There are so many ways to keep yourself motivated and the primary way is to remember your WHY. Do you have a “why” or even know what having a “why” truly means or understand you do not even have a why. If you have no reason to achieve your goal of overcoming your disease then you do not have a “why”. It is kind of like being on a treadmill and never going anywhere or by allowing others such as the doctors to determine your path of action when you encounter a disease or illness.
Surround yourself with your WHY. I create a soul collage by working in words, symbols, pictures. Then I keep that in a place where I have my eyes on it daily. I enjoy creating art so this tool is right up my alley. This is one tool you can use to help you heal and remember your Why in order to heal.
Being around people that support you while you are ill or have a disease. Having a support system during times of illness of disease is very important. You do not have to do it alone. You are not the only one that has gone through this before.
Watch videos, go to workshops, watch church in the morning by this I mean someone who motivates you. All these things can support you to stay inspired. Think about books that are motivating or small quotes that help you to stay self motivated. Put those small quotes on sticky notes around your house or your office where you work.
When you are willing to eat right for you to have more energy during the day and exercise regularly these things will give you the energy you need to stay motivated. When one does not feel well, exercise may be challenging. Try breathing exercises or Tai Chi, Tai chi can be done standing, sitting or lying down. Also sleeping to get enough rest is important. You just can not keep going and going without a break.
During the day, get up and move and stretch periodically. If you sit in one place and continue to work and work and work without a break it is like getting stale. Generally early morning is when most people are focused and have a let’s go to it attitude. Use vagal exercises to restore your energy to be able to get back to work with a higher level of energy and creativity. Making sure during the day, you get enough water to stay hydrated and do not forget to eat. What about getting outside in nature and in the sunshine? This supports us in many ways such as getting vitamin D which most people are low in when they have their lab work done for their yearly physicals. Stop working and take deep cleansing breaths to stay centered.
If you can, turn your phone off for a period of time when you are working to be focused or to be focused on your rest.. Some folks either choose not to do this in their line of work, they can not turn off their phones for their line of work or in the corporate world.
Reward yourself when you have big wins or small wins. It is not about always plugging through but enjoying and celebrating from time to time.This also will help you to have the attention on the prize.
When you have times where you are struggling with staying motivated, practice seeing yourself in the future when you have reached your goal from your Why statement. How would you walk into a room? What would you wear? How would you speak? What experiences are you having now in the future? How do you feel? Then keep all of that in mind when you are experiencing obstacles to your WHY.
To finish this topic for now, understand there are times in life and cycles in life where you need now time to be silent and hibernate for a short or long time. This re-energizes us. I am not speaking of rest or sleep. I am speaking of down time or a vacation.
For me, My WHY came when I was sick with chronic kidney disease. I first decided to do dialysis treatments for my sons, Then I realized I needed to do these dialysis treatments for me.If I continued to do it for my sons and only my sons eventually I would give up. So I needed to transform and be willing to do it for myself.
First find your WHY, then learn what motivates you to “JUST DO IT!” Find the meaning for your Why from moment to moment and focus on your healing.
Beth Badour
