I went to a waterpark with friends and it was really refreshing.
I’m emailing because I got a sudden idea and I just have to tell you about it ASAP.
But let me back up a bit.
As you may know, I have been working to feel less unmotivated and more fired up.
On June 5th, I read chapter 1 of Brendon Burchard’s Motivation Manifesto.
Burchard says motivation requires:
A. Ambition (a choice to do more) and B. Expectancy (belief that what you want is possible).
That second one, expectancy really jumped out at me,
because that is something I have been struggling with.
WHY?
Don’t get me started.
There are a million pieces of my life,
pieces of evidence, that I can point to that show that:
-things don’t work out,
-dreams don’t come true and
-a lot of bad things can and DO happen.
And while I’m a big believer in being prepared for the worst,
being REAL about problems rather than pretending they don’t exist…
I know it doesn’thelpme to be pessimistic.
And Burchard was a big shout in my ear to CHOOSE to change my focus.
To work through what I need to work through, and move towards optimism.
Not blanket positivity, but
optimism that things can
(and will)
get better, and
it’s possible to get what I want so it’s worth trying for change.
So it’s been two months, and I have been working on being optimistic.
What’s changed?
A few days ago, I started to feel a shift,
to feel the COURAGE to look towards the future +
see the future as a bright place where things can get better, and
release the fear that I’m caught in a cycle of repeating a lackluster past.
It takes choice and intention and work but…it’s getting easier.
This morning I was reading an email from my vitamin company, Caring Sunshine, and
it had a whole section on optimism:
“A number of studies have shown that optimists enjoy higher levels of wellbeing, better sleep, lower stress and even better cardiovascular health and immune function. In fact, a recent study has shown that being an optimist is linked to longer life.”
So in addition to being more motivated to deal with problems or go for my desires…
And make me feel happier…
Optimism will literally extend my life.
So what about you?
Could you be more optimistic?
Do youwantto feel more optimistic?
If you say yes to both of those questions,
I’m coming up with a cool free thing
starting Sunday August 4th…
More info is coming.
I’ll be sending you some emails about it so keep an eye out.
First I collected my best thoughts and inspirational pieces of writing to help me feel more fired up to do things.
Then I printed these motivational words and made a physical notebook with them.
I could leave it on my desk to open up each morning to be inspired and motivated (without being tempted to go on social media).
Feeding myself with inspiration daily was really making me feel fired up for several weeks.
And for a time, l even looked forward to the practice each day.
But over the last week I began to notice a sense of boredom creep in. Noo!!!
And I’m really not okay with it. Because feeling more motivated is super important to me right now.
I have a mountain of things that I’m trying to accomplish in the two businesses and my life.
This system has been working to get things done!
I don’t want to lose what is working but I can sense my willpower losing a battle to boredom.
So how to solve this?
First I figured, okay if I’m feeling bored, let’s mix things up.
I thought that what I really needed was a sense of novelty.
So I found ways to combine something new with what was already working.
Some of the things I did were:
-move everything around in my notebook so the pages were in a new order.
-find fun, artistic printables from other creators that I could add to my book, like coloring pages and templates from Canva.
(BTW apparently, you can type anything in Canva and find a worksheet that you can print out or customize.)
-set new little goals like writing gratitudes each day, and going to the gym once a week. I made a cute worksheet for each one using canva (see above).
All of that was kind of fun.
But I still felt a bit bored.
Next, I started to intentionally set up the next day up the night before:
-put sticky notes on certain pages on my notebook to direct my attention there the next morning.
-set up inspirational podcasts the night before on my computer, so all I had to do was just click play on that episode.
-dug up inspirational books I hadn’t looked at in a while and set them on my desk.
I was really committed to making this practice of motivating myself each day stick.
I am really committed to making this work because I have been getting fired up, getting things done and I don’t want to lose that.
However, even though I made all those changes, sometimes the whole thing still felt more like a chore
and less like a reward like it used to be.
