How To Pick Yourself Up When You Feel Unmotivated

Alright, I’m here with a vulnerable and honest chat with you today…using my genuine real life examples. Let’s jump in shall we.. 

I feel like I’m generally a really positive, upbeat person and I think that comes across here on my blog. It’s something I do really try and do to help uplift you as the reader and it is genuinely how I am the majority of the time. Seriously, my optimism is usually my biggest downfall and I am way too positive about some situations. BUT I feel like this might come across at times like I’m in this constant state of happiness and you don’t really get to see the whole picture. I have down days and times where I lack inspiration, fall off the fitness bandwagon or am simply dealing with feeling a bit “meh”.

Usually it’s for no real reason and nothing in particular has made me feel this way and yet I can’t bring myself to write or exercise or, well, just be my usual happy self. These sorts of slumps come and go in waves (it always dooesss...always doessss). Okay but seriously, they come out of nowhere and for no reason and I know a lot of you will relate.

For me, my biggest trigger of these moods is when everything in my life starts to calm down and become perfect. When I’m so used to going 100% then suddenly I finish that huge project at work, complete all my University assessment for the year and successfully move house…I get hit with this sinking “what now” feeling. I’m so used to jumping from one thing to the next that I don’t know what to do with myself when I’ve stopped to slow down. I want to tell you that in most circumstances it’s totally normal and there is no point beating yourself up over it…it honestly just makes it worse.

Sometimes it’s hormonal reasons that we can’t control that put us into these weird funks where nothing is wrong but you can’t get motivated. Let me tell you, it sure does make me appreciate my usually positive mood and I actually get jealous of myself like “why can’t I edit this video as quickly as I did last week” or “my blog content was so much better last month than it was this month”.

This negative mindset even tells me “you’re not doing as well at work this week as you did last” or “you’re eating more junk than usual so are probably going to gain heaps of weight this month”. Like…overdramatic much. You’re always your own worst critic, right?! Because in reality you’re probably performing at a similar level to how you usually do and it’s all in your head. There are some things you can do though to help pull yourself out of these weird mindsets that we can sometimes get into and have you feeling back to your 100% happy self in no time.

1. Cut yourself some slack 
The worst thing you can do is dig yourself deeper into a hole by becoming judgemental of the fact that you aren’t feeling 100%. Go easy on sitting there and judging yourself or trying to push yourself harder. Just feel what you are feeling and go with it. Be kind to yourself and treat yourself like you would a best friend feeling the same way you are.

2. Do things you love 
So you’re feeling uninspired? Take all the pressure off and do something you love with no expectations. Do you love writing? Well sit there and write whatever you want – you don’t need to post it online or have it be your next blog article. Just write because it’s what you enjoy. Another example is exercise. Don’t feel you have to beat your personal best…simply get outside and take your dog for a walk. Trust me, you will feel much better than not doing anything at all out of fear you won’t do it well enough (I’m super guilty of this one). This applies to anything; drawing, running, photography, painting etc.

3. Give it time 
If it’s something like a temporary hormonal imbalance there is nothing you can do other than follow the first couple of steps and give it time. Live your life like you usually would. Don’t cancel dinners or call in sick to work – getting on with what you usually would be doing will quickly snap you out of whatever weird mindset you are stuck in. Sometimes you really need to take a nap though…like if I’m overtired things start to go downhill.

4. Boost Your Confidence
The way you feel about yourself will directly affect your motivation and mood. Sometimes all you need to do is boost your confidence by getting your hair done or meditating on good thoughts for 20 minute. I recently posted a video with life trainer, Carly Bell, on how to be confident which you can check out here or watch below.



5. Talk about it 
Sometimes you can be stuck in a way of thinking that makes you see a situation as much more negative than it actually is. So to help you gauge the situation better and understand your own feelings, talking your emotions through with a loved one is seriously helpful.

So these are the things that have helped for me when I’m lacking motivation and inspiration. I really hope they can work for you too because I know this is such a common thing that is made to seem unusual…and that whole mentality makes it all the more of a struggle to snap out of.