HOW I STAY MOTIVATED

After last Friday's Q&A I got many questions related to motivation and I wanted to share with you a few tips on how I stay positive, inspired and where I find my motivation.

In my own experience motivation was not something that just happened to me. In the past I was more focused on external validation and keeping other people happy with what I do, instead of focusing on what I really wanted. I think I just never stopped to actually develop this mental image of my best version and I was always feeling down with criticism.

GETTING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

The first stage to this change started 10 years ago when I move out of my home town. I wanted a change and I decided to move from Cordoba, in Argentina, to Jerusalem, in Israel. The change was a cultural shock that made me have a completely different perspective on what I considered 'normal' or 'regular'. With the time i started developing a new person that was more aligned with the real me, not the one society shaped, not the version that my family, school, university and friends created. I started making my own choices related to food, work, relationships and all kind of daily activities. I dedicated this time to learn 3 new languages because my english was pretty rusty back then, and I took some time to decide how I really wanted to develop my profesional life.

DON'T BE AFRAID OF BEING ALONE

After 6 months I decided to move to a different city and I got a studio apartment on the edge of Tel Aviv. I started working as an illustrator and learned some web design skills.

The first year was very hard, being so far from my family and friends was not easy and I was feeling very lonely. The working environment was not positive and I faced some nasty comments from coworkers. The fact that I was feeling so desperate to make new friends made me receive all kind of interactions that nowadays I would have avoided. I learned how to read people and how to stay away from the ones that don't feel good.

I literally talk only with those that feel more aligned with my values and I developed the skill of spotting those people very fast. I'm not afraid of being alone or having less friends, I know that the ones that are in my life are the special ones and we lift each other up. I know now that I don't have to smile in order to be perceived as a nice person because I don't have to prove nothing to anyone and being alone is not bad, when you are authentic and aligned with your higher version, the right people will join.

BEING GRATEFUL ON THE THINGS WE GIVE FOR GRANTED

Some days are harder than others, specially with all that is happening in the world. When we start focusing on all the problems and the things that are not working around us, we lower our vibration and we start going on a spiral down.

What I find very useful is to journal about what are the things that I love about life, I start with the smaller things, like having running water, or how lucky I am to have a bed, how I love my cat, or how delicious is coffee.

We all have our own small pleasures in life and I'm sure you can also find at least 5 reasons to be grateful everyday.

If you don't feel like writing, go for a very long walk, one of those that will make you feel really tired at the end. Moving your body positively impacts on the serotonin levels in your brain regulating your mood, and if you choose to focus on all the beautiful things you can find during this time, you will feel much more inspired and motivated every day.

WRITE THE STORY AS IT IS ALREADY HAPPENING

For any aspect of my life that I want to improve, I work on creative visualization to manifest it.

I write 2 pages of my notebook everyday and I tell the story as it's already happening.

As an example, let's say you want to improve your health, write about how amazing your body feels and how you are keeping it on the best shape. Try to write something like "my body feels better every day, I am healing with the food I consume, on the way I hidrate it and how I move it, I'm improving the way I treat my body and how I treat myself."

This activity is really easy and it will take you a short amount of your time, but it's so significant how you can trick your mind in order to feel how you want to feel and accomplish anything you want.

If you feel like this is lying to yourself, this feeling will not las for long, because you will start getting results right away.