I am lacking motivation right now, how can I unblock myself?
We all experience the ups and downs of our motivational levels.
On a recent trip to visit my parents I showed up with the intention of helping out a lot with a large landscaping endeavor that they had undertaken. I remember my motivation completely failing me, and wondering what would get me going.
The way that I responded was to look inside. I spent time on looking into at my sense of purpose and the sense I have about who I am. Given, this was part of my practice anyway, but I gave extra attention to the degree that they were aligned. Is my sense of purpose aligned with who I know that I am? Are my goals aligned with my sense of purpose?
Visiting my parents has brought back old patterns since I moved out in the first place. To this day I wonder about what opportunities this represents for myself to do some inner work.
Here is an example of a process that I would guide myself through and invite you to work with in a similar situation.
1) Ask yourself who you are. Work with this until you get a sense of knowing the bubbles up from the inside, rather then thinking your way through it.
2) Ask yourself what your purpose is, as of this moment. With each of these questions, tune in to your whole being rather then drawing strictly from your rational process. Our cognitive process is useful, but it is only one form of intelligence. If you let the questions sink into your body and wait with a sense of curiosity and openness, the information that you receive is more likely to draw from your emotional and instinctual intelligences, and perhaps from beyond that.
3) Take a birds eye perspective now, and look at the relationship between the two. What do you see? Is the sense of purpose that you have chosen aligned with who you truly are?
4) Next, look at what it is that you are after in the moment. If you are struggling with motivation, look at what you want to be motivated to move towards.
5) Zoom your awareness out again and look at how aligned your sense of purpose is with your goal. What do you see? Give this the time and space that it needs.
6) Finally, have a clearing. If you are working with just one goal here, identify what you are attached to and have a clearing. One by one, release your attachments. Just ask, is my desire for this goal more related to wanting control, wanting approval, or wanting security? For each desire, welcome it fully and then let it go.
This is the same practice that I will use when I run up against my motivational blocks. It is inspired by my experience with the “Big Mind” process and the “Sedona Method.”
Working with my personal practice I have had a lot of success with this. Although I will customize it to fit what I need in a given day, here is a snapshot of what might be in service. Take some time each morning to ground yourself and stretch your body out. Then reflect on the questions… who are you? What is your purpose? What is the way of being that is most aligned with that? From here, look at your dreams and visions… are they aligned? If so, use the Sedona method to identify what you might be attached to regarding each goal and release it. Finally, if you are not jazzed to move forward from there, notice what you feel regarding that goal or dream. Notice where you feel whatever sensation it is… where in your body it is. Breathe into it and welcome it fully, and then release it. Repeat until you feel complete.
Integral Praxis 