I think initially people come into the school year with a new found source of motivation. I came this year with the motivation to grab this year by the horns and not let my circumstances define me. I reconciled a lot of relationships, joined more clubs, and sought out avenues that make me happy. Honestly, I’m feeling a little defeated because it’s been three weeks and I already feel myself losing momentum. I applied to internships and I’m waiting to hear back. I joined a fitness class at my school. It’s past syllabus week and I’m going into the part of the semester where getting quizzes are no longer a question. I pushed past my insecurities of being a junior doing what I felt I should’ve done my freshman year and my comfort zone. Still, I am at this point where I am doubting whether I should’ve opened myself up like this. 

There are so many factors that go into getting overwhelmed, but I find that looking at the bigger picture helps. 

Of all the factors I think getting burnt out comes down to unrealistic expectations of yourself and frustration (or other negative emotions) towards others. I think we all need to realign ourselves to that motivation and remind yourself of your purpose. Sometimes we drive so earnestly in one direction we get lost because we lost sight of the other deterrents in our way. We’re navigating such a big landscape at work, school, or relationships. It’s easy to misinterpret your direction if you lose your motivation. If you are going in the wrong direction with the right intent, that just means you can back track and realign yourself, but wrong direction with the wrong intent is what is detrimental to our momentum. 

When you set unrealistic expectations that suddenly with a little bit more effort your life is totally going to change, that is wrong and isn’t how the world works. Things take time and although we would all like quick turnarounds, sometimes you just need to wait. I thought I was going to be writing all these cool articles and using my time to plan ideas, doing all my homework, maintaining my friendships at school, excelling at my job, getting enough sleep, and going to the gym every day. I wasn’t doing those things a month ago there’s no way that was suddenly going to change overnight. When entering into a new goal, I think you should expect exhaustion. You are going to be changing your lifestyle. Don’t expect change right away. Progress is slow but needs consistency.  Instead of trying to change everything at once, I think I want to just choose one day to fix something. For example, one day to catch up on my sleep and work out, one day to crank out all my school work, and one day to channel all my energy into my friends. 

I don’t want to get discouraged if I don’t get to do something. I want to take things day by day and adjust my expectations for the next. I think that’s all I can really do. Don’t go too. If you hate working out, it’s good for you to work out, but if you go to the gym 2 times a day for the the first week, your body is going to hurt. Stretch a little and ease your way into change

Losing motivation can jeopardize your priorities. 

When you get burnt out, you can get really negative. I know I absorb the energy of the people around me. When you go into a day thinking it’s going to be a long hard day, you carry yourself poorly. Each and every day you need to give yourself a small and reasonable goal that helps you feel accomplished at the end of the day. For me, it’s often times reaching out to a friend that I haven’t talked to in a while, finish work early to go find a new dessert spot, or even as small as drinking all the water I needed to that day. Small goals incentivize you to work hard and energize you to reach bigger goals. The right attitude is paramount to success. Each day is a new day to reset. Remember why you’re here and what you want to accomplish. Choose one thing you have control over. 

I know this all sounds super rudimentary, but sometimes we all just need a reminder of the basics.  Life is a marathon not a sprint. Just keep running.

Cry. Eat that cookie. Text your mom. It’s going to be okay. Go be great. 

JLee