Feeling Completely Over It? Here's How the Power of a Decision can Overcome That
I think almost everyone is over it at this point. Over this Pandemic, over this winter, snow, and the cold. Or being single, married, you name it. Just OVER IT! So how on earth do we muster up any motivation to keep going and get through? It seems impossible, it seems like a futile effort. After all, 2020's cousin 2021, is still here, lol.
It’s only February but it feels like we’ve been through plenty already. Lockdowns, Capitol Hill takeover, and snowmageddon in Texas to name a few. But believe it or not, as much as it feels like it, all hope isn't lost. If you're even reading this I would say it's because you hope that somewhere in this article there's a glimmer of hope that you can get down with to turn that frown upside down. And you would be right in that assumption. We're talking about the power of making a decision and the 3 ways to get there so that circumstances outside of your control don’t dictate how you're going to feel. Because why? Feelings aren't facts sis.
Writing this article, believe it or not, took me FO-EVA. I just wasn't in the mood. Didn't want to write, and would rather binge-watch this new show on Netflix. I had to take a minute out and figure out what was stopping me from doing what I not only knew needed to be done but also what I know somewhere deep inside I do enjoy doing. So the timing of this topic (decided on before I got into a major slump) is timely even as a reminder for me. I'm going to share the simple 3 things I did to muster up the motivation to finish off this article.
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Take a time out.
Everyone deserves a timeout and not just in sports. To avoid burnout and inflict harm on our mind, psyche, or body...we all need a break from time to time. The key is not to let that break go on and on. I started writing this article about a week ago and the intention was to publish it on Thursday, Friday at the latest. But only on Sunday was I able to hit publish.
You will go through moments when you vehemently don't feel like doing anything. Don't feel like pushing through. Don't feel like being positive. Don't wanna do the work, you name it. Just nothing. In those moments, likely what you would perhaps be able to muster up would be bad anyway. The energy with which you would produce would be laced with resentment, anger, sadness, or a cocktail of all three. So allow yourself a moment to woosah. Exhale!
Pray or write it out.
After you've taken a minute, a day, or even a week, journal it out or pray it out. Give words to your feelings to better help you work through them. You may not even understand why you have the feelings you do. Using me and getting this article done as an example, I couldn't necessarily say why I didn't feel like writing it. But what I did was take a minute in my prayer closet and just talked to God about it. My prayers sound like regular conversations many times. Nothing super spiritual or deep. Just talking to my God. In doing so I was reminded to seek inspiration.
If you decide to write it out, you’d be surprised by the introspective insight it can provide. Doing a “brain dump” of sorts allows you to clear your mind and give way to other thoughts. The goal here is to not wallow in emotions and feelings but instead after having our time out, talk ourselves out of it.
I know for sure what we dwell on is who we become -Oprah Winfrey
Find inspiration.
This can literally be anything. A poem, a book, magazine, picture, a song. Look for something that ordinarily brings you joy of some sort. What I ended up doing was flipping through a magazine. Nothing spoke to me at first, but halfway through I landed on a picture of a "dream kitchen". (I love interior design and decor by the way). I looked at this picture and it reminded me of one of my ultimate goals. See, what we're working towards is what we need to keep at the forefront of our minds. A happy marriage, a peaceful life, a successful career or business, a dream home.
Writing on this blog consistently is "just" a piece of the puzzle. Don't get me wrong, I love writing, which is why I've chosen this avenue to get to the goal. But there's more than one way to skin a cat. My point is that to get to the finish line you have to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Athletes get time-outs in sports, so allow yourself some grace along the way. But you have to keep going, even when the going gets tough.
Here's where making a decision comes in. Seeing the picture of the dream kitchen could've evoked all sorts of happy and dreamy emotions, but I still had to DECIDE to turn this laptop on and get to writing. We will be presented with that "fork in the road" when we have to make a decision to either do something our future selves will thank us for or lean into a feeling of despair again and again. Daily we're forced with decisions on how we're going to chose to live our life. Our life in essence is therefore a sum of all our decisions.
I was presented with this decision to write or not write every day for a whole week before I chose to go "right". And trust me, pushing through doesn't always feel good in the moment. Only afterward can we look back and say "thank you" to our past selves for making that right decision.
Conclusion.
We’re all bound to have moments when we’re completely over it. And that’s fine. It’s not only normal, it’s also very much allowed. The key is to not remain in a state of being done with life and therefore no longer pursuing our dreams. To do that, we have to make a decision to take action.
Making a decision isn’t always easy, but if we take a moment to remember why it is we want what we want, we can muster up the motivation to do what needs to be done. Although not always easy, it’s certainly doable. And that’s all it needs to be for you to overcome the slump and accomplish your goals.
Stay Blessed!