Feeling Uninspired and Unmotivated? How to Figure Out What You're Supposed To DO
Hello and welcome back to the shenanigans that is my channel.
Watch the video at the link below, or read on for the full transcript.
Today I want to talk about how to deal with feeling uninspired and unmotivated. Which is ironic because that was my day today. This is my second time trying to film this video. Fingers crossed that it goes better.
Last week I went into depth about my 10 year rut being stuck in my groundhog day hell. If you haven't seen that video, click here. But I went into great detail about how I got out of that by committing to 30 minutes of writing every weekday. And that eventually snowballed into all of the success and productivity that I now have in my life. And I am so grateful that I made that commitment 3 years ago to 30 minutes of writing every weekday, because it really, really did change my life.
And In that video I talked a lot about the commitment, but I didn't necessarily talk very much about why I chose writing as the thing that I was committing to.
And so If you're watching this video I understand that you're probably in a place where you don't know what to do to move forward or to get yourself out of a rut. So I want to share with you some of the reasoning behind why I chose writing, and hopefully that can help you choose what to do for yourself to start feeling inspired and motivated instead of uninspired and unmotivated.
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So there are a lot of elements that go into picking what it is that you want to spend your time and energy on when you're stuck in any sort of rut. Because, when you're in a rut you have very limited energy. You may have a surplus of time (I know that's not what my situation was), but I understand that's not the situation for everybody. So we're just going to focus on how there is a limited supply of energy when you're really feeling stuck, and you need to be able to spend that energy wisely.
So one of the things that I did was really limit my writing time. 30 minutes every weekday, right?
However, deciding what to spend that time on can put you inside an existential crisis. 'Cause then you're like, "Who am I? What do I want with my life? Where do I go from here? What will actually make me happy and fulfilled?" [SIGH] I don't like thinking about it.
There are lots of criteria that can contribute to helping you decide what it is that you want to spend your limited energy on to get yourself out of a rut.
Some of those are thinking about being productive instead of consumptive. 'Cause if you're creating something, or working toward something, or building something, that can feel a lot more fulfilling than just reading all day, or watching Netflix all day.
And another thing is thinking about how joyful the activity makes you, or how much capacity for joy the activity has. So, if we talk about my writing really quick, I don't always enjoy writing (even to this day), even though I now fully identify as a writer. (Which I'm getting to.) But, I still, I don't always enjoy the activity. But it still holds so much capacity for joy for me. Those days when writing just makes my soul feel like it's on fire with energy and inspiration, those moments are worth all the other days in between that it feels like work.
Another thing to think about is, is the task meaningful to you? Does it add value to your life? Does it match your values? Does it allow you to help others? Does it help you build a legacy? And then like, is the activity healing, or does it bring you pleasure? Or does it feel playful? Because play is really important.
So there's lots of stuff to take into account. Like, whaddyagonnado? And some ways to think about how to even come up with ideas. It's like, well, where do I... [FRUSTRATED NOISE]
Think about things you loved to do as a child: your favorite hobbies, your interests, what you dreamed of being when you grew up, lifelong itches you've had, and curiosity, or even current curiosity and obsession. You can brainstorm around all those things and really find the root of what it is that you're actually interested in spending your time and energy on.
Before I get to, like the meat and potatoes of this video, comment below and let me know what one of your like, favorite things to do was when you were a kid. One of the things that wasn't writing, for me, was bookbinding. And if you're not familiar with bookbinding, that's hand-making journals and books. 'Cause I'm a paper nerd. I love having journals - not so good at filling them out. [WHISPERING: But I love having them.] Comment below with something that you absolutely loved to do when you were a kid and you might be interested in trying again today.
So now I want to tell you about why I chose writing. And it comes from an identity crisis.
Because I had always identified as a writer ever since I was little. Ever since I learned how to write I was writing: poetry, mostly stories, and I eventually grew into a prolific short story writer, and then a prolific novelist, and then screenwriter.
However, after I graduated from college, I essentially stopped writing. And part of my decade-long groundhog's day hell that I talked about in last week's video, was that I wasn't writing. And yet I identified as a writer, and that created a, like, this huge crisis in my personal identity, because it, like...
Am I a writer?
I'm not writing.
Am I a writer?
Are there writers that don't write?
Does that work?
It was just so confusing, 'cause I found myself questioning. Do I even want to be a writer anymore? And that, as an ingredient in my depression that I was (and still technically struggle with), was so crippling.
And, I have come to understand that part of the problem was my limiting ideas of what being a writer looked like. If you think of your favorite author and think about what you imagine their life and their writing life to be like. You probably come up with (unless you follow them really closely and they've very transparent about their life and their work), you probably come up with some romantic idea of being a writer, or some sort of nostalgic, romantic-ization of being a writer, and that (while great for movies), isn't true.
