Un·mo·ti·vat·ed
un·mo·ti·vat·ed (adjective) : not having interest in or enthusiasm for something, especially work or study.
What do you do when you find yourself unmotivated? Do you give in and sit in your unmotivated space? or do you do something specific to get yourself out of it?
Some people may refer to their unmotivated space as a “depressed space” or '“feeling down” or “feeling blah”.
Is there a right or wrong answer to this question? …Not really. I want to say that most people would rather be in a motivated upbeat mood rather than an unmotivated blah mood, but sometimes you can’t help it. So, should we definitely do something to get ourselves out of this mood or is there some value to sitting in this space?
Well, this question doesn’t really have a direct answer. Are you someone who is stuck in this space a lot? Or are you someone that gets stuck in this space once a month for a day and you’re ready to go the next? Your answer to this is important because one has long term affects on your life and the other may be caused from burnout and all your mind needs is a break for a day. It’s okay to take a break once in a while, but that’s not the unmotivated space we’re talking about here.
We’re talking about unmotivated space that lingers, for days or weeks or even longer. Now, at this point in my life, as many of you, I have found myself in unmotivated space. I think most people have found themselves there once in a while. And although I am the type of person to do what I need to get myself out of unmotivated space, I have also found some value in staying in this space. I have found value in staying in this place and reflecting on my feelings. Sometimes we need the silence to look within to figure out what is going on and why we feel certain ways. But then again, my background and expertise is focused on the brain and mental health, so allowing myself to stay in this space alone is beneficial because I speak to myself the same way I would to a client and getting out of this space is a little easier because I know the right questions to ask myself in order for me to figure out what’s going on within.
So as you can see, I don’t have a black and white answer for you. It’s all in the grey area.
Now, because we are in the grey area, and I like to promote positive thinking and healthy habits, I want to talk about ways you can pull yourself out of that unmotivated, depressed, blah space.
First step, define your habits and the actions you take when in your unmotivated space. Some people eat junk food and binge watch shows. Some people lay in bed and watch TikTok all day. Whatever your thing is, identify it.
Step two, ask yourself, are my actions and habits (from step 1) unhealthy? If so, how can I switch them up a bit? How can I get a little healthier?
Step three, ask yourself, do I need this mental break? If your answer is yes, give yourself boundaries and limits. A timeframe that you will allow yourself to stay in this space. If chocolate and netflix is your vice, allow yourself a couple of episodes and 1 chocolate bar instead of a whole day on binging of tv and junk food. The hardest part here is to adhere to those limits.
Step four, probably the most important step, PRACTICE POSITIVE SELF TALK. Throughout this process, you have to practice positive self talk. One of the biggest reasons people stay in their negative unmotivated space is because they push themselves further down by talking down to themselves.
For example, while watching your netflix and eating that chocolate bar, most people will think to themselves “What are you doing? Why are you so lazy? You said you wanted to workout, but here you are eating a chocolate bar in bed. Well, you already started this day as a lazy human, can’t turn it around now.” what if we switched those phrases to “You deserve a break. You had a long week and need a mental break. One chocolate bar isn’t going to ruin my gym routine, as a matter of fact, after this episode is over, i’ll motivated myself to go for a run. I’ve done great lately, I’ll allow myself a break and get back to work after I release my stress.”
Sometimes, we need to embrace our struggles, external and internal, and we need to normalize them. Your struggles don’t define you, they are just part of life. This embrace is powerful and it will only strengthen your inner will.
