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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
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Rich reflects on how we can draw on internal and external resources to spark motivation.
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.
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