Cosy season? Or just dark and cold?
...How to stay motivated as our energy dips.
It’s cosy season! A time when the days get gradually shorter, the weather a bit colder, and our energy begins to dip. The cosy blankets and fluffy socks come out, and maybe the summer clothes get packed away. For some this is a really comforting season, and for others, as our energy dips so does our motivation and mood.
In coaching sessions this week we’ve been talking about our motivation to do the things that are important to us. We’ve explored how to keep the motivation going with good habits throughout autumn and into winter; how to create new habits that we know will make us feel better; or to break through procrastination.
There are a couple of simple things that really help me as my energy and motivation dips throughout the darker months:
Identify what is important to me and why.
Understand the cause of my lack of motivation or procrastination.
Think about my future self.
I spent a lot of time focussing on what I thought I ‘should’ do. Once I’d identified this tendency I began to realise that generally the ‘shoulds’ aren’t actually important to me. I need to focus on the ‘wants’ and ‘needs’.
My procrastination often comes from trying to strive for a perfect outcome and my lack of motivation can sometimes come from a fear of failure or of not getting it right. It can also simply come from dipping energy and a desire to stay comfy and cosy. Often my present self wants to stay cosy, wants to stay on the sofa, or wants to use as little effort as possible. That feels much better in the present moment than getting on with work, going outside, or walking in the rain to the yoga studio. But what about my future self?
When it comes to breaking through my procrastination I take a moment to think about my future self. What is going to help my future self out? Will getting off the sofa and going to a yoga class help future me out? Will taking some rest now help my future self out? Will saving that bit of money rather than spending it help future me out? Will braving the cold and going out for a walk and some fresh air make my future self feel a bit better? Will facing a fear now be beneficial for my future self?
When we struggle to do what we know we need to do it’s simply down to wanting to feel good now. For me a pause and moment to think about how my future self might feel can be the perfect motivation to act, whether it’s a small thing or a big scary life changing thing! Simple but effective.