplish and read their books and watch their videos. The answers are at your fingertip’s friends. If none of that gives you inspiration, watch some Ted Talks on the subject you’re interested in!
Another option is to do the work and push through it. If you’re lacking inspiration and creativity, do it anyway. Amy Porterfield suggests that you sit down and work through it. If you are writing or creating content, she suggests you sit for an extended period of time and just do the work. She said the first 45 minutes you may just sit there with no ideas. After that something clicks and the ideas start to flow (through hour 2). Jack London stated “Don’t wait for inspiration, go out there, beat it with a stick and drag it home.”
The 3rd and last way to find inspiration and creativity is by looking inside yourself. Set aside a few minutes every day to look inside yourself for answers. A Best-selling author and mentor of mine, Jeff Goins said “we often look to the outside world for all the answers when really, we just need to look into ourselves.” He suggests having some sort of solitude practice whether that be a walk, sitting in nature, or meditation. For me meditation has been a game changer. How often do you silence everything around you and just listen to your intuition?
In conclusion, you may lack inspiration because of how you spend your time, your lack of vision, and/or because of resistance. You can increase your inspiration by looking to those who have gone before you, by doing the work and pushing through it, and by looking inside yourself. In the end you can be as uninspired or as inspired as you want to be…The choice is yours.
Please let me know in the comments how you get motivated and inspired!
The next blog post will be about starting something new! Do you have what it takes?
Marie
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