How to Get Inspired When You’re in a Rut

As a content creator, I always have to get myself into a certain mood in order to create. But feeling motivated and feeling inspired has a shelf-life and I can’t depend on waiting for this feeling. If I did then I wouldn’t be here making this video. In fact, my goal has been to post consistently every week and it’s been difficult because I’d wait for myself to be inspired. And where did that get me? Nowhere really. I was only able to post for 3 weeks straight.

And because I let myself down, I get in a rut. And because I’m in a rut, I don’t create. And because I’m not creating, it makes me feel stuck. And when I’m stuck, I just want to spend my money on frivolous things, and then my bank account dips and it just makes me feel even worse.

So I feel like I get stuck at least once a week. And there are a few things I’ve learned to get myself unstuck, reignite the spark inside, and find inspiration to create. Sometimes, it’s not just to create but to also love my husband, take care of my cats, call my family, and make friends. Just going out there to experience this gift of life that I have.

So if you feel stuck in a rut and you want to get inspired, watch my video.

Watch my video below or read below

Alright, so there are 2 parts to getting inspired: the physical part and the mental part. So first what you want to do is-

Meet your body’s needs first

If your well-being is out, everything is out. It’s going to be hard to become inspired when your hangry and all you can think about is the chocolate bar you hid in your drawer.

Look at what you’re eating

What kind of health do you want? And does the food you’re eating reflect that? If you’re eating junk food, but you want a better health then start eating to reflect your future health. Everyone has their own specific diet, I’m not going to tell you what to eat. But I can share what I eat and you can pick and choose if you’d like to follow it.

So I eat mostly whole foods which are basically unprocessed food. So that includes fresh veggies, fresh fruit, fresh meat, eggs, nuts, milk, and rice. And also, minimally processed food like bread, cheese, yogurt, frozen veggies (I love frozen veggies because it saves me a lot of time).

And the keyword here is mostly because when I’m tired or busy, I’ll eat ready-made food like jarred pasta sauce, frozen dumplings, cookies, Taco Bell, and Spam (whenever my mom sends me a care package from Guam. I love Spam.) But anyway the point is, make intentional choices to eat food to reflect the health that you want.

Exercise

Next up, exercise. I know you guys are thinking I’m stating the obvious but it’s not always obvious to a lot of people so I just want to cover my bases. Because even though most people already know these things, sometimes all they need is a reminder.

So yes, exercise. Do something physical that gets your body moving. Maybe it’s yoga, lifting, dancing Zumba, chasing your cat, whatever. Exercise helps to relieve stress, reduce any negative moods. It also helps increase your self-esteem. So if you’re in a rut and you feel bad, just get your body moving. There was never a time I felt bad, worked out, and felt even worse after. Never.

My husband and I are very lucky to have our own gym equipment so my personal choice is lifting followed by yoga. I’d love to dance salsa but with COVID, I can’t go to a salsa club.

Get yourself to relax

I don’t care if you’re stressed or worried or feel like you have no time to relax because you have a million things to do, you need to relax. Do something that relaxes you. Take a bath, meditate, journal, paint, make coffee, go for a walk, and listen to the birds. I wouldn’t recommend video games because it’s still stimulating your brain and you basically want to make your brain go quiet. Make sure you have no distractions or this next part isn’t going to work. Turn off the TV and the music. Your goal is to create the space and the clearing for inspiration to take place.

Ask yourself this: “What excites me at this very moment?”

I got this from Susan Ferraro. Ask yourself what will make you happy at this very moment. Choose what makes your soul happy. Not what makes your ego happy. This might look like watching Netflix, taking a nap, doing your nails, cooking a nice meal, writing a blog post, or buying that online course so that you can finally learn how to draw. And now this inspiration is starting to kick in because you’ve created the space for fun & excitement and now you get to act on it.

Act on it. Just do it.

Don’t even think about it. Just do it. The moment you start thinking about “oh I have to do this first before I do this.” Or “let me just fix this one thing first and it’ll be perfect.” Or what will this person think about me?” These are inspiration killers. The moment these thoughts creep in, your inspiration starts slipping out the window.

And to me, this is the hardest part, acting on it. Because I have to learn how to be aware of the little voice in my head telling me to do it perfectly, to do it right, because if I do it right, people will think of me the way I want them to think of me. This little voice easily overpowers my inspiration and I have to learn not to listen to it. So when this voice gets loud. I acknowledge it. I say “I hear you. Thank you for protecting me from all these things I’m scared of but I really want to do this now so I will set you aside.” Sometimes this might take a few deep breaths or some meditating.

Don’t make it hard for yourself.

The more you try to force inspiration, the more it won’t come to you. Remember to create a clearing for inspiration and it will come. Keep the process simple and have fun with it!

And that’s what helps me get inspired. It’s really about making myself a priority and giving myself permission to do whatever the f–k I want to do.

Danke schon! Tschussee!

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