So, if you follow me on social media at all, you will have already sensed a theme. I posted a 'Motivational Monday' theme on my Instagram feed, and then I went into a little more detail in my IG Stories. But, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself...I guess I should give a little bit of a backstory before I move forward.
For those that don't know me quite as well as my fam and friends do, I need to start this backstory with stating that I chose a career in fitness almost 30 years ago..it started small, and grew to be BIG. Kinda like my kids. The profession allowed me to grow into it as my kids grew...from little ones in the childcare room as I taught a couple of classes a week, to elementary age when they would run around the gym and play while I worked, to pre-teens who no longer needed to tagalong with Mom to work. My career became more and more full-time, and eventually I realized that it had become my chosen profession, and I jumped in full-throttle. The biggest reason I chose this profession is because I'm a motivator by nature. I absolutely love motivating and inspiring others, no matter what vehicle I choose do it in. Teaching, training, inspiring, and motivating happens all at once in the fitness world, especially in the time it takes to teach a one-hour class to a room full of enthusiasts. Most of the time over the years I happily did my job, but there were days..you know the kind; the drag-yourself-out and paste-the-smile-on kinda days when you are feeling anything but motivating or inspiring. Most of the time on those days, though, it was the smiling faces and hard working bodies that gave me the energy and motivation that I needed to, in turn ...well you know, motivate THEM. It was reciprocal, in other words. I would leave on the hard days feeling uplifted, strengthened, supported by the very people who depended on me to do the same after their long hard days as well. So, when I made the decision to hang up my sneakers and rack my dumbbells, I never anticipated the void I would feel when my support system and reciprocal motivators were gone. I won't go into the long and drawn out emotional and physical impact that leaving my fitness family behind brought into my life, but let's just say I wasn't prepared for it.
At this point, I will fast forward (cuz you don't have all day, and neither do I) to the present, where I have landed as a totally reinvented creative artist and new business owner. This new role is exciting, and it's exactly where I belong, but it can also be overwhelming and a little lonely. I spend a large amount of each day in my 'cloffice recording studio', doing business-y things and auditioning (a LOT of auditioning) for voice acting/voiceover jobs, and trying to focus on the tasks at hand without feeling completely in over my head, without any type of feedback or encouragement coming from anyone on the other end..sometimes it's hard to know how I'm doing or if anyone is listening or paying attention, but that's where this job becomes extremely different from what I've been used to. This job requires self-motivation, self-policing, and self-directing. THAT'S A HECKUVALOTTA SELF. I'm trying to get used working under these conditions, and in doing so I have had to come up with a couple of 'pre-game' rituals to get me motivated to doing my business.
One of the first things, of course, is COFFEE. I don't think anything needs to be added to that statement. If you know, you KNOW. Secondly, I will go for an early morning walk, and while I"m walking I will pray. Praying and walking is second nature for me, and I'm thankful that God listens, even when I'm on-the-move. It gets my blood pumping and my brain firing with each step that I take! Once I get back I get ready for my day, which makes me feel like a real professional (instead of sitting around in my pjs like I've done for a large part of the last year..but then again, I don't think I've been alone in this). After I'm ready I will come into my aforementioned closet studio and turn on the party lights and jam to a song that gets me pumped, do some warm-up and tongue twisters, and OFF I GO. Does it work every time? Nah. Most of the time tho? Yep. It's becoming a new normal to self-motivate. I'm not an expert at it yet, but I'll get there. Do I wanna quit a lot of times when I have had enough of the self-motivation? YES..but then if I do that, nothing gets done. So, excuse me while I PUMP UP THE JAM and get my day started!
I would seriously love to know what YOU do to motivate yourself to get your job(s) done and make progress toward your goals. Let me know in the comments below! Let's get the ideas flowing and inspire each other.