I felt myself feeling inspired to write today, so I sat down at my computer with a cup of tea and noticed myself trying to get motivated. As I was typing, it all felt forced. My words didn’t seem to land how I wanted them to. It felt empty. My shoulders were tense, my jaw clenched and my breathing shallow. It was totally heady and was not at all coming from the space from which the initial desire to write was born.
So I stepped away.
I turned off the lights, lit a candle, rolled out my yoga mat and got back in to my body. I let go of writing the post altogether. I came back to the now. I moved through stretches, breathed deeply and let myself just be.
And then out of nowhere the desire to write returned. This time there was a new energy behind it, a new title and guidance whispering to me;
“Write with feeling, Connie”
And so here I am on the couch, in leggings and a loose fitting jumper, with soft, deep breath and an empty mind, just letting the words flow through.
Isn’t it beautiful how the lesson comes at such a perfect time to enable you to be an authentic teacher?
What If You Stopped Trying To Get Motivated?
I want to talk to you about ditching the practise of motivation. Of trying to force yourself to do something. The need to amp yourself in to action. Pushing yourself to move beyond the resistance that is causing you to want to step away and do nothing.
As a life coach, I am growing tired of hearing people ask me how to get motivated.
Maybe they have come to know life coaches as being those goal driven, action orientated types who get up on stage and give ra ra motivational talks about blasting through fear and pushing beyond pain. But that is far from what I do.
My work focuses deeply on supporting people to follow what they feel. To trust their feelings enough to listen to them and act on them.
I say that if you are feeling unmotivated and you are trying to do whatever you can to fix it, then there is a high chance you are not listening to your feelings. Instead you are falling victim to the fear-driven voice in your head which is whipping you up in to an action frenzy.
Have you ever stopped to wonder why you feel so unmotivated? No, you are not lazy, although that is the story most people carry around about themselves.Â
If You Are Not Feeling Moved To Act, It Is Probably Because;
1) You’re Going Against The Flow
You are in an energy of push and force, trying to make something happen that is not part of the current flow.Â
Try This Instead: Stop. Let go of your plan and everything you think needs to happen or should be happening right now. Take a deep breath and just feel. Is there any step that you could take right now that feels a little softer, lighter or easier? Assess your options and tune in to your body to feel how it responds.Â
2) You’re Not Listening
You are up in your head running according to it’s plan, and you are completely disregarding your inner guidance.
Try This Instead: Step away from what you are doing completely. Get a piece of paper and write a question at the top that will help support you with this situation. Put your hand on your heart, close your eyes, take a deep breath and ask for guidance. Be open, curious and playful. See what comes.Â
3) You’re Out Of Alignment
Your energy is not aligned with what you want and you are trying to take excessive action to compensate.
Try This Instead: Write out the end outcome you are wanting to create or experience. Close your eyes and take some time to connect with and feel in to that outcome. Experience it fully. Let your energy start to align with the feeling of having it. Notice what thoughts you think as you feel as though it is done. Notice how the energy starts to build and move through you the more you connect with your desired end outcome.
4) You’re Doing Something That Is Not Truly Right For You
You are disconnected from your heart and what you truly love and you are instead making decisions out of need, obligation and fear.
Try This Instead: It might be time to get honest and ask yourself the question “Why?” When you feel unmotivated, ask yourself “Why am I doing this?”. Keep digging and asking why until you uncover what is really driving you. Start to notice what you do out of need. When you are connected to what you love, you will naturally feel inspired. So perhaps it is time to get honest and start to figure out what it is your heart truly desires.
Let Yourself Be Moved
Let yourself be inspired. Let yourself feel pulled. Receive the energy rather than trying to create the energy. Connect with what inspires you, ignites your heart and propels you forward.Â
Inspiration has no push involved. Instead, something moves you. Energy rushes through you and calls you in to action. You literally can’t say no.
It takes courage to  follow this path. Sometimes you will not feel called to act at all. You must make peace with the stories in your head that will tell you that you are doing something wrong.
You have to trust the process completely. Relinquish control. Place your faith in something beyond your mind.
