A Little Mind Trick For Staying Motivated

This essay originally appeared in the Monday morning newsletter on 2/10/20.

My plan for today’s newsletter was to write about hobbies. I even have a draft written that I cannot wait to share with you. But then I got notification from the library that a copy of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic was available. I started the book this weekend and got chills as I read because it closely relates to my thoughts about hobbies!! Talk about serendipity. So, I want to finish the book, reflect and add in some of Elizabeth’s perspective. I’m telling you this in case any of you want to read the book along with me! I would love to know your thoughts. Let me know if you read it. 🙂

So instead, today I’m writing about a little mind trick that helps me stay motivated with good habits. Maybe you will relate to it and want to try it out too!

Last week I found myself with a unique schedule thanks to a great visit from mom and some travel for work. Even as someone who loves routine and structure more than the average person, I can admit that it felt nice to change it up. 

Then, I was in the warm-up section of my barre class early Friday morning and found myself thinking, “Is this class always this hard?” 

I called my mom – who is also a barre devotee – on my walk home because I knew she would understand. We reminded each other of our running joke that what keeps us coming back week after week is the fact that “starting” is so hard. Sure, we love the physical and mental strength gained from class, but we kid with each other that we’ll do barre classes forever because we never want to have to begin again.

It was a playful conversation, but one I kept thinking about. I’m motivated to keep up with my habit of attending barre workout classes because 1) the way they make me feel 2) I’m paying for a membership and 3) I don’t want to risk having to start over again. 

While no. 1 and 2 are specific to the above habit, no. 3 feels transferable. I bet there are other habits where I could apply no. 3 as a motivator.

For example, is there a task at work that I consider daunting? Would it be as daunting if I found a way to practice it weekly? Or, as I talked about in this newsletter, I recently set a screen time limit for my Instagram app. There was an adjustment period at first, but now I am accustomed to spending less time on the app. I was going to remove the limit on Feb. 1, but I haven’t yet. I don’t think I am going to because I don’t want to ruin the momentum built.  

The idea is simple, but it can be a powerful motivator to help us keep good habits. 

Additionally, this story also has another meaning: give yourself some grace when starting something new.

Accept that you are going to fall out of a good habit now and then and have to start again. External circumstances are going to happen that will change up your routine. 

This is totally fine (and sometimes energizing!). Just be sure to give yourself grace and know that after returning from the break, it’s going to feel hard to start your typical day-to-day routine back up. This isn’t because you lack motivation. It’s just simply because it requires more energy to start something than to continue. 

Instead of feeling down on yourself and rejecting all the good habits you’ve worked hard to build, focus on picking just one to focus on. And then the following week, add another. 

So whether you are continuing your good habits today or giving yourself some grace as you build up the strength to start again, I hope you have a great Monday!

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