As a blogger of three years and a follower of many other creatives/business owners, I have learned that it can become easy to feel a sense of motivation when seeing others share their successes. I have also learned that the sense of motivation doesn’t necessarily always last. It can always come and go until the next cycle hits you. Thus, the cycle then repeats.

I have also learned that when you’re so focused on getting your list of goals, it can become pretty easy to fake the funk. I become so engulfed in trying to get things off my checklist, and then I see businesswomen on my Twitter making tweets about how much they have to do or have done, so I’m taking it in like it’s fuel to kick ass in my own work. I think I’m so motivated and I tell myself I am, but after sitting in my little workspace for hours, I discover that not much has been accomplished. It’s sometimes discovered that nothing at all has been accomplished besides burning my eyes staring at a computer screen.

But wait…I did everything to create the perfect motivation elixir…

I like to make a cup of coffee because, although homemade coffee doesn’t give me the energy aspect, it does make me feel motivated and gives me the feeling that I’m a boss. I also like to have some form of music playing because it helps me get into the vibe. Depending on the mood I’m feeling, I either play Jazz or music from my Boss Girl Playlist. I even worked hard to create an office space with white walls, windows that bring in light, plants all around, and more! I should feel motivated every single day!

Yea…in my head…

Unfortunately, that is not the case and I have to be open and honest with myself about it. Here I thought that motivation was going to become more of a thing when I found something that I was passionate about…that statement is sadly false. Truthfully, I am just not motivated and I haven’t been for over a month. I may look like it to others who see me check off my to-do lists, but they don’t know it took about a month just to get there. I know I’m speaking pretty loud with this one, but motivation isn’t sitting in that cup of coffee. If it was, it wouldn’t take two of them, and it certainly isn’t going to be in the third.

Though it can be hard to become open and honest with yourself, there’s good news in doing so. The first bit of good news is that there’s a sense of relief that suddenly falls off of your shoulders. I’m still stuck a bit into this cycle of pretending that I feel motivated, but to be able to just say “I’m just not feeling it” instead of pretending is such a relieving feeling. The second bit of good news is that now, you don’t have to try and rely on a motivational feeling that just may never come back. I read a statement months ago and it said that you shouldn’t rely on motivation because it can come and go. This statement couldn’t be any more true and is the reason why I’ve started the work to push through this moment of no motivation.

To close this, I just want all of you who are reading this to remember that no matter how motivated someone may seem to look, things are possibly the complete opposite beneath the surface. If you’re not feeling motivated, then that’s okay! The thing that has been keeping me going isn’t motivation but instead my determination and drive to make it to the life I have planned for myself. You just have to find your own thing that keeps you going.

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Is there something you suddenly realized you should be honest with yourself about? I would love to know what is and what made you come to that realization!