You read that right. Skip the motivation; it's not worth the headache to keep up with.
I promise, I haven't totally lost my marbles, stick with me. Motivation is a fleeting feeling and nothing more. We give motivation far too much credit when we reach our goals. How often have you heard something along the lines of "Get Motivated, Get Healthy?" To that I say no thank you! There's something far more effective out there.
I don't know about you, but motivation has never won any battles for me. Motivation never crossed a finish line or met a deadline for me. That's not what its for! Motivation is really good at being that swift kick in the pants we all need at some point. Who hasn't had a big wake up call? Mine was spending nearly two months without being able to stand upright. I had a serious moment of reflection going over all the available options. Let me tell you, none of those options were appealing. I had to blaze my own trail and hope the path wasn't trial by fire. I still have bad days where I'm unable to lift or carry much, each one of them have been improvements on the original issue.
Motivation is great at dramatics. Follow through? Not so much. I have not woken up everyday looking at all my options to support my back issues. I wake up everyday scanning my pain levels and picking my battles. From motivation we find our "why", our true reason for action. That "why" is the slow burning determined force that keeps passion lit. "Why" is not big or dramatic, it is grit to keep going. They sound and feel similar at times, but they are dramatically different when it comes to results. "Why" crosses finish lines and meets deadlines. "Why" chooses to follows through.
Follow through is where it's at! After a dramatic kick, we find the "why." Then what? Keep at the thing until you've found follow through. I know, it is so much easier said than done. I think it's important to recognize force. Motivation is forceful, to me it can be almost angry. I have to force myself to feel motivated- which is a lot of wasted energy on a feeling. "Why" is kinder, lovingly gentle. I spent years trying to motivate myself to work out, eat right, and pray often. How much time do you think I dedicated to any of those? Motivation has no follow through. I found a solid reason to keep at each of my goals. If you get down to it, I found lots of tiny reason to keep moving. Affirmations have been incredibly helpful to me. I remind myself I am strong. I tell myself I can keep going. Some days I have to tell myself it's okay to stop and rest. Affirmations fuel my follow through.
Now, I haven't exactly listed out a bulletproof plan to meet your goals. The truth is there really isn't one perfect plan. We can talk about SMART goals, which clearly work for plenty of people- more power to them. I've been keeping SMART guidelines, the less specific, less less measurable, less achievable, less relevant, less time-bound cousins of SMART goals. I have a general idea where I want to go, but each of my goals is more abstract. Frankly, SMART goals are too rigid for me, or I can get too rigid for them. Rigid is bad for self care, which happens to be at the heart of this new system. I've found that taking care of myself builds a strong foundation I can use to take care of others. Pouring from an empty cup is impossible and I think I've finally learned my lesson. These SMART guidelines boil down to self compassion and self care- tools that are used to build a strong foundation that can be added to. Far more effective than letting some emotion blow around like a hurricane.
Speaking of affirmations, I've put together some great digital posters you can download at home! Take a look here.
Take care of yourself, dear reader.
Peace to you,
Willow R
Essential oil specialist
Owner, Rooted in my Strength
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