After you’ve settled in on a morning routine that satisfies your needs and wants, you may find, over time, you start losing motivation.
One of two reasons usually keeps people from maintaining a healthy habit.
The #1 reason people lose motivation is when experiencing unplanned change.
Take COVID-19 as an example. All of the sudden, nearly everything in our lives changed. What was a routine before no longer seemed necessary or even applicable.
In the beginning, I found myself missing my alarm and sleeping in later and later. Was this a sign that my morning routine was over? Would my lapse be temporary or permanent?
In most instances, the answer is temporary, but change requires some flexibility on your part. Instead of fighting it, allow yourself a free pass and set a new goal so as to avoid new bad habits from forming. In general, bad habits take time to form, just as the good habits did, so don’t panic if you do something on occasion that is out of character.
The #2 reason people lose their morning motivation is seasonal depression.
This happens to me every fall heading into winter. At first, I feel sluggish and sometimes even mistake it as a slight cold or illness. My alarm will go off and I erroneously tell myself, “With a cold in your head, stay in bed.” (These were words from my childhood favorite book.)
Here is the problem with this one. Seasonal depression is sneaky. While some believe the shorter bouts of depression are our body's need to reboot, it leads most of us down a wretched path of losing motivation.
If you need a reboot, then, by all means, allow for it. However, make sure to set an end date and force yourself back into your routine. If it’s seasonal depression that is messing with your ability to get moving, then force yourself to get back into it after a few days or else you will sink further.
I’ve found that if I can force myself to do my affirmations, stretching, breathing, and journaling that I exit my state of seasonal depression much more quickly. What used to last weeks, and even months, now seems to fade away in a few days or short weeks. It’s worth it to fight through these periods with your mornings intact.
The main idea is to stick with and keep what makes you a better, happier, healthier you. Just as your kids or your job aren’t always perfect, neither are your mornings. Remember the good times and aim to get back to them.
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