It’s so easy for us to believe that the dawn of a new year makes everything different. While this time can serve as a herald for change and renewal, it doesn’t erase the past year and its hardships.
We’ve been through nearly a full year of sustained pandemic stress that has included economic and health concerns along with a deluge of fear and uncertainty. We’ve been living in a state of chronic stress, which takes a mental, emotional, and physical toll. And that’s not even mentioning if we survived COVID ourselves or are dealing with its longer-term effects.
Depression and anxiety have been prevalent throughout the pandemic. Many of the activities we once enjoyed have been limited or taken away due to restrictions. We’re less able to engage socially.
I think it’s easy to look at these things and think of them as “personal problems” that are separate from and have no bearing on professional performance. But when we go just beyond the surface, I think we all know how untrue that is.
Fast Company recently published an article called “Why you’re feeling unmotivated and what to do about it.”
I found a lot of wisdom here. So much of our professional rhetoric is about leveling up, productivity, and getting somewhere new and better. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this conversation, it does more harm than good when we don’t acknowledge the toll the year has taken on us.
4 Ways to Reclaim Your Motivation
Given the year we’ve had, it’s not surprising that we’re feeling unmotivated — even joyless. At the same time, our society pushes worth and identity that is intrinsically linked to productivity. This creates a cycle of depression, stress, and anxiety.
Reclaiming your motivation isn’t so much about upping your productivity or leveling up in business. It’s about feeling like yourself again — and it takes time and intentional effort to accomplish.
1) Allow yourself to grieve.
Our world encourages that go go go mentality without giving us time to breathe or reflect. So much of this past year has been wrapped up in tragedy and grief. Some of that grief has been very personal and actualized, while some of it has been in a broader, societal sense. We’re carrying burdens on our shoulders and scars on our psyche.
We must grieve what’s been lost. COVID-19 brought with it a societal paradigm shift. How we interact and engage with others and day-to-day activities has been altered for the foreseeable future.
It’s okay to mourn that. It’s okay to miss the old things. When we keep these unexpressed emotions bottled up — when we don’t admit how “not okay” we are — it leads to an eventual repression-fueled meltdown. Acknowledge the pain. Deal with the emotions. Process them. Then you can turn your attention towards the future.
2) Refocus on what matters.
Because COVID changed so much in the world, our old goals — the old things that motivated us — may have changed. Feeling disconnected from your goals and ambitions can challenge and drain your motivation. Goal-setting isn’t always about the never-ending drive to move forward. It’s discovering what you want out of your time here — what you want out of life. The trauma of the year may have shifted these ambitions and we must re-examine how we were living and working and change it based on our new priorities.
3) Name your fears.
A lack of motivation is often tied to fear. Fear in itself isn’t a bad thing. It’s a warning system so that we avoid danger. However, not all fears are well-founded and every fear has the potential to stop you in your tracks and discourage forward momentum.
2020 was a year of worst-case scenarios. The fears we thought would never come true did. And that’s scary. It makes us think, even subconsciously, that all of our worst-case scenarios will come true.
We have to name these fears. List them. Approach them not from a sense of impending doom, but proactive planning. Ask yourself what is the worst thing that could happen — then develop an action plan. You’ll often find that the worst thing isn’t all that bad. Part of overcoming fear is approaching life with a growth mindset, something I’ve written about before.
Look at challenges and fears not as a chance to fail, but as opportunities to grow.
4) Rest.
Productivity and motivation are not the end-all, be-all of our lives. I have to stress that. You can’t expect to sustain yourself when you’re burnt out and exhausted. And believe, the past year has been exhausting in ways we have yet to acknowledge.
Be content to rest.
Be okay with taking a day off. Be okay with going to bed early. Take vacation time. Offer yourself the nurturing self-care you need to grow. Just as a plant cannot thrive without water and nutrients, we cannot thrive without proper rest.
How are you taking care of yourself in the aftermath of 2020? Share your tips in the comments.