Are you stuck? Tips to Reignite your motivation!

We all get stuck in our life, even when outwardly other people think we have our shit together. I know for me I have been stuck on a number of occasions. Here are some of my common causes for a lack of motivation and causing that icky, yucky, stuck feeling…

1. Just too many no’s or closed doors! No-one likes a no, I certainly don’t! As a former COO and VP of Business Development, you think I would get used to no’s and to the push backs. I can handle a few of them, but there gets to a point when it becomes very un-motivating and that why bother energy starts to surface.
2. It just becomes too hard. I love a challenge but when that challenge is too grand or there is a constant stream of them I become very un-motivated. For me I find it usually has to do with not being able to get the answer quick enough so I loose interest. I know I love a challenge, because I love to work things out, but when it it is too hard forget it!!
3. Not following through on ideas or finishing of projects (because I am distracted by other things). I find that if I have ignored finishing a project that I should be finishing I become stuck and nothing else seems to work.
4. A lack of joy in the task, project and work. This comes from i)when others are not valuing what I am doing ii) I am not seeing the benefits of the work that I do or iii) trusting the work I am doing is adding any value. I know that our self-worth is meant to come from within and I should not look to others for validation. But you know what! I love a bit of validation it is very motivating, it helps me feel fulfilled. So when my joy gets zapped so does my motivation.
5. Extreme emotions: Extreme emotions positive (eg. extreme excitement, anticipation anxiety) or negative (anger, resentment jealousy). These feelings can really take over my brain and well I can’t think of anything else – I am consumed with them so I become stuck!
6. Did an old pattern take me to the path of being stuck? From our life experiences we learn to act, behave, and think in certain ways. Sometimes these patterns are not healthy and are the root cause for our lack of motivation. I know for myself that to discover these patterns I had to work with a professional and now that I know them I can address them when they resurface. Old patterns even when we have worked with them in the past like to find ways to be re-triggered and can lead to some pretty un-motivating feelings!

(This is in no-way an extensive list and maybe you have your own causes I would love to hear about yours!)

So when I am in this stuck space, I just know I have to reignite my motivation to help me push past my blocks.

So these are the strategies I use to unblock my feeling of being stuck! (Maybe you have your own strategies – would love to hear about yours!)

1. Meditation and Visualizations: when I am struggling and find myself stuck I look to my meditation area and sit.  I actually get good ideas and or it allows my mind to reset, which allows for more good ideas and motivation to follow.
2. Walk: I go for a walk in the neighborhood (where there are lots of tress) I find walking helps me clear stagnant energy and re-energizes me. Yoga or exercise that brings me joy also helps!
3. Energy work: I give myself a reiki treatment with a crystal layout to help address the topics that are blocking me, followed by a tarot reading. N.B. On an energy level, the solar plexus chakra, the energy center at our belly button, is a common area to feel stagnant so focusing our energy here can really help! Citrine and honey calcite are nice crystals to work with to ignite our motivation or unblock that stuck feeling! Another area where we may feel stuck is in our third eye – Amethyst is a great crystal to work with when we feel mentally stuck.
4. I chat to peers, mentors and people I trust to give me tips and advice to help get me out of my funk.  You would be surprised how a 15min conversation can turn a self- declared pitty party into motivated action. For when I have been really stuck I found life coaching and seeing a therapist really helped me a tonne.
5. Choosing to stay stuck!  I know this sounds weird but sometimes choosing to stay unmotivated and stuck is a good thing, because on these days where that energy won’t shift (no matter how much I meditate, exercise or talk to others),  I decide to do something for myself and not related to the area that got me stuck (so if it was work, then I do something not work related and if it is family related – I get myself out the house!).  I am sometimes surprised that taking your focus away from the topic can be all that is needed to get the creativity and motivation to flow again.

If you find that you need help getting motivated again try some of these tips. Because (in my opinion) the reason we become stuck is that we have a ‘lack of space’ to i) objectively see what we need or ii) worse, we don’t see that we are stuck in one of our old patterns controlled by a faulty belief, which makes us feel stuck. And the key to getting out of the being stuck funk is ‘space’! Either we give space to our-selves or create it by working with others – this is what allows us to become unstuck and re-motivated. If you find that you can not shake that stuck feeling – stop suffering and reach out to other people who can help you get back on track. If you are interested in working with me for life coaching or need some tips for a personal reboot- please feel free to reach out.