We work harder for things we believe in.
So what can we do when we’re forced to work for things we don’t really believe in? Well, there are two options
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- Evaluate – do you actually need to do it/Is it really worth it, like seriously – a Job for instance, that you hate, but continue with because it’s easy, or makes enough money for you to be comfortable where you already are. Are you comfortable and growing as a person, understanding more about life and developing new skills whilst being comfortable?
- Reinspire yourself. If the answer to the above option was ‘ Errrm NO’… then our suggestion might be to quit that job and fun for the hills, for fear of becoming a boring old fart. If that answer was YES, but you’re feeling sluggish and unmotivated… then Re-inspiring might be the solution!
With most projects, careers, and relationships, we set off the mark as fast as we can, with burning desire for our goal and where we intend to go, yet its the constant re-inspiration that keeps us going, remembering who we are practising this journey for or why we do what we do in the first place.
Something else to remember, however, is that dreams really can change.
We spend a lot of time beating ourselves up about not feeling inspired to chase after our childhood dream, but when you step back and actually look at this… did you really really want to be a fireman, fly to the moon and build a spaceship for your cat?
Change is good, and in fact, change is one of the biggest reboots in the inspiration generator!
So, Here are our BIG 3 Musts for re-inspiring, motivating and uplifting yourself for your projects, relationships, and careers… especially in heatwaves like this, when all we want to do is lie down in every situation possible.
1: Change
‘Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change’ – one of our favourite quotes, and very powerful ones too!
The reason we lose inspiration for a lot of things we do is due to thinking negatively about them. It seems to be natural in this day and age that humans focus on the negative, and by doing so, shadow out the light.
What you give thought and mind power to will always grow, it will be in the forefront of your mind and affect the way you approach situations. When you are building something new and exciting there is bound to be a large UNKNOWN area in the sector you are moving into, and it can be very daunting. The easiest way to protect ourselves from this ‘unknown’ is to shy away from it, by thinking up negative thoughts about it, or reasons why it wouldn’t work – our fight or flight mode switches on.
Changing our negative thoughts by focusing on the positives are a great way to bring back belief in one’s self and confidence that what you are achieving is the right thing to do for you right now.
We appreciate that sometimes it can be hard to focus on the actual event you are working on in a positive light when it feels like everything is falling apart, so finding something else that you are grateful for in life and help change the directions of your spiralling thought patterns.
If you are working on a project that really bums you out sometimes, why not set an alarm on your phone every 90 minutes to remind you to stop, and take a moment to think of 5 things you are grateful for, or think of 5 moments in your life that made you really happy.
Can’t change your thoughts because outside things are still affecting you? How about an even bigger shift? Focus on what is really most important to you, or write a Pro’s and Con’s list – then evaluate everything together. Maybe you need to move house, get out of a negative relationship with a friend or loved one, or quite a job to work more on what you care about…
2:Resilience: Defined by most as the ability to bounce back, recover from setbacks and adapt well to change and keep going in that face of adversity.
Well, I don’t have that skill – you might say – screw this!
Like most brilliant things in life, however, everything can be learnt and worked on.
The best way to come back to inspiration through resilience is to remember why you are doing the thing you set out to do.
Write down weekly goals. Not goals of all the tasks you need to do that week to scrape by, but the big ones. Get re-inspired, and remind your self and this big badass universe where it is you are planning on going. You WILL build a cat spaceship, make 10 million pounds and have an amazing relationship with your partner and all your family members and friends.
Remember that there are 10 millions ways of achieving the same goal in life. Setbacks aren’t a failure, but a lesson, or a reminder of just how strong you are. The universe will never throw anything at you it doesn’t think you can handle. So look at those setbacks, and remember just how amazing, creative and strong you are to have changed tack, ploughed through and carried on with what you started. You are a force of nature – literally!
3: Outside Inspiration
It goes without saying, especially if you are creative – that it becomes easy to get self-righteous, feel like we don’t need outside help, or that we know everything and can’t share our ideas for fear of them being stolen. This can shut down a lot of our creative receptors, especially when we are focusing so hard on trying to make something work.
Sometimes when everything feels like a downward spiral, we try and fight it, which only ends up making it worse. The best thing we can do is accept these situations for what they are, take a break, and go and do something else – completely different, to uplift our spirits and reinspire.
Taking a walk in the park, visiting museums and art galleries, trying a new fitness class, gym, yoga class, meeting up with a friend, trying new activities, doing something that scares you, reading a book, painting, listening to music or going to a gig – sometimes we just need to get drunk and forget about it all so we can come back with a fresh perspective!
There are so many sources of outside inspiration that we can bring into our current situations to re-inspire. All we have to do is give them a chance.
So if you’re feeling bummed out, or having one of those days where everything is a distraction, why not give this another read, get out a pen and paper and write down some solutions that you know would work for you!?
We hope you found some use of this, and if you would like to get in touch, please don’t hesitate to do so by emailing [email protected]
Lilly Richardson
Bringing you stories to inspire, motivate and achieve. Lets create your sustainable life.