Motivation

I spent the last three weeks of February in North Carolina. While I was there, I learned a lot about myself. One thing I learned is what motivates me. I am motivated by my feelings. Now that may seem simplistic, but I like to explain myself, so this blog post is going to be longer than a statement.

People are motivated by different things-obviously. Some people are motivated by money, by praise, rewards, attention, etc. Knowing what motivates you is a really important life skill. Life can get very difficult at times; there are moments you need to be motivated to just get out of bed. Do you know what motivates you?

As sappy as this sounds, I am motivated by love. I will bend over backward for the people that I love. I will become the most helpful human being when I am overflowing with love. I will do the tasks that no one else wants to do if I love you. I will wake up at the crack of dawn and become a morning person because I love my dog.

Knowing this about myself is life-changing. Now, I can be on guard because someone could take advantage of my love. It was so sweet of my host while I was in NC, I told them I am happy to help always. Their response was “I know, and I won’t take advantage of that.” It caught me off guard. I never thought they would but having them say it just made me love them more and want to do anything for them.

Something else I started doing while in NC was working out. I learned that my body starts losing muscle at 30. If I don’t start building up muscle now, my body will deplete itself the older I get and take away from the muscle I need. Though I can build up muscle when I’m older, it will be harder. I’ve never been good at keeping up with exercising. I’d lose motivation. But I have new motivation now.

I choose to love myself. I am newly motivated to take care of my body not because it will make me look better, but because I love my body. I love my body so much, I want to go to sleep at a decent hour so that I can be healthy. I love myself so much, I am motivated to do those chores that used to annoy me.

Even though I was not reckless in NC, I came back with Covid. I have been lovingly nursing myself back to health. I’m drinking lots of water, resting a lot, and staying home. I was really looking forward to getting into the swing of my new life full of love, but instead, I am reminded of the importance to be still. You’d think isolation would make me bored, but it has only made me reflective and grateful.

I love my life. I love the amazing people who are in it. I love my dog so much. My life is full of love and when I dwell in that love, I am motivated to take on anything.