Podcast Episode #40
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[00:00:00] Welcome to the Extraordinary Life Podcast from the creator of the Extraordinary Life Tribe, Crystal Obregon, the self-development podcast propelling you forward toward your goals, using science backed high performance habits. Reach the next level in your physical and mental health. See new heights in your relationships.
[00:00:18] Gain clarity on your purpose and live your extraordinary life. Welcome your host writer, speaker and coach, Crystal Obregon. Hi there. This is a Crystal from Crystal Obregon Coaching with episode number 40 of the Extraordinary Life Podcast. I hope you enjoyed the interview with Debra Costella last week.
[00:00:43] I sure did have fun. And her energy is so infectious. Today though, I'm going to talk about what to do when your mental energy and motivation isn't at its best. [00:01:00] From time to time, almost everyone will find themselves in a rut. You might feel bored, disinterested. You might feel like you've lost some of your zest for life and feel tired, irritable, and unmotivated.
[00:01:17] You might feel like you'd rather hide under the covers than face the day. There might be no apparent reason, or you might feel overwhelmed by work sad about what's going on in the world, or just bored with the routine of your daily life. Just the other week. I was feeling exactly this way. Well, I did feel a little overwhelmed and we had gone from beautiful sunny skies to cloudy.
[00:01:49] Mostly I didn't have a reason, although I also could attach it to just feeling done with being at home all the time. While I'm a [00:02:00] home body and I do feel very fortunate to be less effected by the pandemic than most people's, it's still been a really long two years. And so you and I aren't alone, we all go through periods of time like this at some point, but an important strategy is to plan for these times, you know, they're going to happen.
[00:02:25] So have some tools in your toolkit to do something. Today, I'm going to share five tips to help you break out of the red and feel excited about life again before the mud dries and you get stuck. So first tip is to take a time out. Prolong stress can wear you out and zap your enthusiasm. And this can be a long or a short time.
[00:02:57] For a short time out, basically before [00:03:00] you do anything else, just take a few minutes to breathe and just be, try emptying your mind of all the stress and worry. This does take practice, but give it a try and don't give up as thoughts come into your mind, gently, push them back out and continue to keep your mind empty.
[00:03:21] And. Take slow, deep breaths and let all of your muscles relax. Sit quietly and recharge your batteries. Try to do this daily or even twice daily, or you can even do this in between different tasks during the day. We all need quiet time, as much as anything else. If it feels like it's too hard to just be still and let the thoughts go.
[00:03:51] Another option is tapping or EFT, emotional freedom technique. I talked about this back in episode. Number [00:04:00] 10 tools I use for feeling good. And it's a combination of positive psychology and activating different Meridian points by tapping on. I like to use it when I'm feeling too anxious or agitated for meditation, because it feels active.
[00:04:19] And I find that it works. If you need a longer break, sometimes just taking a day a weekend, a long weekend off can also really just shift your perspective and get you motivated again. The second tip is to get inspired. What I'm meaning is to get intentionally inspired. This can easily be part of your morning routine.
[00:04:48] You can read something motivational, inspirational, or uplifting. Some people actually will read something motivational out loud with feeling, and that [00:05:00] can really uplift your energy. Where you can look at some beautiful nature photos or read something humorous, consciously move your thoughts to a more positive place.
[00:05:13] On the other hand, try not to get too tied up in the news. Many people over consume. There's a lot out there that isn't too positive and it can drain or SAP your energy. Focusing on nothing but work or your daily task can leave you feeling uninspired, but it is easy to turn it around. If you want to, you just have to seek out the things that will lift your spirit and your mood.
[00:05:45] So make it a point to laugh. Some people will even make themselves laugh and be disjoined and lighthearted each time. Don't wait for the inspiration to come knocking on your door, go out and find it [00:06:00] or create it. Another thing to do is to conjure up some funnier touching memories, write them in a journal so that you can go back and read them.
[00:06:10] When you're feeling down. When I was feeling like this, if you, weeks ago, I ended up taking the afternoon off and then that night I asked my husband to watch a movie with. When that felt inspiring. I'd seen it before about a year ago, and I knew it had a nice ending. It was a movie that I'd usually save to watch with girlfriends or when I have a night to myself, but luckily he was willing to sit and watch it with.
[00:06:41] The third tip is to intentionally get excited. So think about the things you have planned for your day and rekindle, the enthusiasm you once felt for them. And sometimes it could just be one thing that is exciting about your day. [00:07:00] And that's one of the things that's in my daily planner that I fill out is what's something that you're excited about for the day, because when you first begin a new project or start a new job, you're excited about the possibilities, right?
