Staying Motivated

It seems silly talking about anything else but this virus right now and honestly, it's such a bummer. It's so hard to stay positive or to stay motivated. It's been almost two weeks since our lockdown started. I don't know about you but I'm trying to minimise my use of social media because being bombarded with fake news and memes and news articles doesn't do me any good. I don't want to watch any more episodes of my series because it seems like a waste of time, I don't feel like exercising or baking or learning a new skill or working. I do hardly anything all day but yet I'm exhausted.

These circumstances are not normal, noone is used to this. People (especially people like me) live for routine and when that routine is shaken up a bit it's understandable that you're struggling to find any sort of motivation. Everything has suddenly changed and you need to find a new normal. What makes it harder is that there's no sort of end date, no goal to work towards so it's hard to know how to pace yourself.

If you read my last post you'll see my tips for self-isolation and you'll probably notice that I am a very routine oriented person, I like to set myself goals and write to-do lists. It's sad to say but I get a little kick when I can put a line through a task when it's finally been completed. However, when I don't do what I set out to achieve that day I get very disappointed with myself and I feel like I've failed. Shortly after I published that post I slowly starting becoming less and less motivated to do anything, the weather became miserable here in Monaco so I couldn't really go outside, I'm feeling pretty lonely and homesick, I've just about finished my work for the boat and I could feel my very well managed routine slowly slip away until one morning I was so tired and so down I could barely get up.

So you know what I did? I listened to my body. After I served breakfast I got back into bed, closed my eyes and just concentrated on my breathing for a hour and a half. I guess in a way it was my way of meditating. My mind and my body needed to come to a place of rest in a comfortable place so I could start feeling peaceful and accept what was going on. I would love to tell you that after that hour and a half I just stood up and was fully motivated again but nothing is ever an easy fix. No, I definitely felt better and I did feel a little more motivated but I was still not feeling myself.

Throughout the last few days I've had to bring myself to come to terms with pacing myself and to stop piling on the pressure. I've started to change my thought process from thinking of all the things I should be doing to the things I actually want to do that day. We've been given this time to stop, recalibrate and rest. So why not take the time do things we enjoy. It's okay if I don't exercise every day, it's okay if I don't do something super productive every day, it's okay if the weather was too cold to sit outside. When I do complete a task I praise myself. Nothing crazy but a mental 'Well done, you did it' instead of 'Okay, now for the next thing' is starting to change that feeling of failure into tiny feelings of accomplishment.

I know it's hard and I know it's frustrating but hang in there. You are strong enough to get past this. Be grateful for this quality time with your household, reconnect with your body and your mind and don't put too much pressure on yourself. Remember that even the worst storms eventually run out of wind and this will too.