This is the point where usually I’d just giving up.
And yet it’s been so effective, I cannot possibly let it go.
I’ve just got to figure out how to make it work.
One reason I’m so attached to my system is because now I’m regularly reviewing those priority thoughts that I don’t want to forget.
These thoughts came up in my journal, ended up in my digital archive, and then I printed them because
they’re just THAT important that I want to put them under my nose daily.
Ideas like:
-feeling safe is important to me making progress.
-I’m allowed to rest and I deserve it.
-I should track my time and delegate more in my business.
These are all ideas that I could have and then forget for another few years.
Correction: I have had them and then forgotten them for years already at this point. Probably more than once.
But now they are entering not only my thoughts, but my actions on a daily basis.
If I didn’t remind myself of them daily,
I am sure that I would be relearning the same lessons over and over again for years to come.
But instead they’re actually starting to become a part of my everyday life…
SO I AM NOT GIVING UP!!
This Monday was particularly productive and I was referencing a list of priorities in my notebook all day. I had to teach a class in the evening so it was a long day.
And then Tuesday morning I saw the notebook sitting there and was like, “UGH I’m so bored.”
And I realized, you know what,
what if this feeling isn’t actually boredom?
What if this feeling is being tired, or rundown?
Or maybe it’s from being overstimulated, coming down from way too much excitement?
The last week in American history has been insane, actually the last few weeks.
It’s been like a pot of hot water about to boil.
I felt like I had to check on it every five minutes to make sure it’s okay.
I’ve been on social media more than usual
to keep myself abreast of what’s going on and see what other people think.
I don’t find social media to be good for my mental health in general. And the news has been very intense.
So this was a lot.
I think that that’s why
when I try to sit down, get focused and do things, I feel ‘bored.’
But maybe I’m just tired or burnout and
I’m craving all of those exciting emotions that I get from social media and news crises.
It’s like being addicted to a stimulant and expecting that rush every day, and then crashing when it’s gone.
If it’s not there, things feel boring,
but at the same time, I’m kind of burnout from it.
I don’t really want more of it, but a part of me wants what isn’t healthy.
Trying to sit, calm down and look at my little notebook full of familiar wisdom feels boring
even though it is 100% the healthiest thing I could do for myself.
But this made me realize that the solution to my problem isn’t ADDING novelty, it’s about SUBTRACTING something else.
Sometimes we need to add a new ingredient to a recipe to make it taste better, but other times you just need to remove an ingredient.
So I think I need to cool it on social media and scrolling.
I need to take a breath and just get reconnected with slower pace of life to calm my nervous system down.
Then perhaps it will be easier for me to find joy in the little things again.
So that’s what I’ll try next for a few days or even the whole week.
That’s my update. Perhaps it is relatable?
Maybe you can add novelty or subtract overstimulation to help you do something.
It’s finally sunny after a month of rain, which is a nice change.
Today I have some words to share about
-a show that brought me to tears,
-a class I teach today &
-an interview on ungoaling.
Oh my goodness, upon writing this I have just finished watching the show Geek Girl on Netflix.
I recommend it,
the story of a neurodivergent girl going through bullying who takes an unexpected job as a model in order to change feeling disliked.
It brought me to the edge of tears a few times and made me feel really emotional. I relate to the main character’s struggles in little ways, and it rang a chord for me.
The main character is not labeled with a diagnosis, but she feels like she is different, like she can’t keep up with her peers or doesn’t belong.
At times, the movie had me internally shouting and rooting for the main character:
“When bullies bring you down, you get back up!”
I was hoping for a fire to light inside of her to keep her going, even when people were just mean.
It relates to some thing I work on daily, getting fired up.
Last week I had the pleasure of recording this interview with Ginny Robertson, from On Purpose Woman magazine.
(This took a few re-schedulings; our original date was the 10th…but it was worth the wait!)
The topic was UNGOALING
As you may know, the past few years I have been reevaluating everything.
