As I’m lying on my yoga matt in the middle of my living room panting, out of breath in the middle of my home workout, it hit me! I instantly paused my workout, grabbed my phone and began writing in my notes:
Motivation is a fucking myth! So many people ask me what keeps me motivated. A while back, I thought that’s a great topic to talk about but never wrote the post simply because my motivation goes in and out. All my content is raw and authentic, so I never want to put out to the world what truly doesn’t apply to me. Let’s face it, staying motivated is hard as fuck. Especially during these unprecedented times. As humans we have so many different obligations from our work life, personal life, relationships, parenting etc. Then we have our own personal goals: eating healthier, working out consistently, going to school, creating content, branding and for me, writing this damn blog, tuh! So, we have our everyday obligations, our goals to fulfill, and not to mention the curve balls that are thrown at us on the regular. AND I don’t know about you, but sis be tired. Sis is me; I am her, and we tired boss! I say all this to bring to light that some days you will simply be unmotivated, drained, the list goes on.
Sometimes you will have good days, where you feel intensely motivated and that’s your time to work! Be as productive and get as many things done off your check list for the day. One of my biggest accomplishments in life thus far was becoming a nurse. Often times, I reflect on that memory because I’m in constant battle with myself and ask questions like “why can’t I stay consistent with the gym?” and if we really being transparent “why can’t I blog as much as I’d truly like to?” Then, I had to ask myself the most important question “How bad do you want this?” So, what does any of that have to do with nursing? It’s simple: I wanted to become a nurse so bad! I was willing to do everything in my power to ensure that dream would become my reality. I planned, I acted, and I was disciplined. Did I have days where I felt unmotivated, hell yes! There were times I didn’t feel like studying, times that I felt defeated and just exhausted. But that never stopped me, most days I was waking up before the sun. Having days that started as early as 4/5am that consisted of me going to class, clinicals, working a job, and then coming back home to study. I did this day in and day out for two whole years. I planned my days out, I knew exactly what was expected of me each day, I set a blueprint and I pushed myself to be disciplined to follow it. I graduated at the top of my class in honors and passed boards on my first attempt in 75 questions. That’s not boasting or bragging, but simply to say I put in the work for what I wanted. I wasn’t motivated every day and had plenty of days where I failed exams and I felt defeated and exhausted, but I was dedicated to becoming a nurse.
Contrary to that, you’ll also have those shitty days that we all know far too well. Where in the back of your mind you have so much greatness brewing, but don’t know how or have the energy to bring it to the forefront. These are the days that really matter and ultimately will count the most. So instead of talking motivation, let’s talk dedication. This past summer two things shifted in my life, I was very stagnant in writing for my blog and I gained 10 pounds. Both very disheartening for me. I have never been one super consumed with my weight, I was okay with how I looked. I have always gone to the gym on and off for years, but never really cared a whole lot when I fell off, because I was content in how I looked. But this year all that changed for me. We had been in quarantine for months and then when the brink of summer came, we were finally able to go out and I couldn’t fit none of my damn clothes from the previous summer. I didn’t know how to mentally process the way my body transformed. I was my heaviest I’ve ever been in my entire life and I didn’t know how to adjust to that. On top of that, I had major writer’s block! I looked up and it had been a whole seven months since the last time I put out content. I was doing other things on my blog to try and maintain my audience, but it wasn’t the same as an actual blog post. Everything I worked for was taking a major turn for the worst, having a blog, and keeping readers attention is not easy. To me, it felt as if everything was crumbling right before me.
I often reflect on my time during nursing school, because it’s one of my proudest moments and it’s great reflection of what I’m capable of when I’m self-disciplined. I had to be real with myself, my current goals weren’t coming to fruition because I wasn’t working hard enough for them. Sad truth, but real truth. The key to success is that want and dedication in something far greater than your motivation for it. I’m a firm believer in prayer and manifestation and when you actively put in the work, God will always provide you with the tools and discipline to accomplish it. Everything you need will eventually fall in your lap. The biggest piece of advice I can give when it comes to achieving your goals is to create a schedule, make deadlines, put forth the action, and create structure and discipline in your life. Ask yourself how bad you want it and plan accordingly. For me with my fitness goals, I had to set it in my mind that it was more about how I felt on the inside than the physically results. In addition to fitness, I’ve been wanting to go vegetarian for some time now and have always started then stopped. So now was the time for me to really change all that. I now plan out ahead of time what days I want to go to the gym, the time, and what workouts I plan to do and I meal prep. I lost all 10 pounds of the weight I gained through consistently working out now for the past 5 months. Which is the longest I’ve ever worked out without stopping periodically. I have also cut meat from diet now for almost 2 months. To my surprise, when I changed my way of thinking, my results were better. I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed trying new meals and cooking a lot more than I’ve have. In addition to loving working out, it’s more mental than physical for me. It’s a great stress reliever! For my blog, I set time aside weekly to write and go over different branding ideas. I no longer wait for new ideas to penetrate; I create the space to allow myself to become creative. I’m not exactly where I’d like to be, but this has been the most writing I’ve done in the entire year that I’ve had my blog. I’m okay, with knowing that my full envision for my blog will take time, but as long as I’m actively moving towards it, I’m content. Let’s be real you’re more reluctant to make bad decisions when you don’t plan. Whatever your goals may be, create a plan, be disciplined, hold yourself accountable, and execute. Remember dedication over motivation!