✍️ Weekend Note: Mindset & Motivation

You beat yourself up, end the day with regrets (again), wonder why you can’t do better or get back on track with your goals, be as motivated as this person or that one, etc…

That bit ^ is from a blog post I shared 4 years ago. It crossed my screen again today, and it was EXACTLY what I needed to hear! You’ll find it at: Ever Feel Discouraged or Overwhelmed? Me Too… – if you could use a serious pep talk too. ?

Discouraged, Struggling, Overwhelmed, Frustrated?

If you’re going through a rough patch, or just not where you want to be in your life or with your goals, that’s okay – and you’re not alone. ? xo ~

Hang in there. Better things are coming. I’m proof of that. I’m happy now. ? I’m not “well” but I’m way better, and I feel hopeful and encouraged and grateful lately. ?

Not too long ago I felt the exact opposite and was in a very dark place. Keep in mind, always: “This Too Shall Pass” ~ and ride it out, with as much grace and gratitude as you can muster.

Things often get way worse before they get better. Life is just RUDE like that sometimes. It’s not just you – I promise. ?

Last week I shared something on Facebook, on my personal profile, about how I deal with tough times, or really anytime I need a mindset adjustment, and I wanted to share that with you too – so I pasted it below. Enjoy! ?

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Note: these are pretty raw thoughts, unedited

I woke up feeling anxious, overwhelmed and frustrated. ?‼️?? I had to have some REAL TALK aka “truth time” in my journal about that, because I’ve had an AMAZING week! I’m doing GREAT. ?‍♀️

I don’t screw around in my journal. I dig IN and straighten myself out – and I do that almost daily.

I cannot say enough about the power of journaling. ✍️ If you leave all that stuff in your head, you’ll be stuck responding to it emotionally. You’ll feel anxious, you’ll procrastinate, you’ll feel overwhelmed, you’ll get frustrated and distracted ?‍♀️ – all reactions to thoughts & feelings that aren’t necessarily true. Or aren’t as big as they FEEL in your head. Or have pretty simple solutions…

Your feelings will CONSUME you and allow negative thoughts to direct your actions (or lack of action). You can’t run your life on feelings. Well – you can, but then it’ll suck. ? Because feelings are fickle, and emotions are just a way for the brain to rationalize against what you already know in your gut. <– (truth)

Something really cool happens when you write it down, when you put that STORM in your head on paper or on the screen in front of you. ?✨ You respond to it LOGICALLY instead of emotionally.

It’s a simple brain trick, that shifts your perspective (and the way you react to it). ?

My advice: just do an ugly brain dump. Don’t edit yourself. ? Let all your thoughts flow, even if they make no sense, even if you KNOW they’re wrong, even if you’ve said it all before ? ?‍♀️ even if it’s not something you can resolve or fix or you don’t see ANY point in it.

If it’s on your mind, or in the back of your mind, it’s affecting you. ? Get it OUT OF YOUR HEAD and out in front of you where you can see it for what it really is – and actually address it. ?

Me, in my head: “I’m so behind. Everything is piling up on me. This is all too overwhelming. I’m just getting further away from my goal. I can’t do this. blah blah blah (bitch moan whine).” ??

Response: shut down, curl up and watch netflix, go get a snack, get on my laptop and stare at a blank screen, ugh, grr, watch more netflix while feeling stressed and anxious and discouraged. Because that makes a lot of sense. ?‍♀️

Me, in my journal: “What?! You are rocking at life! And in your condition even! You’re still getting A LOT done. You did xyz this week and abc too, and you also did the pqrs too – those were high priorities you knocked out this week, important stuff. Way to go!”

.o0 “Yeah, you’re right – everything is fine, I’M fine, just keep doing the things, you’re doing great!” … “What are you going to dig into next – what makes the most sense right now?”

Sometimes I find myself in a real screwup or a harder spot with something like grief or loss or panic or major life BS or whatever. To which I respond, “Okay, now what?” – and then take a deep breath, and answer that question like the logical and smart person I am. Instead of totally freaking out, like the emotional wreck I also am (or can be – if I leave it in my head).

