Recovery Kit: Why Regaining Motivation Is All In How You Prepare

The day you finally realize that time is the most valuable asset you have is like your second birthday. Everything you do becomes intentional as you understand your purpose and the obstacles you must overcome to fulfill it.
This non-stop grind mentality is good. It helps you prioritize necessities from luxuries and keeps you honed in on the next task at hand. However, in the heat of a marathon it’s easy to pull a hamstring.
Mental fatigue, lack of motivation, fits of lethargy, and countless other factors will inevitably blindside you so your job is to be preventative as possible and to know what to do when fatigue hits.
A recovery kit is nothing more than a short tangible list of accomplishable goals. If you look at the big picture you’re never going to summon enough courage to begin a comeback. But when you are realistic with yourself and remember how it feels to be proud of something you did, you will build the necessary momentum to get back on track.
This recovery kit concept is applicable to any real predicament. Whether it be a job title, dollar amount, or GPA, a setback doesn’t have to keep you back.
Once you realize that mishaps are a part of life and it’s all about how we handle them, you will not panic when they arise.

Accepting Where You Are

You’re going to have be realistic with yourself, and that’s going to be a tough pill to swallow. When you fall from a groove you were proud of, a time when your clicking on all cylinders, you’re not going to want to accept where you are.
The dangerous thing about not taking responsibility for yourself however, is that you’ll never think to fix the actual problem — you.
It’s not the weather or the right shoes or your inability to afford the right food that’s keeping you out of shape, it’s you. No, you’re not fine. You can’t sleep in another day. Yes, you do have a spending problem.
It’s only when we recognize what we’re not doing right that we will be able to make the proper adjustments to get to where we must. You cannot expect a new outcome from old habits.
Once you master your ability to spot patterns of non-productivity, you’ll respond faster and minimize the amount of time and energy spent running in place.

Small Goals At A Time

Once we have a concrete grip on what where we are and what we need to do we can chip off it a little at a time.
I get a small rush every time I cross something off my to-do list. Because seeing goals met is such a positive reinforcement for me, I make realistic benchmarks for myself every day of every week — no matter how small — so I can feel a sense of accomplishment.
This can be as simple as being adamant not to eat out and rewarding myself for sticking to meal prep or vowing not to party for a solid month. If you know it will be beneficial to your progress make it a goal, write it down, and see it through.
Eventually, you’ll grow tired of junk food and you’ll be receiving the best sleep of your life, all while moving closer to your ultimate benchmark.
After meeting smaller goals week-to-week, you’ll begin to see yourself regain the healthy habits you need to consistently march towards your ultimate goal.
The quicker you get in a productive rhythm the sooner you can quicken pace.

Protect Your Progress

Once you are on the roll again adulting at the highest efficiency possible, it’s then time to take preventative measures.
Which environments do you thrive in? Which people push you? What diet makes you sluggish?
You should know the answers to these types of questions due to the self-evaluation that happened when you realized you needed a turn-around in the first place.
And because you know what your weaknesses are, it’s your responsibility to be intentional about making sure you don’t fall in the same holes again.
You should know not to invite Shaina over during the work week. You know you can never have just one beer when you go out with the boys after work. You know what happens to your creativity when you don’t work out.
Keeping the right routines in place and monitoring how you react to the unexpected curveballs life throws at us are key in protecting your progress.
You don’t want to have to get in another slump, especially due to the same slip-ups, so trust in the rules you give yourself and have enough self-discipline to carry them out.
We all fall, but not everyone gets back up. If you ever wondered what separates the people who get what they want from the people who want what they can get — it’s the tenacity to keep going.
We have to be both tough and wise, work hard but smart. We are human and we fall down, it’s all about making sure we don’t stay there.