5. Lacking Motivation? Ask Yourself This Question!

Jen:
0:00
Have you ever felt completely unmotivated to write, like what you're working on doesn't even matter? You wake up in a funk or you have a bad day and suddenly you just have no desire whatsoever to write. You know what it happens to the best of us. Today, I'm going to teach you my number one tip To increase your motivation and help you stay on track with your writing, even when you don't feel like it. Welcome to Mom Writes First, the podcast that helps you, the busy, overwhelmed mom, create a 10-minute a day writing habit so that you can finally write, publish and sell your first book. I'm your host, jen Larmor. I'm a mom of five, a lawyer, a life coach and an aspiring author. Come with me on this journey where we will empower each other to finally write the book that's been on our heart. Welcome to all my writer mamas out there. I'm so glad that you're here.

Jen:
1:07
Hey, has anybody ever told you that to achieve something big in your life, something that's going to take time, you have to have a compelling reason. You have to know the why behind what you're trying to do. You have to have something bigger than yourself that you're working towards. Because if you don't have those things, if you don't have that compelling reason, if you don't have a purpose bigger than yourself, then you're not going to stay with it through the long haul. If you aren't on board with the why, when the going gets tough and it will you will quit. You'll lose motivation, you won't stay focused or energized or committed. Now, that thinking isn't wrong. People have written whole books on this. People have talked about why. You have to know your why forever. And yet the adage remember the why isn't always enough to actually keep me motivated. So today I'm sharing with you my twist on this that I found works even better. Whenever I'm lost, whenever I think that something I'm trying to do doesn't matter, whenever I want to give up, whenever I do give up and then have to restart, when I fall down and have to pick myself back up, this is the trick that helps me. This is the thought. This, my friends, is my number one motivation tool. It is what keeps me going to the gym at 5 am. It's what helped me to build a 10-minute a day yoga practice. It's what is helping me stick with this podcast, even though I have a zillion other things going on. It inspired me to start my blog, and now this is what's helping me to actually write my book by committing to writing 10 minutes every day.

Jen:
3:05
This is the question that keeps me motivated. What do I want to create? It's six words and it is powerful. For me, it's a game changer. Sometimes it's a slap in the face, sometimes it's a warm hug, sometimes it is a reminder to puff up my chest and keep right on going. When I ask myself this question, I am reminded about everything that I want to create in this precious life of mine. It helps me with my writing, with my fitness, with my home, even with my kids. This question helps me be a better mom, because when I think about what I want to create as a mom, this question what do I want to create drops me into a place that reminds me that I am here to raise strong, confident adults who come from a rooted and connected home. This is a question that keeps me focused on the big picture and yet, at the same time, it allows me to think about in the moment what I actually want to create and what I need to do in that moment to create it. It is the macro and it is the micro.

Jen:
4:35
Try this question yourself. Think about what you want to create with this beautiful life that you have. Make a list and do not censor it, don't judge it, don't hold yourself back. Just get started writing it down. Writing it down, drawing it down, putting it on paper. I have found that getting it on paper is often the first step to believing that it is even possible. And then watch as that tiny act of putting it out into the world starts to increase your own internal motivation and drive to actually make it happen.

Jen:
5:15
The key with this question what do you want to create is to ask yourself this question honestly. If you have any cognitive dissonance surrounding this, you're going to feel it, you're going to struggle and you're going to stay stuck. I see that this is where a lot of my clients get hung up, and I know that this is where I get hung up too sometimes Because, for whatever reason, we aren't being honest with ourselves about what it is that we really want. We're doing something out of that space of should or obligation, or out of a sense of sunk costs, or because this is how somebody else has done it, or because this is what other people expect of you. But when what we want is somehow not in alignment with our values, that cognitive dissonance is a clanging bell that stops us from moving forward. In this regard, the question what do you want to create is also a beautiful question to ask yourself. As you explore and get clarity on your values, as you learn to understand what actually really matters to you.

Jen:
6:28
This question also puts us in choice. And guess what? Here's the thing you don't have to create anything. You don't have to be that amazing mom. You don't have to go to work. You don't have to go to the gym. You sure don't need to write the book. You don't actually have to do any of it. You have an option. You have loads of options, and one of those options is to do absolutely nothing, to sit on the couch, to take a nap and let me be clear I don't actually have an issue with you taking a nap or being on the couch. I need a nap sometimes. You have the option to check out. You have the option to leave. You're not required to be here and I am not judging you on this.

Jen:
7:16
You get to decide Whatever you choose. As long as you like your reasons for choosing it, I'm good with it and I will support you. You just have to like your reason for what you're choosing. But, my friend, the fact of the matter is that I know you. I already know what you're going to choose. You have already decided. You're going to decide to write the book. You've already chosen it and you've chosen it from your very best place, your best self. You just have to remember why you chose it and then, chances are, you're going to choose that book again, over and over again, every time.

Jen:
7:58
You ask yourself this question what do you want to create? So think about what you are trying to create, write it down, explain what it is that you're trying to make in this world and how your book relates to it. Answer the question what do you want to create? And let your imagination unfold. Okay, my friends, that is what I have for you today. That is my awesome, beautiful question that I want you to ask yourself.

Jen:
8:27
And so now, today, I want to move on to the new segment in this podcast, which is where I share with you something that I absolutely love, something that is absolutely incredible, something that is changing my life right now. So this week's Gem of the Week is by a beautiful, incredible, generous, creative woman. Her name is Dr Megan Powell and she is the creator of the Power within her podcast and I knew I had to share her podcast with you because she's all about empowering women, especially via journaling, which, as writer moms, a lot of us are really going to love. So definitely head over to your favorite podcast platform and check her out. I will include all of her details in the show notes. I will also post it over on my social media, at momwritesfirst on Instagram. I would love it if you gave me a follow. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. Know that together we're going to write our books. Remember, it takes just 10 minutes a day to create a sustainable writing habit. You got this.