Meltdowns aren’t pretty ? … or productive. But have you a big one if you must, FEEL the feelings. I’m not saying they’re pointless. You feel sad or hurt or overwhelmed or scared or frustrated or discouraged or whatever for a reason. So FEEL it if you need to, but then ask yourself: WHY? – like, what’s the cause, the root of that emotion, and what can you DO about it?

If you’re looking for a great goal planner / journal, these are two of my favorites:

* * *

I’m rambling. I had an awesome journal session this morning. ? I am awesome. I’m amazing. I’m doing good stuff. I wake up every day and SPEND IT with intention. ✅ I’m doing all the right things. I’m moving in the right direction. Everything is fine – it’s GREAT even.

After I did my “ugly brain dump” this morning I started feeling super inspired, and created a really good Priority Task List to work on this weekend. Because you have two choices ✌️ you can feel bad / sad about what you’re NOT doing or didn’t get done, or you can get off your a$$ and go get it done. ?

* Not to say that I’m hard on myself. I’m not “well” so there’s plenty of self care and grace and rest going on n stuff. That’s high priority for me too: to unplug, go sit in the sunshine, nap, enjoy a good meal and a movie, have a great chat with a friend, etc. ?

It’s all about balance, and ultimately: how you FEEL (vs how you WANT to feel).

I analyzed my resistance this morning – my negativity, my anxiety, all of it. It made sense, it wasn’t totally wrong, but it wasn’t exactly TRUTH either. When you’re anxious you catastrophosize everything. You get sucked into that black hole ⚫️ and can’t even see the reality.

So… journal it out, and have a REAL look at it, then create an action plan.

What now? What next?

What can I do TODAY that will make the most difference, or point me in the right direction?

Figure out where you want to go from here, and get started – even if it’s one single baby step. ? Just do it! That action will give you a sense of relief, and a sense of accomplishment, and a sense of HOPE.

I find self-talk in my head is often negative. Getting that out gives me room to get real and get back to focusing on what’s important – which is what’s in front of me (today, now). I closed today’s journal entry with this:

“This is all great, and I feel upbeat and inspired now. ? But also: you’ve been doing great all along. You’ve managed to keep things going, keep yourself recovering, you’ve stayed in a positive and productive mindset. It could have been WAY worse, but you did great!! ❤️ ”

Truth ?

That was a lot, so if you read this far – I hope you got something out of it, a take-away you can USE. xo

Spend Your Day With Intention

I like to start each day asking: What can I do today, or how can I spend this day, in a way that will make me fall asleep happy or content tonight? ✅️? ?

That always gets me started in the right direction. ?

This photo was taken two years ago. It was a HARD day. I felt absolutely hell’ish and then had a very unflattering and complete meltdown.

But you can’t see that, right? There’s always SO much more behind a smile, or so much more going on in someone’s mind than you’ll EVER know.

What’s going on in YOUR head today?

* you don’t have to answer that – just go journal it out! ? *cheers*

Wishing you a great day full of hope and joy and HAPPY’NESS with where you are and what you’re doing and how things are unfolding in your life – because you’re taking very intentional actions toward the version of yourself you want to be today, and want to move into next. ✨?✨

Best,
Lynn Terry
aka @LowCarbTraveler

p.s. If I thought any certain food would actually help during hard times, or make me feel ANY better when I’m stressed or down ??? I’d eat it. But I already know from past experience that it doesn’t and it won’t – it only makes me feel worse. Sticking to my goals, eating healthy and exercising, at least gives me ONE thing I can control ? – it helps me stay grounded and positive, instead of being one more thing that’s spinning out of my control, and taking me farther away from a happy place. So: ? ? ✔ I just keep on keeping on, staying on track. It took me a LONG time to learn that one… But I’m so glad I finally got off THAT roller coaster. ?

p.p.s. I crashed pretty hard after I wrote that post on Facebook last week. ?‍? I’m finally back up & around off and on ? and still have that whole list to work through ? … ack, haha! ?‍♀️

---

---