The One Simple Daily Practice That Can Keep You Motivated During Tough Times

​I was having a rough day recently. Nothing in particular was wrong but at the same time it felt like everything was wrong. It was just one of those days. It was one of those days when I just felt off. It was one of those days when everyone and everything irritates me for no apparent reason. It was a day when I didn’t see the point in checking off my to-do list, or in pursuing any of my goals. In retrospect, given all the madness that was happening in the world at that time, I ended up feeling bad about feeling bad. Which only made me feel worse…
 
When we’re feeling down we have a tendency to start comparing ourselves to others. Interestingly, it’s often those people whom we think have it better than us that we compare ourselves to the most. Now don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing inherently bad about wanting to have our act together. There is nothing wrong with striving to be better, with having a desire to be like those people who seem to always be in control of their lives. But when we only compare ourselves to those who have it better and we don’t even consider the other side, that’s when we fall into despair and fall out of balance.
 
So what happens if we flip the script? What if instead of focusing so much on those who we think have it better than us, we start focusing our attention on those who might just have it worse? What if instead, we focus on our gratitude for having it better than others? Then, what if with that gratitude, we find the strength to overcome our struggles? What if, with that newfound strength and clarity, we are then able to help lift those who have it worse than us?
 
I am not at all saying that you should not acknowledge your struggles, real or imagined. I know that people from the outside can often peer in and be dismissive; they call our problems “first world problems” when problems are deemed relatively insignificant. This does not really help the person in that situation deal with the problem on hand. But this comment is meant to shed some light; to remind you to take a new perspective, to consider how lucky you are that this is the biggest problem you are contending with at the moment.
 
In the end, it’s all about perspective. If you perceive something to be stressful then for you, it will be stressful. But the beauty is, you can change your perception of anything at any given moment. You can decide that a problem is but a mere challenge, just one more small figurative bump in the long road ahead. A problem does not need to be crippling. You can and you will persevere and push through. The human spirit is capable of enduring far beyond what we can even imagine.
 
Despairing in the “woe is me” mindset is a disservice to those who would give anything to be in your shoes right now. Acknowledge that you are facing some adversity but do so, not with a victim mentality but with the mentality of a problem solver. Don’t get stuck feeling sorry for yourself. Just the same, don’t let yourself get crippled by sympathy pain and feeling sorry for the state of affairs our world is in either.
 
Instead, find inspiration in those who have it rough; find strength in those who continue to show up each and every day and who keep trying, despite being dealt a worse hand than you. Take advantage of your state of unease and anxiety by converting that energy into action. Use adversity to discover more about yourself, to uncover your true capabilities and to realize what truly matters most. 

​Practicing Gratitude to Meet your Health Goals
A healthy body starts with a healthy mind. You need one in order to have the other. You cannot separate the mind from the body. With the right mindset you can become healthy physically, mentally and spiritually. Gratitude can help give you that mindset.
 
I recently realized that it is gratitude that consistently helps me move forward. It’s gratitude that helps me meet my goals. It’s gratitude for the simple things, no matter how seemingly small, that prompt me to keep trying to make the world a better place, in my own way, whatever that looks like.

​​A practice of gratitude means appreciating all that your body can do, right now. It means appreciating the gift of movement. It means becoming acutely aware of the many people who can no longer move their bodies like you can. I’ve seen those people firsthand as a nurse. In fact, I think of them often when I push myself to workout. In a way, I am doing it for them. I consider myself lucky that I can still move my body as I am. Yes, I am middle aged and already have a few aches and pains. A 20-year old might have more endurance and strength than I do. But then I remind myself that I probably have more strength and endurance than a 60-year old. I am lucky.
 
I am lucky that my biggest dilemma some days is just trying to find the motivation to exercise. I am lucky that I live in a safe enough place that allows me to focus on exercise every day. I am lucky that I have time. The same cannot be said for everyone. I don’t have to move my body every day; I get to move my body every day.
 
The same applies for eating healthy. There are millions of people living in the world right now who would quite literally kill for the foods that I have access to. Meanwhile, my biggest problem is trying to motivate myself to eat healthier; to force myself to eat those foods that nourish me best; the foods that so many are deprived of, yet that we continually shun in exchange for less healthy “junk” foods. I try to remember all of these things every time I feel sorry for myself for saying “no” to dessert. I remind myself of how lucky I am to have an abundance of nutrients available to me. I remind myself of how I ought to appreciate and savor every nourishing bite I can get a hold of, when so many others cannot.
 
All of this gratitude, of course, does not come without a sense of guilt. But I also know that I alone cannot fix all of the complex problems of the world. I know that I cannot ease suffering. But the very least I can do is appreciate what I have and what’s been given to me. And with that appreciation and with that attitude of gratitude, I find that I can more easily move forward. With this mindset I am able to do more in life. I can more easily take care of myself and consequently, to contribute to others too. This is what makes gratitude so powerful. And this is what I will remind myself of the next time one of those rough days arise when I feel like doing nothing but feeling sorry for myself. 

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