The Mindful Migraine

Now that I have finished my PhD and graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy, I find myself with a lot of time on my hands. I still have plenty of things to do, don’t get me wrong, but there is now a gaping 20-hours-a-week ‘hole’ in my to do list. Which is a good thing – it gives me time to rest, restore, recover, rejuvenate, and any other R words that suit…

BUT

After a couple of weeks of this R&R I discovered that I was slipping into a funk.

For the first time in a very long time, I felt… meh towards everything.

Why not exercise more? No thanks.

Cook? Mmmm… nup.

Take up painting? Why?

Read for fun. OK, yes… that I could do… I highly recommend Australian Robbie Arnott’s unputdownable, genre-mashup “Dusk” (2024).

But then what?

The kids don’t need more of my time, they’re almost adults and are enjoying their independence and freedom, they don’t need me hanging around.

I could spend more time with family and friends, sure, yes, that has been lovely, but once I was all caught up, my introvert-self felt a bit overwhelmed with too many outings.

Gardening helped for a while too, but after my second set of seeds got washed away (I mentioned the first flood before (here)) I felt less motivated to try harder.

I could launch myself back into the employment arena… yes, that’s on the cards for next year, but only in a part-time capacity… and even then, I’ll need to be more pain-free to be reliable enough.

So… what do you do when you lose motivation?

I started with a (7min) video:

[Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y8zNvLBP9U&t=317s]

The video points out that there are two parts to getting motivated: “inspired by…” and “inspired to…”

The first is passive, the second active. The first step is the “ah-ha” spark that zings through your mind [heart and soul], and the second is the zap that gets you off the couch.

For example; you get inspired BY the beauty of a sunset, after which you are inspired TO paint the sunset on a canvas (or grab your camera and take a series of arty-photos or write a haiku poem).

The trick the video says, is to start by increasing the number of “inspired by…” moments in your life.

Apparently, most of us are using the “executive attention network” part of our brain to get through the day. When you stop working, you trigger the “default mode network” part of your mind… your attention wanders, you daydream… it seems as if your brain might have even stalled into non-activity BUT that’s not true: this is the time when spontaneous ideas pop into your head.

[You often hear of people having a eureka moment in the shower, when they’re totally relaxed and doing nothing. For me its walking the dog… I often have solutions to niggling problems appear as I’m looking at my feet pacing the pavement, or as I rest on the grass…]

Our brains are apparently always swinging between these modes of active cognitive control and spontaneous thinking. Strangely, the video says that there is one key moment when we are using BOTH parts of our brain (spontaneous idea making and methodical idea sorting)… and it’s in those moments when we are drifting off to sleep.

They suggest that Thomas Edison was a big fan of these twilight revelations.

After some pretty amusing experiments (both scientific and her own on the couch (with a cat)) the video’s host finds she isn’t able to harness the power of ideas gained as you fall asleep and returns instead to her top 3 favorite inspiration motivators: reading fiction, walking in nature, and listening to music.

The trick is to intentionally ‘disengage’ your brain from logical thinking, so that it has the room to be inspired.

The video’s host debunks the idea that creativity is more perspiration than inspiration, and says that we should stop trying too hard to boost our productivity and output and just chill out a little… disengage more from your daily routine… make space and time to get inspired…

I was SO onboard with this, until the video pivoted to a brand endorsement for smart appliances… free your time to get creative by using a robot-vacuum or an AI integrated washing machine… ummm… ugh… who knew that all I needed to reverse my unmotivated self was a dishwasher… surely turning towards technology and (albeit faster) housework is the LEAST inspiring way of seeking inspiration!?

Sigh.

On the upside, the comments below the video (from people explaining how they get motivated) were pretty interesting and helpful. Some of them are summarized below:

• work hard / play lightly
• read inspirational stories by inspirational people
• creativity is circular – just start and know the action will inspire more action
• recognize that as we gain wisdom, we can better visualize the probable outcome and all the effort involved to get there, and that might make us more likely to give up in advance
• “vegging out” is not a bad thing – don’t feel guilty about not being productive all the time – we all need to rest
• have faith that you’ll find things to do eventually – be patient
• walk the same route every day so you start to do so on autopilot – this will free your mind to wander
• carry a little notebook and pen with you so you can jot down ideas as they come to you
• acknowledge that feeling fearful about outcomes can mess with creativity
• make time for deliberate daydreaming
• meditaion is the perfect way to create a disengaged mind
• music makes even the most mundane task uplifting
• stay in bed once you’re awake in the morning with your eyes closed and see where your mind goes…

For me, the two that really struck home, could be summarized as:

We are all crippled by ennui sometimes

AND

Inspiration and motivation are two different things.

I agree – I am filled with inspiration, just not motivated to do anything about it… “inspired by” is not the problem… “inspired to” is the tricky part (at the moment).

I’m not sure the video addressed this enough.

SO…

I watched a few more videos, and there were a couple more ideas about inspiration, including journalling, getting outside your comfort zone, getting ‘quiet’ with yourself… and a couple of things to avoid: scrolling through social media and binge watching TV… (my 7 types of rest post noted that resting is NOT the same as mindlessly watching screens).

There are a few tips that help regarding motivation: set a goal, start small with your actions, track progress, reward yourself when you act (it gives you a dopamine hit), and visualize how you’ll feel when the task is done…

Hmmm… I’m getting a little tied in knots… do less, visualize more, dream big, start small, track your actions but don’t make the tracking too much about tracking or you’ll be in the wrong brain mode, motivate yourself by visualizing yourself motivated… ummm…

I guess I get it – look for sparks that inspire you to get off the couch, make those sparks your prompt to create an easy action plan, reward yourself for having a go, and hope that the action will create new actions.

But I’m still not entirely sure how that all gets me off the couch when I’m still feeling overwhelmed and tired… restless and bored… and… unmotivated.

Perhaps the first step is to rest a bit more, learn to do less without judgement, and trust that when the time is right my mega-motivated-mojo will return.

What motivates you to leap off the couch?

While you’re writing your answers, I’m off to go for a walk and watch the sun set… and maybe take up painting!!

Take care taking care, Linda x

*

PS – since I first wrote this draft, I’ve started a couple of super-easy craft projects I’ll post about eventually (for now I’m just enjoying the moment) and I’ve written an eco-gothic mini-story 7 chapters long (scroll to the bottom of the blog page here and you’ll see the chapters lined up) – what I can say is: it is TRUE that getting started is the hardest part, once you do, there’s a sort of adrenalin rush that keeps you going… so go on… get inspired by something then have a go!