Hello and welcome to today's meditation on staying motivated. Most of us have had the experience where we set out to achieve a goal or excel in a new job or a project or a master a new skill. And it can often be the case that we start with enthusiasm and energy only to find that over time our motivation and focus starts to wane. And it becomes harder to sustain and follow through with the commitment. If you're struggling to stay motivated, know that you're not alone.

With so many distractions and demands pulling our attention, it can be difficult to stay on course. Yeah. There are ways to shift from procrastination to progression. That shift comes from a clear knowing of your why, that is, your underlying purpose. And then having it inform small behaviors that puts you on the path to staying motivated.

So today, I invite you to use this time to connect with your purpose as I guide you through a meditation on motivation. And just to say that we're not trying to force a purpose here, rather offering to yourselves a safe space to allow what needs to emerge to do just that. So let's begin by making ourselves comfortable. Connecting for a moment with your body. And perhaps establishing yourself, whether you're sitting or standing or lying down, in a way and with a posture that is an expression of wakefulness, of being alert, but relaxed at the same time.

Perhaps a posture that is upright, but not rigid. The shoulders relaxed. And the awareness of breath coming in. And as you focus on your breath, simply bringing awareness to the sensation of the air as it comes in. And then exits your body.

Perhaps taking a slightly longer, slower inhalation. And a long exhale. Grounding yourself in the breath and in the body. And as you're ready, bringing to mind a commitment with which you may be struggling to find the motivation to act. It may be a task you're putting off, or the goal you're making excuses over, or something that might be beneficial to you, but that you're having trouble making a regular part of your life.

For me, and for many of us I suspect, one example might be daily rigorous physical exercise. So as you bring this situation to mind, feel how it feels to have that lack of motivation in your body. What thoughts emerge? It's difficult sometimes to not feel motivated because we have a lot of thoughts about it. So not judging yourself for feeling what you're feeling or thinking what you're thinking, but just bringing a gentle, non-judgmental awareness for what's coming up for you right now. Now I invite you to consider your deepest aspiration in relation to the situation you hold in your mind's eye.

Why is it important to you? What would it mean to you to achieve success in this area and to be motivated? Check in with yourself. If this commitment feels important to you, consider the process. Sometimes we get stuck because the end goal seems so big and so far off. So it is helpful to break it down and to consider what one thing you can do might be. Focusing on that one small next step.

Let's call it a micro habit. Is there a micro habit you can experiment with? For me, for example, I write for 10 minutes a couple of times a week, and that's helped me make good on progress towards the completion of a book, which ordinarily would seem like such a big goal. And what about for you? What's one small step, one micro habit that you can begin to experiment with? Taking one small step in the direction of what you aspire to do, visualize what that step might be and how to install it in the rhythms and routines of your life. However, full that life may be. Again, how might I install this micro habit in the routines and rhythms of my full life? Inviting clarity about your micro habit.

Visualizing when, where, and how you will make it a part of your life. Keep visualizing. What does your micro habit look like? Where are you? And when will you do this micro habit? Just this, visualizing one small next step you can take. And as we bring this practice to a close, I encourage you to come back to this small step as a way to stay motivated, especially when you're not feeling particularly motivated. Take one small step, visualize the micro-habit.

I hope this meditation has inspired you to take one small action. And with that, I thank you for your attention. And I thank you for your practice.