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Be your own motivation
By Unwritten — Written on Feb 07, 2019
By: Talia Mingey
Before you know it, your couch cushion becomes your best friend and leaving the house seems insurmountable. Little tasks pile up such as laundry, I mean it literally piles up! I’ve personally had many slumps which means I’ve had a lot of practice getting out of them.
The best way to beat paralysis anxiety is to breakdown the overwhelming things into manageable pieces. Create baby steps to tackle your problems.
I’m going to provide a list of small steps you can take to increase the likelihood of leaving your bed. These steps were how I tricked my brain into following through on plans.
1. Do research
Google an event or place that you are interested in and read as much info as you can about it. Anxiety starts to calm down when you feel like you have a plan and there are fewer unknowns.
You can also use Google Maps for new locations and check out the parking situation, the street view, and the path you will be taking. If you visualize yourself being there, you’re more likely to materialize it this way.
2. Hold yourself accountable
Tell a bunch of people that you’re going to a cool place! This way it’s harder to back out. I love to create barriers to negative behaviors. You can even ask someone to be your accountability partner. This is someone who will check up on you and make sure you’re following through.
Find someone who supports you in the way you need. It could be someone who sends you an all caps text telling you to get your butt moving! Or it could be some gentle loving nudges and encouragement. The key is to find the person who succeeds in motivating you.
3. Put it in black and white
Write your plans down on a calendar or on a to-do list so it’s a concrete thing. You’re more likely to go if you’ve seen it in your own handwriting. A dream is just an idea that hasn’t been written down yet!
4. Pick out an outfit ahead of time and lay it out
This goes back to visualizing yourself there. Picking out your outfit builds the excitement! It’s also one less thing to worry about on the day you have to go.
5. Set a reminder
Setting an alarm or a reminder on your phone to go off at important times is key. Set a reminder the night before so you don’t forget. Also set an alarm at the time you need to start getting ready and when you need to leave. This way it’s on your mind that you’re going and you will show up on time.
6. Eliminate the “I’m broke” excuse
Set aside and budget money for the event early on so you can’t use money as an excuse to cancel last minute.
7. Mentally prepare yourself
Go through the good scenarios that could happen if you went. Try to block out the things that could go wrong by focusing only on the good. Imagine yourself blowing people away. Imagine meeting the love of your life.
Anything is possible and it’ll get you excited instead of nervous. Okay, maybe you’ll feel a little bit of both. But a little nervous excitement might just get you off that cushion! Why not try something new? Has what you’ve been doing working for you? If you’ve gotten this far, then the answer is probably no.
8. Repeat “I am going!”
Repeating “I am going!” to yourself throughout the day or night before the event can be a tremendous help. Holding yourself accountable is just as important as having others do it for you. Mantras have been proven to work; it may feel silly, but give it a try!
9. Just go
You have to push yourself to try new strategies for a new life. In every new chapter, life will demand a character death. For every new challenge, life will demand a new you. Motivation is so hard, but it starts out small and snowballs the second you follow through on a few goals. Try a few of these out and hopefully you will get the better life you deserve!
Remember, a slump is just a posture you can straighten yourself out of.
“To do better you have to get better!” -Jane Ciminera
Talia Mingey is a writer who focuses on lifestyle, self-love, self-care, and living your best life. For more of her self-help content, visit her author profile on Unwritten.
This article was originally published at Unwritten. Reprinted with permission from the author.