Before my father died, my work was my main focus.
Now my priorities have changed.
Although I still have passions, desires, and responsibilities I spend time on, I no longer see work as more important than my personal life or my health.
I’ve UNGOALED in a sense, or become more loosely attached to my goals.
John Locke (1632–1704) is among the most influential political philosophers of the modern period.
“In the Two Treatises of Government, he defended the claim that men are by nature free and equal against claims that God had made all people naturally subject to a monarch.
“He argued that people have rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and property, that have a foundation independent of the laws of any particular society.
“Locke used the claim that men are naturally free and equal as part of the justification for understanding legitimate political government as the result of asocial contract where people in the state of nature conditionally transfer some of their rights to the government in order to better ensure the stable, comfortable enjoyment of their lives, liberty, and property.
“Since governments exist by the consent of the people in order to protect the rights of the people and promote the public good, governments that fail to do so can be resisted and replaced with new governments.
“Locke is thus also important for his defense of the right of revolution. Locke also defends the principle of majority rule and the separation of legislative and executive powers.”
I really enjoyed the feedback I got about it being relatable and easy to understand. It put a little pep in my step, thank you. Thank you to everyone who reached out.
In that final session we wrote and (literally) danced with our visions for the future 6 months from now and stayed open to the unknown.
It’s easy to overestimate our knowledge about the future. I’m trying to stay open minded.
Surprises live inside the things I don’t know.
When I stay open, wisdom can dawn on me.
Knowing everything that’s going to happen is actually a curse. It’s best to stay open.
KNOW THAT I DON’T KNOW IT ALL.
That’s how I learn new things. Through our group exercises, I embraced this.
That’s when I realized an assumption of mine:
I assumed once I finally do XYZ things, that weight that has been on my shoulders since 2021 would finally lift up.
BUT THIS IS A LIE
I realized that the weight is never going to wrap up. Not now.
Not now that I’m trying to salvage the family business…
This is a permanent responsibility I’ve gained.
Unless I give up (HA! Which I am not going to do)
The weight isnever going away.
The weight won’t change when I do XYZ.
There will always be more to do.
The weight is not going to disappear.
But I can change how heavy it feels to me.
HOW? By changing my relationship to the weight:
I don’t have to wait until I am done the whole mountain of things I need to do in order to feel a sense of freedom and release.
That’s where I need to shift my focus…
This one aha moment really put things into perspective for me…
I realized I need to put more energy into shifting this dynamic itself, and not just stressing about the tasks that need to be done.
I needed to start shifting something on the inside.
Specifically: to energize this new way I want to feel so I can tackle everything that I need to do, and feel better as well.
I NEED MORE FIRE.
Motivation is one thing-but feeling fired up is another.
To me it is a very specific feeling that drives me into action from a place of flow.
It’s very uplifting to my spirit, as well.
And from there I decided that I was going to do something new.
GET FIRED UP.
I opened up a document and start collecting pieces of my writing that express my fire. Words. Video. Audio.
I’m inspiring, I realized. People have told me that alot.
I should inspire myself more intentionally.
The document came together pretty quickly since I’m pretty on top of organizing my notes.
But this wasn’t going to be one and done. This is going to be a practice.
I decided was going to get fired up every day.
I was going to sit down and find the things that inspire my fire.
I will refer back to the materials I have collected every day.
Instead of stumbling on my inspirational words accidentally, I’ll make it a science.
My writings and words have inspired me to get out of a hole time and time again,
but over the upcoming weeks, I’ll explore them as well as the words of others in books, podcasts, videos, and so on.
EXPECT TO SEE MORE ON THIS TOPIC COMING UP!!
I have so much to share about my firey motivation discoveries, I’ll need to continue this in at least one more post…
But the final thing I’ll share today is that since putting my GET FIRED practice into place,
I’ve realized that
Being fired up matters because things in my life right now require bravery and vulnerability.
I can fail. It’s meaningful. It’s emotional. It’s unfamiliar.
