5 ways to find motivation & feel inspired (even in tough times) ǀ Justine Leconte
Hi it’s Justine. How are you? I’m asking this very seriously because in the last weeks i felt a little bit of covid fatigue this situation doesn’t look like it’s gonna end anytime soon and that thought is not exactly motivating though the reason why i’m telling you this is not to make you feel sad at all it’s more to highlight the need for you for me for all of us in the world to find some kind of a new balance here is how i see it since this is the new normal how do i recalibrate how i live my life in a way that brings me the balance that my brain my heart and my soul need to be happy and thriving.
it sounds very philosophical it’s actually a very pragmatic question so in the last weeks i’ve been focusing more on finding that balance for myself and this video today is me sharing my tips with you in case you need a little boost as well 🙂 everything starts with slowing down pretty much get off the hamster wheel you know that drains all your energy in the last weeks i’ve been taking some time off social media you might have noticed or not because that’s the point i wasn’t here and i kept that time for myself and this is not selfish: it’s self-care.
i highly recommend it if you haven’t done that in recent months. Tip n°1: let the thoughts everything that’s inside you out : it can be doodling your emotions while you’re on the phone picking a color that illustrates your mood of the day every day it’s a very quick exercise that i find extremely helpful and inspiring and it helps me keep myself in check kind of you could try journaling if you’re new to that good keywords to research are journaling prompts, stream of consciousness, morning pages.
The artist’s way at work is a book i can recommend as well i will link useful tutorials and resources down below in the description if you want to dig deeper into that: they explained all of these things very well already i wouldn’t explain it any better so i will link and refer you directly to them.
for me when i feel like the hamster wheel is “hamstering” faster than i can handle i get out where there’s no noise from cars or from the city and where there’s no one no people i just sit down and listen to my own breath and focus on it just to get a break from the thoughts that are in my head basically the simple fact of walking outside and outside of the city is really helpful for me personally.
smell the flowers listen to the crickets or to the wind in the trees… that brings me to tip n°2: getting in touch with nature – and i mean physically. that can be walking barefoot on the grass and appreciate the texture under your feet picking up fruits from a tree collecting your flowers to create your own flower arrangement.
.. the valley of Chamonix in france is my happy place i’ve come almost every year since i was born. the mountains there are beautiful there are easy hikes where you get to see the Aiguille verte summit the Mont Blanc and 360° views of the French and Swiss alps within one hike! every couple of years i redo hikes i’ve already done before and i find peace in doing so one of my favorite ones is the hike up to col de Balme at the border between France and Switzerland and then on to the Croix de Fer (the iron cross) along the ridge of the mountain.
it’s spectacular and it makes my little human worries feel a lot less important and smaller. find that kind of place for yourself, a place where you know you always feel good and that you can go back to when you need to recenter.
Next one: pick up a new hobby that makes you feel amazing. for me that’s photography. main advantage: i don’t need much gear, just a phone or a small camera is enough for that practice it helps me observe the world around me and make decisions.
let me explain. here is an example of a beacon light that i walked past recently on a sunny day. i thought: interesting object, what am i seeing here it is the contrast between a man-made object and the nature around it what do i like is it that rusty texture what if i go around it and take a look at the other side oh that’s where the opening is up close it’s also pretty impressive in proportions i could dramatize that with a low angle shot and a blue sky at the back.
see it’s one object, multiple photo options and each photo tells a different story this is a very quick example just to show you how taking photos helps me observe and reflect on things i do it completely intuitively it’s not at all about the technical performance it’s more about the creative thinking behind it – at least in my case your “creative practice” that’s how i call it could be photography or painting or knitting drawing anything really that gives you that peaceful feeling.
the more you practice it the more you get out of it literally it’s a gift that keeps on giving! so find yourself something like that. Next one: doing things for the first time aka collecting firsts. it could be visiting a museum that you have never seen going to a new restaurant try cooking foods that you have no idea how to cook going paragliding – i’ve tried that one as well anything works really.
last week for instance i bathed up to here in a super duper cold water stream up in a mountain because my little cousins did it and then dared me to do the same it’s quite a performance because i am a warm water swimmer 😉 it’s important to keep your life exciting you know to break that routine that we might have gotten into a little bit in recent weeks and months.
.. i know that my days tend to look very alike there are weeks when i can’t tell you which day of the week it is and that’s an alarm signal. it’s important to shake things up as often as we can. Next one: take time to be bored.
many people talk about it it’s not a joke. scheduled time where you do nothing, just chill. in German they call that “guck in die Luft” (look in/at the air) it sounds very trivial but it isn’t. there is a study showing that there are two types of people in life.
type 1 thinks that their successes and their failures depend on external factors like other people the circumstances the weather etc. you get the idea. And then type 2: those people think that their successes and their failures depend on them on internal factors on their own performance on their effort.
they are much more in control of their lives or at least that’s how they feel it and they are much more likely to be successful and motivated over time – and that’s where i’m headed with this comment.
so when you decide to take a break and chill, you are basically telling your brain that you are in control of your life and this is a type 2 kind of attitude – which we’re looking for here. if you’re interested in picking up photography or any other hobby i can recommend Skillshare: it’s an online learning community which i’ve been a member of for at least two years now.
.. probably more two and a half already… they have thousands of creative classes, you can choose the topics that you are interested in and then learn at your own pace most classes are under 60 minutes so they fit your schedule easily one of my all-time favorite classes is “fundamentals of DSLR photography” by Justin Bridges: that class helped me understand the connection between aperture, shutter speed and iso when setting up for a photo.
he explains everything brilliantly A Skillshare membership costs under $10 a month for unlimited access but since they are sponsoring this video, the first 1000 of you who click on the link in the video description below will get 2 months of premium membership for free – and then you can see if it’s for you and if you like it 🙂 thumbs up if you enjoyed this video and all the little sounds from nature which i hid in there! please do share in the comments your own tips to find motivation and inspiration because you know what helps you might help somebody else as well.
.. if you need more inspiration, check that little “i” card in the corner of your screen and here’s my latest video in case you’ve missed it. i’ll see you soon in a new one, until then take care and stay safe.
Bye!
