Some days, getting and keeping motivation can be challenging. I'm usually super energetic and not lacking motivation, but some days, I need a little extra "spark" to keep me going.
There are a few tried and true things that always fill me with an extra dose of motivation when my tank is running low. And for the record, I'm having one of those days today, so I'll clue you in on what I'm using to get my creative juices flowing.
1. Turn on some music. This goes for all aspects of my life. At work, I love to listen to Spotify. If you saw or listened to my choices in music, you would laugh. I like all kinds of music and that's definitely reflected in my playlists. Ballads tend to motivate me as much if not more than really catchy, pop music, and I listen to a blend of both.
If I'm not particularly feeling like running, but know I need to get in some miles, I turn on the music, too, particularly if I'm on the treadmill. I don't race with music on 5Ks, but when I'm running longer races or even running a seven or eight miler outside, I'll turn up the music.
2. Read something that motivates me. I love quotes. If I could hang quotes all over the walls of my home, I would. I don't think my husband would like that very much though. I really do love quotes and have bookshelves filled with books of those. I also have some verses written down that I keep in front of me all the time.
3. Drink some coffee. I'm pretty bland when it comes to my drinking choices. As a general rule of thumb, I only drink water. I do have sweet tea if my husband makes it at home, I'm at Chickfila, or we're out to dinner at a restaurant that has particularly good sweet tea. I stay away from juices because of all the extra sugar. I don't drink soft drinks either. I drink milk, but it's with cereal, so that doesn't count. If I really need a pick me up, I'll grab some coffee, usually half caf and I'm good to go.
4. Make a list. My job requires a large amount of multi-tasking, all the time. Lists keep me sane. When I have so much to do and don't know where to start, I always start what I want to get done in a day. I'm the same way with personal things in that I make a list of things I want to accomplish each week.
5. Think about how good I'll feel when I accomplish something. This applies more to exercise than to other aspects of my life. The second alarm that goes off in the morning has this message: "Think about how good you'll feel after you run!" Many days, that 6AM wake up call is rough. I'm not going to tell you it isn't. Some days, I respond and get up and run. Other days, I don't. I still have to get up early to get the kids off to school and myself off to work, but sometimes, my body just can't make it up the stairs to the treadmill. Reminding myself how good it'll feel to be done with my run for the day helps me to have that extra push I need.
What do you do when you need some extra motivation?Labels: motivation, real life