[00:07:16] And you're eager to get moving, but over time you can lose that enthusiasm for a variety of reasons. So try traveling back in time for a moment and just think about what got you so excited at the beginning. And oftentimes it's the outcome of the work that gets you excited about what you're doing. For example, you might not be excited about going to the gym, but the outcome of feeling strong in your body can make it exciting.
[00:07:47] So try and recapture that feeling and hang onto it. Even if your tasks aren't anything to get excited about, think about the positive benefits of doing them. Will they [00:08:00] benefit your children, your spouse, yourself, your job coworkers, or your home, identify the payoff and focus on that instead of the actual task.
[00:08:11] Because even the most mundane tasks have some benefits, otherwise you wouldn't be doing it sometimes. It's just a matter of switching your mindset to see the positive side. If that's not working. Another trick is to start thinking ahead to something you're planning in the future. That's exciting because I was less motivated over the weekend to do my lesson spiring tasks.
[00:08:38] I switched gears to work on some travel planning for the summer. I'm really excited to take my son on a couple of road trips to mountain bike races, and it's something I enjoy doing in my twenties. And it will be fun to support him. Plus I love being in the mountains of Utah, Colorado. So [00:09:00] it's a win-win for me.
[00:09:02] The fourth tip is to take baby steps. Sometimes the hardest part is getting started. If a project seems so monstrous that you cringe at the thought of all that time and effort and energy that you have to expend, then take small steps instead of overwhelming yourself. For example, set a timer for 15 minutes and just start working on it, whatever it is, allow yourself to stop after 15 minutes, if you really want to.
[00:09:36] But most likely once you got started, you won't want to do. Another way of doing this is to break your project or your goal at the end of three to five parts, and then break each part down into manageable tasks and then take those on one step at a time. Any large project seems manageable once you break it [00:10:00] down into smaller steps.
[00:10:02] You know, when you're able to check these steps off, you can see the progress and the momentum and it spurs you on. Lastly, and this was an important one for me is taking care of your body. Sometimes your feelings of fatigue are caused by physical deficiencies. Not mentally. Be sure you're getting enough rest eating food that nourishes your body and mind that you're drinking enough water and getting enough exercise for me.
[00:10:36] I know I wasn't sleeping well, good. Old peri-menopause has been kicking my butt. So I was starting the day off tired or. If I managed to sleep in, so I did get enough sleep. I wasn't getting up early enough to do my morning routine that I know makes me feel good. Then it all gets [00:11:00] compounded because if you're tired, then you tend not to eat well.
[00:11:05] And then when you're really busy, you may grab the quickest, easiest meals, which aren't always the best choice for your body. So over that weekend, I made sure that I got enough sleep. I've been working with different modalities to work on my sleep, got plenty of exercise, which also helps my sleep then planned my meals for the week so that I wouldn't be as likely to make less than optimal choices for meals.
[00:11:37] When in doubt, just go back to the basics of what you know, makes you feel good. Finally. Remember to reward yourself from time to time and be gentle with yourself. There'll always be things that need to be done, but if you take on more than you can handle, life can turn into quite the pit of [00:12:00] drudgery.
[00:12:01] Also try to eliminate the things that truly don't bring you joy, or at least minimize the time you spend on them. Do what you can and then let the rest go or ask for help. Don't feel like you have to do everything yourself. Remember that motivation just like happiness is something that you choose. You may have to give yourself a push or a reminder at the beginning, but once you get in the right mindset, it's simple to stay there.
[00:12:34] If you choose to. And I will add a disclaimer because sometimes it is not a choice. You'll know if it's a choice. Please do seek professional help. If you're finding a hard time bouncing back, this is not meant to be a mental health diagnosis. There's no shame in getting whatever type of help that you need.
[00:12:58] And with that said, [00:13:00] if you are feeling stuck and you're ready to focus on moving out of confusion and into clarity and would like support in doing that, please reach out by email or social media and, or make an appointment for a free no-pressure consultation to see if my coaching program would be a good fit for you.
[00:13:23] That is it for now. Please have a terrific week and I will see you in here next time. Bye for now. Thank you for listening to the extraordinary life podcast with writer and coach, Crystal Obregon. We'd love to connect with you outside of the podcast, too. To find more helpful insights, show notes and more about crystal.
[00:13:45] Go to crystal oprah.com. O B R E G O N, where you will also find info for the Design Your Decade workshop. This workshop will help you to stop drifting and start creating. Until next time [00:14:00] be extraordinary.