But when you can make the shift in to a softer approach, everything begins to flow. Less effort is required and more can be achieved. The journey becomes fluid and enjoyable and the emphasis on the outcome drops away.Â
You follow what feels right, rather than being victim to the barking orders of your mind. You come in to alignment with yourself. You listen. You receive. You open. You let something greater guide your life.
What has your experience been with trying to get motivated? How do you feel about ditching it altogether and instead allowing inspiration to pull you forward? Share with me in the comments below.
With love,
Connie x
This dropped into my lap at the perfect time. Thanks for the reminder Connie, beautiful post xx
Perfect hun! Love it when the little reminder taps you on the shoulder at the exact right time x
This is wonderful, and exactly how I have been living the last few weeks. Thank you for the synchronicity of this post x
Oh awesome to hear it is so perfectly aligned Ainslie x
Thank you for this great post. I have been feeling this way and I really appreciate you telling me I’m not lazy!
If you are listening to what you feel, it is never laziness. We just have to embrace the different waves of energy that come 🙂
Beautiful post connie! I have had the exact feeling the past couple weeks – RE – writing posts, it all felt so forced, so i just let it be. I feel as though it was as if my inner masculine was trying to get my inner feminine to perform, to be creative, to produce the goods. It was horrible… so my creative spirit, my feminine self just rejected & hid away. We cannot force; we must be gentle. And yes i found in that final surrender, & coming back to the breathe & body – giving myself to simply BE, allowed space to create again, from a space of authenticity & heart. Beautiful xxx thank u for sharing, it is nice to hear I am not alone. <3 xx
I agree it is definitely linked to the balance of masculine and feminine energies. Definitely about learning how to let the feminine lead while harnessing the masculine to support her. Such a practice!! x
Beautifully written Connie. I found myself in a very similar position the other morning..the words stuck in my throat but with a message my heart knew needed to get out. Instead of forcing the words out and pushing them to no end, I just allowed them to flow throughout the course of the day…it was such a healing exercise, a lesson in flow and in just trusting this process. Thank you for sharing sweetheart xo
Thank you Jenny, yes it is all about honouring the flow and letting it lead you. The energy will move, the minute we get out of the way x
Beautiful words of wisdom as always Connie! I completely resonate with what you’re saying here and am so happy that I’ve gained such a greater understanding of ‘trusting the process’ over the last few months. Its amazing and makes so much sense to me xx
Oh trusting the process can be a tricky practise can’t it? But the more you let go and allow life to lead you, the more you realise everything unfolds so perfectly and exactly as it should x
Thank you Connie for your beautifully timed reminder x
My pleasure gorgeous woman x
Loved this article, Connie! It really resonated with me. I’m in love with feeling pulled rather than being pushed. Yes…this is it! thanks xx
Isn’t it a beautiful feeling Michelle? When you can tune in to that current of energy within you and allow it to propel you forward without force x
Love, love, love this post and message Connie. Perfect. Thank you!! xxxxxx
Oh my pleasure hun. I love that is resonated with you so deeply x
This is bang on. In stillness, in silence and in re-uniting with our bodies is when we find our answers to questions we didn’t know we had. “You listen. You receive. You open. You let something greater guide your life”.. oh, how I love that. Thank you for sharing your wisdom x
Hi Connie, i guess i am going to be the only guy here, if not probably one of the very few? I wish to say a Big Thank You for the existence of your website and all the articles you have written. I was going thru a rough patch in life at the moment, due to all the different voices around me that kept telling me what i should do or what i should not do… Since young i am always someone that do things following my heart, and has always been happy. But recent years due to the increasing pressure of the current society, i started losing direction and began listening to my head, caved in to peer pressure. Stress and self-doubt started creeping in… Glad i found ur website a few days ago, and once again, I knew I was never wrong. And i am not alone. Keep up the great energy and look forward to your future posts! a big cheers to everyone here! 🙂
I loved this post Connie! I have so many clients tell me they “just can’t get motivated” and I love teaching them that their lack of motivation is often a sign that something is not flowing either within them or in terms of what it is (they think) they should be doing. This post breaks it down so beautifully! Thanks for sharing your wisdom xx Amelia
YES YES YES YES YES!
Love this hard. Perfect timing for me too.
Thanks babe
xx
Definitely needed to read this. I’m so greatful to have stumbled upon you and your site at such a perfect time as this! Thank you 🙂 x