Hi, it's Rich here. I've been asked to answer the question, how do I get motivated when I don't feel motivated? That's a good one. And I can say that for me, it happens all the time. It totally happens to me. I play hooky or skip out on things that I know I should be doing, but that I just don't feel motivated to do.

It happens actually on quite a regular basis. And for me, the important thing is not that it happens, but how I navigate it. So I really want to highlight that distinction, that not feeling motivated is actually a perfectly natural thing. We don't always have the focus and the energy and the intention to do what we normally would aspire to do, even if we know it's good for us. But realize that this is just a state, which is something transitory.

A set of circumstances, feelings, energy levels that are temporary. They're not traits which are fixed and permanent. So just understand that not feeling motivated is often a state and it's a state that you can navigate. And I use that word navigate on purpose. Because the good news is that there are internal and external resources you can draw on when you need to spark motivation.

And when you need to navigate those times where you're not feeling motivated. So some internal resources include how you manage and direct your energy and attention and how you create opportunities for rest and renewal and recharging. External sources include finding sources of inspiration and motivation beyond your routines. So let's explore both of these. When you feel like your motivation is waning, which again, it will, from time to time, tune in to your inspiration.

This is a form of an internal resource that you can draw on from time to time when you need to reignite your motivation. So for example, reconnecting with your intention for doing something, such as your job. Reconnecting with your purpose, your cause, or your vision. Even though you might not feel motivated in this moment, if you can start to shift your focus on the why. Why what you do is important? That can be really helpful.

For example, are you wanting to get fitter so that you could have more energy for your work and your life at home? If so, envision what that would feel like to you and to those around you. But let me give you my own example. There are often so many different people that I have to interact with and that I have to address. I have a very broad stakeholder group of people, people who really care about the work we do and to whom I have to, in some ways, manage expectations for. So that can be really taxing and demanding at times.

Other times it can be super energizing and engaging. But when I do feel taxed by it, when I do feel like the demands are great and I'm a little bit weary, I sometimes will just close my eyes in silence and remember why I do the work I do. For me, I'm one of those people that feels like I'm living the dream, as they say. Super, super happy to be doing the work in the world that I'm doing around mindfulness and emotional intelligence and leading the efforts of an educational institute that works all around the world to help people have access to these skills. And so when I connect with that, that we are making mindfulness and emotional intelligence practical and accessible so that people can develop the skills to flourish, it kind of inspires me.

And so when I can really touch into it, feel what that feels like, envision what that looks like for my work, I oftentimes, even after a space of 30 seconds and a few breaths and a few recollections of purpose and intention, can often pivot and feel re-energized. That's just a small example. So now let's talk about some external resources. There's really two things I might suggest in terms of external resources that might help you with motivation. The first is to reach out.

Reach out to people and things which inspire you. Reach out to friends, trusted colleagues, anyone who can be an ally to you in terms of helping you reconnect with motivation of your why. In other words, they can help remind you of what is your why, your why for doing things, for engaging in certain work, for choosing certain directions in life. And they can remind you, if they are trusted friends or colleagues who are allies and who are there to support you, they can remind you of your why and that might reinspire and re-motivate you. The second suggestion I have is to change your context.

So when you're not feeling motivated, an external resource you can draw on is changing your context. I can be sitting at my computer, trying to grind and power through and get some work done, but feeling really demotivated throughout. And what often works for me is to just simply change my context. For me, it's taking a walk outside. Going outside is like a huge reset for me.

For me, it's connecting with the expansiveness of nature, getting out of my own head and into something bigger than myself. Try it next time you feel de-motivated or a little stuck. Change your context. It may allow for a shift, a break in the monotony. Because, you know, as human beings, while we benefit from routine, we also like newness, surprise and awe.

The expansiveness benefits us. The unstructured time benefits us. And this can be particularly inspiring when we're stuck in a rut. What I'd like to suggest or invite you to try is to get creative about how you might connect with the expansiveness of the world around you. It can be really simple, like taking a walk outside or in a park, or it could be much more extensive.

Perhaps going on a retreat or doing a creative workshop or taking some time off or even a vacation. Whatever it is, changing your context can be super helpful for resparking motivation when you don't feel motivated. So I want to thank you for your time and attention today. And I wish you well as you work with some of these approaches for trying to find ways to navigate those times of feeling unmotivated. How to motivate yourself when feeling unmotivated, importantly, as with all of these suggestions, I'll invite you to be kind and gentle with yourself.

Knowing that the experience you're having is really natural, that a lot of people have this experience. It's a common human thing that we all share, this feeling at times of being unmotivated. And that the practices and suggestions that you heard about today may add a small measure towards helping you feel motivated when you don't feel motivated. So thank you again, and I wish you well. Take care.