That’s why it is hard. That’s why it is draining.
That’s why it’s like a mountain that makes my stomach drop.
And I am grieving, I am grappling with my mental health, I am tired or anxious or low sometimes.
Sometimes I feel really lonely in my experiences
I was raised by a single dad and used to belong to him. Now I’m in my 30s with no parents, a super small number of people I know locally, and I’m floating around a long way from home…
I need to be fired up to feel strong enough to do that heavy lifting that my life requires.
Motivation is not something I pray will bless me.
It is something that I move towards and seek out for myself, it’s a food that I imbibe daily.
There’s no rationalizing inspiration into an existence when it’s not there.
In that way it is pure.
If I don’t feel inspired or motivated,
if I wake up and it’s not there, I will find it,
in writing, in a book, in a podcast and so on.
And now that I am putting in the work,
I am seeing it appear more bit by bit.
This summer,
I’m diving deep into my words.
I’m flipping through old writings and notes every day.
I’m adding to it, highlighting, moving things around, and creating new stuff inspired by the old.
I’m listening to myself.
I’m remembering the things I SAID I wanted to make a priority.
I’m taking those wild, old ideas and turning them into reality.
Starting from the inside out.
It’s the ultimate self care practice. And I’m getting FIRED UP.
Do you want to find your ideas? Your notes?
You can join me, too, if you like!
Your journals, documents and ideas could be full of gold,
but how will you use it if you never look? Or use them?
Let’s dig in,
play with your ideas and
get organized so you can turn your ideas into gold.
We are 15 people strong! I can wait for us to get started this Thursday.
(It’s not too late to join our 3 Month Summer cohort! You will get all the replays of any class you missed and access to ask me any questions you have.)
the one I mentioned in my story above that really inspired me… The replay will be a bonus for members of the Digital Organization Club!
In this one hour class recording, get in touch with where you are going: your sense of direction and vision for the future. And receive important aha moments that will make achieving your writing or business goals that much easier! It’ll be included in your class hub delivered after you sign up.
New Video: Losing Your Ideas? Stop Asking This Question
I’ve been an entrepreneur for 10 years and I’ve published my writing online for about 25.
There has always been more I want to do.
But for a long, long time my progress was blocked by my inability to find all of my ideas.
I could not keep track of my big ideas. I had too many, and they felt scattered. I felt totally frustrated by the way they slipped through the cracks. Do you ever have that feeling?
To combat this, I’d write them down obsessively, and piles of notebooks began lining every surface.
I tried post its, index cards, spreadsheets, task managers but it was all missing something. It didn’t fix the problem I never seemed to “get there” to a place where I was living up to my true potential.
A common occurrence was picking up an old notebook from 3 years before, reading old ideas I’d written and forgotten and now was just remembering all over again…and thinking,
I HAD SUCH A GOOD IDEA, why did I do nothing with it?
The good news is that eventually I figured it out.
I had no idea how much organizing my ideas was going to change everything, which is why I’ve become so passionate about spreading the word.
I share the wrong question that I was asking myself about losing my ideas.
And then I share the question I began asking myself that helped me go from scattered to organized. It has made a huge difference in turning my life around.
New Interview: How Digital Organization Relates to Putting Yourself First
Andrea Hylen is one of my favorite podcast hosts! We had a lot of fun diving into this:
Something that really surprised me about organizing my notes and ideas is what I ended up getting out of it on a personal level.
That’s how I learned that organizing your notes is really putting your mask on first.
We don’t have a wide discussion going on about this yet in the self care community, in coaching, in the spiritual community, or even in the small business community but we really need to.
We need to linger on how digital organization for your notes and ideas is essential self care.
Why? Because it’s a conversation with the most important person in your life:
Yourself.
I talk about this essential conversation and what that means for your life and your writing with Andrea Hylen.
This post is about the fact that the more information you save, the harder it is to find anything. Here’s my journey with this and how I’ve overcome it.
