Have you ever sat around feeling kind of meh about doing anything but then someone needed you and you sprang into action to help them out? Didn’t you feel less meh when you were done? Maybe kinda tired but decidedly less meh?
You probably decided to take action for them because you value them, they are important to you, and you want them to be happy and at ease. *
They are worth taking action for.
Well, Team, I’ve got some news for you: YOU are also worth taking action for.
Let’s talk about that a little.
Inertial Meh
I know it is tricky to generate internal motivation sometimes. Inertia is a powerful force.
Plans, and encouragement, and rituals can help but there will still be days when things are kind of meh.
Even if your practice is important to you. Even if you really want to do it. Even if you have the time and the capacity and the ability to do it. You still may struggle.
And that’s ok. It doesn’t mean that you have given up. It doesn’t mean that you don’t ‘really’ want to build your habit. It just means that things are, well, meh, right now.
If that meh feeling compels you to rest, have at it.
But, if that meh feeling is generating thoughts like ‘This isn’t worth the effort.’ ‘I won’t bother.’ ‘Who cares if I do this?’ or ‘It’s not making any difference anyway.’ Then I want to remind you of why you are putting in the work to build a habit in the first place.
You Want Something Different
Sorry to spoiler you by putting the main point in the heading but here we are.
You want something different in your life. You want to be stronger or calmer or more flexible or to have more ease or to have less pain. And your planned practice is a path toward that new thing, that expanded self.
Yes, it takes effort. Some days are easy, some days are hard, and some days you have to take a break. But you are trending toward the difference you are trying to create.
If you knew that your effort on this meh day was going to make a difference for someone you care about, if it was going to move them in the direction of something they wanted for themselves, you would be up stretching/dancing/meditating/practicing your Taekwon-Do/doing the hokey-pokey and turning yourself around, in a heart beat.
Today’s Invitation
I’d like to invite you to treat yourself with the same kind of care and compassion.
I’d like you to consider your practice as a way to put that caring and compassion into action.
You, your well-being, your feeling of ease, your sense of satisfaction, are worth the effort to do your practice.
It may not be fun today. It may not be easy. But, like Nicole said in her post today. It can be worth it to push through.
You matter. Your efforts matter. You are worth taking care of.
It makes sense to put effort into your well-being, even when you feel meh.
And my robot friend here is offering you a gold star for your efforts today, whether your efforts were epic or whether they were about creating a tiny sliver of space in your brain for the idea that you are worth the effort you need to put in to have something different in your life.
*Yes, I know this is a very positive spin here. You might also spring into action to avert disaster, to get someone to stop whining, to prevent a mess, or because you don’t want to/are unable to face the repercussions of inaction. I’m not denying or downplaying the existence of that sort of motivation but for this post I am talking about times when you’re just kind of sitting there and ANY sort of request from someone you care about can shake you out of your malaise.
For the second year in a row, I’ll be posting a Go Team! message every day in January to encourage us as we build new habits or maintain existing ones. It’s cumbersome to try to include every possibility in every sentence so please assume that I am offering you kindness, understanding, and encouragement for your efforts right now. You matter, your needs matter, and your efforts count, no matter where you are applying them. You are doing the best you can, with the resources you have, in all kinds of difficult situations and I wish you ease. ⭐💚 PS – Some of the posts for this year may be similar to posts from last year but I think we can roll with it.
