Waiting for motivation

I’ve had a slow start to the year compared to 2023. While I didn’t set intentions in 2023 (see my previous article about this), I hit the ground running as soon as I got back from my holiday trip to visit my parents in Colorado and I rannn for months. It was fun and exciting!

This year (2024), despite creating resolutions and goals, I struggled a bit to get going. Anyone else?

*Just a reminder here that comparison is the thief of joy! Whether you’re comparing yourself to yourself or to other people, it’s really not helpful and takes you away from the present moment of your life.

ANYWAYS

I’ve found inspiration in the past few days— from hearing about some great wins from clients to settling back into my daily routines — I’m ready to go.

(Also, we’re only 12 days into the new year, so “calm down Elaine,” I know!)

One thing I know to be true is that waiting for the “motivation” to get started never gets me what I want. In the past, I have been stuck for days, weeks, or months waiting for motivation to strike, and that has left me at the whim of circumstance to dictate how I get to live and what happens to me.

So, instead of waiting for motivation, I know I just have to move. Take action first, and momentum and motivation builds to keep me going.

This happened in my own health journey. A couple of years ago, I was sparked into action when my dad got sick, and I realized I needed to be taking better care of myself. As I began to eat better, prioritize sleep, exercise, and find belonging in a spiritual community, I found myself in an upward spiral towards feeling better, each change leading to motivation to do the next, and the next, and the next.

By improving my health, I gained the confidence and clarity I needed to make some big changes in my life to realign with my purpose. Over the next six months, I

• ended a 2.5-year relationship that was fine but wasn’t aligned with my long-term goals (which I’d known for a while but didn’t have the confidence to leave).
• decided to move on to my next career, knowing I had accomplished all I could in the place I was. I knew that my desire to grow needed to be nurtured, and it was okay to strive for more.
• moved out of an apartment that had been home for five years in search of new energy.

It didn’t all happen at once. It wasn’t easy. And it wasn’t serendipitous. This transformation took hard work, intention, and consistent forward action.

I recently conducted a market research survey for overwhelmed, purpose-driven women who are seeking harmony between their desire to make a difference in the world and their need to nourish their own body, mind, and soul without guilt. In response to the question, “What do you think you need in order to see a positive shift in your struggle areas?”, so many women said that they need to see results, progress, some wins…

But how are you going to see results if you’re waiting to make a change until you see results? Yes, we need to see results to prove to ourselves that we can actually do it, and the only way that’ll happen is by starting anyway. Regardless of whether circumstances are perfect or the time is “right” or you are totally motivated. You just have to get started.

So how do you get yourself to take that first action when you’re not motivated? Connecting to your motivation to change (not your motivation to go to the gym or eat the vegetable), coming up with a foolproof plan for you, and setting up accountability for yourself so you can’t not do it! More on that next week.

​In the meantime, if you are ready to set the direction of your life and health and prepare for action, check out my free, 5-day masterclass — Resolution Restart 2024 — from January 29-February 2. I’ll be live with you in Zoom every day, getting you set up with manageable, actionable resolutions that’ll transform your health and life. Sign up here.