Even if you don't struggle with stress management, things like social media, the news, your coworkers, and even your family can be overwhelming and frustrating to deal with day to day. It's easy to get tired and lose sight of what inspires you.
So if you need a reminder to keep going, to keep creating or working or inventing or selling or whatever it is you do, I want to share with you some of the things that inspire me to keep going when I feel like giving up.
One of my favorite tools to use is Pinterest, because I can compile visual inspiration boards and fill them with anything under the sun! I have a board filled with inspirational quotes, one for adorable animal pictures, another for outfits and clothing I'd love to wear when I hit my weight goals, and a board for my professional goals and dreams.
If you don't love Pinterest as much as I do, you can compile a folder full of inspirational photos on your computer, keep a journal full of quotes, or make a playlist of songs that stir up inspiration for you.
For Weight Loss
To be totally honest, my struggle with my weight hit a low point in college and is only now starting to see progress. One of the traits I am (slowly but surely) learning is self-discipline, because at the end of the day, I am the one who has to be in charge of myself. Marco has been a huge help for me, of course but whether or not I like it, I have to learn to rely on myself to make the change I want to see.
My biggest inspiration for a healthier lifestyle is pictures of people who are doing activities I really want to do, but can't do now or struggle to do comfortably. This includes most outdoor experiences, like zip lining, horseback riding, swimming, running, stretching out on a yoga mat, canoeing or kayaking, hiking, dancing, bicycling, rollerblading, etc. Whenever I start to doubt my hard work or feel like "it's not worth it," I can scroll through these pictures and remind myself of my bigger "why."
Having a stash of action-packed photos helps me keep my focus; wanting to "be skinny" is not my real goal, even though my brain keeps repeating that. My real goal is to have a strong, capable body.
For my Professional Aspirations
I've always been one of those people who doesn't want to be tied down to one profession for my whole life. I have a million ideas and dreams and I don't want to choose only one or two, I want to do them all! But especially now, I can feel overwhelmed by not knowing what my next step is or how to get to where I want to be. Sometimes I overwhelm myself by having too many options at once, but more often than not, I start to crumple with impostor syndrome and thinking that I'm not good enough or talented enough to do any of the things I hope to do.
I've always been incredibly inspired by behind-the-scenes photos from my favorite movies and television shows. I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to this!
I also have a list of conventions and conferences I'd like to attend someday, a list of people I would love to work with on a project, a notebook full of story and novel ideas, a Pinterest board with a "writer's aesthetic," a running list of all my entrepreneurial visions, and of course, I make a point to follow people on social media who are working in the various fields in which I've taken an interest. Even the logos of companies I want to work with or conferences I want to attend inspire me to keep going with my projects.
For Aesthetic
If you don't know this already, I was homeschooled from grades 5-12. I didn't struggle with being popular at school or pine over the latest fashion trend or have to wake up hours early to do my hair and makeup before getting on the bus. Which means I also did not develop much of a fashion taste or hair and makeup skills, both fine when you only have to travel from your room to the den for your classes. Now that I'm an adult and have to see other adults in a work setting, I wish I'd cared more about finding my style and learning a few tricks with a curling iron. I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do!
There is one place I go most frequently for inspiration, and you guessed it, it's Pinterest. I do find plenty of hair and makeup tutorials on YouTube and lately I've been seeing a lot of good ideas on TikTok, but Pinterest is king when it comes to compiling a collection of photos.
If I'm ever feeling frustrated, or even to distract myself from anxiety, I can hop onto Pinterest and add pictures to any of my boards. Keeping a focus on the future, about what direction you want to go in, is a great way to help stay on track and realign yourself with your goals, even if that goal is to find your fashion style or aesthetic. It seriously changes my whole mood when I scroll through my handpicked photos that represent the life I am working towards.
Sometimes the best inspiration is found in the little things. When those moments come, enjoy them fully while they last. But since we can't always count on them to arrive every time we need them, here are some of my go-to's for inspiration:
-music playlist (Spotify is my default music player, and they have a ton of pre-made playlists for all genres, moods, and settings). Listening to the right music can really set the tone for your entire day.
-Pinterest: If you're not sick of me mentioning it by now, check out my profile here
-book of quotes. I hand-write my favorite quotes into a journal and flip through it when I need a quick inspiration refresher. I find my quotes in books I read, listening to interviews with my favorite actors/writers/directors/business gurus, from TV shows and movies, in music, or just by doing a Google search.
-vision board. This is a great way to keep yourself inspired all year long. Check out this article & learn how I put my board together!
-journaling. Sometimes the best person to inspire you is YOU. Spend time with yourself on a regular basis, even if it's not every day. Journaling is so helpful in so many ways, and when you feel like you are struggling to reach your goals, just look back and see how far you've come since the day you started! Similarly, you can spend time writing out what you want the next month or year to look like, and get that spark of inspiration by imagining the near future.
-passion. If you're lucky, you've figured out how to turn what you love into a job, but even then you can experience burn out. While some people recommend taking a break from work, I think another good way of inspiring and re-energizing yourself is to go back to where your passion started. You can look through your earliest drawings and do a fresh sketch of one of your original ideas, write your first short story from a different perspective, flip through your yearbook and enjoy the memories of your high school sports career, watch a clip of the first time you spoke at a conference, or whatever it is that will remind you of where you started and what it felt like to feel alive with driving passion when you were younger.
-food. Sometimes all it takes is a good meal to get you back in the saddle. If you need mom's home-cooked lasagna or Grandma's cookies or the meal you had on the first date with your significant other, make it happen and enjoy the good eats.
The main point I'm hoping to make is to remind yourself of your end goal. Your goal will transcend anything that is overwhelming you in the moment, so take a bit to rest, keep your focus on your mile markers, and then make your dreams come true.
Question of the Day: What is one of your go-to inspirations?