Every writer is also a human being, and as human beings we're incredibly complex. So, when I was thinking about, "I'm not writing. Am I a writer?" I was limiting myself because of my limited understanding of what a writer is. I was trying to force myself - a complex human being - inside of this tiny perfect squared-off box labeled "Writer," and I didn't fit. [NERVOUS LAUGHTER]
Trying to fit in there felt uncomfortable. And just... My perspective of what that identity meant I didn't like. And I wasn't necessarily aware of that at the time. But because of that, and being unaware of it, that was holding me back from writing.
Long story short, I chose writing because I was like, "All right! I need to figure out if I'm a writer." Because this questioning my identity is not getting me anywhere. I actually need to try this out for a long period of time and, like I mentioned last week, a long period of time means at least a year if not more than one year. Really giving it a shot and understanding what writing is to me, and if I consciously want to choose to have that in my life and be a part of my identity going forward.
I want you to take a second and think about... Because if you're still with me, if you're still watching this, you probably know exactly what thing you quote unquote "should" be doing. For me it was writing. For you it could also be writing. It could be something else. Doesn't matter.
But you have a choice. You can choose to experiment and say "Yes" to the journey of learning how or if that activity should really be a part of your life, because YOU choose to have it as a part of your life. Or if it doesn't necessarily fit with who you are right now, and that's okay.
So when I talk about committing to one small thing that you do consistently, it's not necessarily about committing to that thing for the rest of your life. Like, I wasn't committing to 30 minutes every weekday of writing for the rest of my life. I was committing to it for a few years. I understood that along the way my relationship with writing might change, but because I was actively working on it, and incorporating it into my life, and understanding how it fit into my life and what works for me, and what MY identity as a writer looks like, I'm now able to make informed decisions about my writing going forward.
Which is why, actually right now in my life, I only write 15 minutes every weekday. Because I'm so busy with this business, (and also my West Coast Swing teaching business with my teaching partner), there isn't quite as much room to dedicate towards my writing, but it's still important to me, so I keep doing it. It is still meaningful to me and adds value to my life. And so I make the time, even though it's not very much.
And here's the kicker, I am MORE of a writer now than I was when I was in my groundhog day hell. Because I understand what me, Cassie Winter, being a writer looks like. And I couldn't have figure that out without dedicated and committing myself to showing up to the page almost every day for years.
I am asking you. You probably know the thing that you need to give yourself a chance to try for a long period of time. You probably know what that is. And if you don't, please let me know in the comments because I want to help you figure out what that is.
Right now I'm mainly talking to the people who know.
You know it in your heart.
You know it in your soul.
You know it in your gut.
And I'm asking you to give yourself the gift of committing to that thing and allowing it to become a journey instead of an end in and of itself.
I want you to commit to the task, but the JOURNEY that that task if going to take you on.
Like the journey that me 3 years ago, committing to writing 30 minutes every weekday, has taken me on: to my place here, where I'm now working on the 5th draft of that same novel. (It might seem like a lot, but really the 2nd draft was a Page-One Rewrite. That's another story...) I have two businesses and I've had three scripts produced at Rose City Swing, and it all started with 30 minutes every weekday. But it had to be writing. That was it for me. And it might be something different for you, and you probably know what it is.
So please, if you're gonna finally give yourself permission to commit to that thing and just try it for the long haul, say, "I commit to the journey" in the comments.
I am so excited for you because committing to that is huge.
And I want to help you on that journey for the long haul. Because there are twists. There are turns. You're gonna learn things about yourself. You're gonna grow. You're gonna evolve. Making that commitment is huge, but then you gotta follow through with it.
So, if you make that commitment today I want you to come back next week (make sure to subscribe to the channel and hit the notification bell), and in next week's video comment and let me know how the last week went. Kay? That's how we're gonna work with this accountability through YouTube right now.
I want you to actually show up for that thing at least 5 days this week between today and my next video. Deal?
And if that is something that you worry about. You're like, "Okay I can make the commitment, but I'm afraid I don't have the tools to actually stick with it long-haul, for a year or more, like you did Cassie. That sounds really daunting and scary." And believe me, I understand that. I feel that. And that's why I have my Masterclass that I offer for free to anyone who joins my email list. It's called "Butt In Chair Time" and it is literally the mindset and the tool set that allowed me to remain consistent with my writing for years, and I still maintain it to this day.
And it's... It may seem really simple, but this mindset shift combined with this tool set for "Butt In Chair Time" can really change your life. To sign up, all you have to do is go to this link, give me your name and email address, and you'll get an email with a link to the unlisted YouTube replay of the Masterclass.
If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe. Hit that notification bell.
And lastly, if you found this meaningful, please share it with at least one other person that you think would find this video meaningful. Because this is the stuff that doesn't necessarily get talked about, and it can really change your life, even though it feels deceptively simple.
So I hope to see a whole bunch of people commenting down below saying "I commit to the journey." I will be back next Tuesday with another video.
Wishing you the best on your journey to come. Bye.
[OUTTAKES: This like, this went, this went, this went PLACES. I'm gonna BRING IT BACK. Okay. [GROANS]]