Let's talk about what to do when you feel like doing nothing when everything feels exhausting and you have no energy or motivation to do anything.
I know you want to hear about suggestions on how to be productive when you are feeling unmotivated but the truth is when you are in this low state the best thing you can do for yourself is to do the opposite of being productive.
You have to slow down, be gentle on yourself, and allow yourself to breathe and heal.
Don't try to get your life together, just allow yourself to be…
If you are feeling this way, it's likely you have high expectations for yourself, and you are frustrated because you haven't been able to show up the way you intended.
Or maybe others have high expectations of you whether it is loved ones, coworkers, or the people around you.
Maybe you have been pushing yourself too hard, taking too much on our shoulders and just burning yourself out.
Sometimes we may feel this way because we had expectations for what the world around us should be or what our life should look like, and when that all fell short we lost our sense of control and didn’t know how to handle it.
In terms of our energy, we have been operating too much in our masculine side, focusing on productivity, achievements, external success and control. And now our body and energy are telling us we need to surrender to our feminine side; to go inward… slow down… heal… and love ourselves. Surrender is a key word here.
We have to release our feelings of control, release our expectations on ourselves and accept ourselves as we are right now. It’s both hard and easy at the same time. It can be so hard to surrender but on the other hand it is so easy because all you have to do is let go.
There is no action needed. Just inaction.
So what should you do when you feel like doing nothing?
First, let yourself rest. Remove any and all pressures to be or do anything.
Just exist.
Stop putting any expectations on yourself. Understand you probably feel burnt out or depleted so just let your body and mind rest and recuperate.
It's ironic that when you are unwell all you have to do is nothing and just rest, because your body is fighting hard for you. Your immune system is doing the hard work and your body literally already knows what to do. You don't have to do anything. Just sit back and allow your body to balance and heal itself.
Secondly, give yourself love. Be kind and gentle with yourself no matter what.
Practice unconditional love… meaning giving yourself love regardless of anything. Love is accepting, so accept yourself exactly as you are right now. Don't force anything. Practice self forgiveness if you have been hard on yourself. Wherever you are right now is okay.
Try shifting your focus. Don't underestimate the power of changing your perspective. We often feel low because we have been focusing on the wrong or difficult things. When you focus on something that is hard, you feel like giving up easier because it is such a struggle. When you focus on what is easy, it makes it easier to get through the tougher times. So instead of focusing on what is hard, try focusing on what is easy. Instead of focusing on what is going wrong in your life, focus on what is still going right.
Try doing this as a journaling exercise. This will give you a chance to write down things and then look back. I think you will find it resonate more with your.
Actively choose where you turn your attention to, because it matters and it makes a significant difference in how we feel.
If you feel you need more help, talk with someone in your life whom you trust. We each need a support system in our lives and our mental health suffers if we don't have one. Another option to consider is therapy, whether it be in person or online.
Third, another piece of advice I suggest is when you are feeling low, stop consuming content that makes you feel worse or negative.
This includes any content that makes you feel bad about yourself , that makes you compare yourself to others, or even positive or inspirational content because sometimes it can remind you of what you are unable to do at the moment.
Sometimes it can be hard to have a positive mindset about things, and that’s okay. Allow yourself to feel whatever it is you are feeling right now.
Accept yourself as you are.
If you want a “reset” or to refresh, go into nature. Being in nature heals you on a spiritual level. You are reminded of the stillness and ease in nature, and that you are just a small part of this bigger world. When you are out in nature, you feel small. Here you can revive your sense of peace. It doesn't have to be a major trip. Just take a walk outside, go to a nearby park, or maybe go to the beach or the mountains. The energy of nature, the plants, the flowers, the fresh air, the breeze, the sun and yes, even the rain can be incredibly healing.
Next, life happens in cycles. Just like the cycle of the day, our moon, or our four seasons, life happens in cycles. Change is the only constant. This means life never stays the same and is always going through cycles or seasons.
Have you ever heard of the saying, “this too shall pass”? Whatever you are going though, now that it too shall pass. You may be going through a tough time right now, but it wont stay like this forever.
Your situation and your feelings will change. Just stay patient and persevere through this season. Learn to embrace the cycles and seasons of your life. Both the highs and the lows, because without the lows there wouldn’t be the highs and vice versa. It is the depth and variety that will allow you to feel the difference. If you only knew day and never knew night, you would take the sun for granted. You would not appreciate it as much. It's because you know night, that you can appreciate the day and vice versa. Same with our emotions. It's because you have experienced the lows that you can deeply appreciate the highs.
Once you have given yourself rest, and you are ready to take some action, start with baby steps. Release any expectations or pressures you might have for yourself. Break down your tasks into the smallest and easiest blocks you can. Do as much as you feel you can, and congratulate yourself for those small actions.
We tend to want to be ambitious and set these big goals for ourselves, but when we don't meet them, we feel like we failed and then we feel even worse about ourselves.
The better approach is to start small and give yourself grace. A small effort is still an effort. By doing this you take the pressure off and you are building your physical and mental stamina to be able to do more.
Lastly and importantly, find gratitude in every little thing. Get specific about all the small things in life you are grateful for. Open up your journal or word document, and start writing a list of sentences that begin with “I am grateful for…” or “I’m blessed with…” You will find once you start focusing on gratitude, more and more things pop up.
Hopefully these suggestions are helpful to you, it's a gentle reminder that if you feel like doing nothing, it’s okay. It's okay to be gentle with yourself. It's okay to give yourself space to breathe and to heal. We all need it from time to time. It's part of our cycle.
Like I said, there is both masculine and feminine energies. Our world operates mostly on the masculine and we are expected to do and achieve and add value to the world and that's okay; But we cannot ignore the feminine energy that wants us to go inward, to allow us to just be.
Simply existing, of least efforts, not trying to achieve or do more, but to do less and allow life to flow more naturally.
I think people worry if you don’t do anything, your life won’t move forward, but that is just not true. Just as your body knows how to heal itself when you do nothing, your life will be guided forward and change will happen because change is always happening if you are not trying to. All you have to do is follow your intuition, and if you don’t know what it is telling you, just get quiet. Maybe it is telling you that you need a break before it tells you what to do next.
Always love yourself. Be forgiving to yourself. Be kind to yourself.