10 Creative Ways to Have Motivation During Hard Times

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Why It’s Important To Have Motivation During Hard Times

Life can be challenging when you are dealing with obstacles and struggles. You wonder if these struggles and obstacles will ever go away and when there will be more good vibes and positivity. Even though times are hard and you feel depressed, or you feel like you cannot do something productive, here are 11 creative ways to help keep yourself motivated during hard times.

1. Write In A Journal

Writing in a journal can be very therapeutic and helpful when you want to have motivation during hard times. It’s like you’re talking to someone, but instead of being a person, you’re writing it down in a journal. From the perspective of someone who loves to write, writing in a journal can be very helpful. Doing this can help you get productive, and when you write down what you’re feeling, it’s like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. As you write, you also begin to feel more at ease and have a clear piece of mind.

Also, writing in a journal can be a tool to help you find motivation in times of struggle. You can use a journal to make to-do lists, record a schedule, and brainstorm ideas to help inspire you and motivate. Also, to keep in mind, having a journal can be used as a type of diary where you write and sketch if you like to draw, record some good quotes, make lists of things you want to do, etc.

A journal can be used for anything productive for your benefit, primarily if that benefit serves a purpose for your own personal health and well-being. If you have never done this before or do not know what to write in a journal, write down anything that comes to mind, and by doing that, you’ll feel at ease and a bit more productive as you write down what you have going on in your head.

2. Get Active

If you’re ever feeling depressed, get active because it’s essential to seek motivation during hard times. Staying active can help you be more productive if you stay motivated.

There are so many ways you can stay active. You can get a workout in (either at a gym or in your own home), go for a walk outside, go on a joyride through your hometown, play a sport with some people, ride a bike through your neighborhood, etc.

Getting active means getting energized, and if you want some motivation when times are hard, consider doing something productive to motivate yourself to turn your struggle into something good.

3. Smile, Even If You Don’t Want To

When you see someone smiling, it’s usually because they are happy about something; however, they could also be smiling to stay cheerful when things are hard. So, try smiling even if you don’t feel like it.

We all know times are tough right now, and to some, it may seem hopeless to find any motivation for anything in their lives. Smiling is like a pay-it-forward kind of thing. It’s a feeling of good vibes, and when it shows, others will be tempted to smile as well. When you smile, you tend to give a cheerful appearance, and when it shows to people around you, they would probably feel better than before about whatever it is they are struggling with within their lives.

If you frown, it can give off negative vibes, making people think you are sad or depressed. Because this is a difficult time for the whole world because of a global pandemic, we all need to have some good feelings, and what better way to have that than to have a smile on your face?

4. Take A Break From The News And The Media

We all like to stay up-to-date on current events involving the world we live in. If you’re going through a difficult time and constantly see or hear about it on the news, do not expect to find motivation there. Of course, it’s good to stay informed about the world around us and how it will impact our everyday lives, but sometimes seeing and hearing it a bit too much can make you feel weary from it after a while.

If you want to see something on the news that would provide positive results, find something that will give you just that. There are tons of positive news reports out there, and if you want to find any, look up positive news stories on Youtube, and you’ll see some interesting videos of those uplifting stories and how they can make you feel good on the inside.

If you want to completely take a break from the news and the media, there are other ways to do so. You can focus on your favorite hobby, such as working on a scrapbook, creating a collage, binge reading your favorite series, riding a bike outside, etc.

Taking a break from the news and any media platform you hear it from also serves as a benefit for you to rest and relax. Use that break as a way to meditate and clear your mind from any negatives going through your head. It will help you be more productive and focus on the essential things in your life. And not just the essential things… but the ones that make you happy and content as well.

So enjoy yourself with something you love to do. Please turn off the news on your TV, stop reading the news articles on your phones and/or computers, and focus on your surroundings and the people you care about in them as well.

Related Topic

If you want to know more about taking a break from news reports yet still like to be informed, I recommend this post by fellow blogger Jimmy Clare. He’s a fellow lifestyle blogger whom I follow, and he recently published a post about watching the news and if it can make you depressed. It’s a very great read and well-informed. Check it out on his blog, Crazy Fitness Guy, if you wish to see it.

5. Get Some Good Sleep Every Night For At Least 8 Hours

Another thing to try if you need to take a little break from anything that is wearing you down is getting a good night’s rest for at least eight hours.

Having some good rest lets you recharge after going through a long and/or stressful day. By the end of the day, you feel drained and exhausted. Some of you probably try to do too much. Some of you like to meet tight deadlines. Some of you might feel the need to do a lot because you want to make sure a task gets completed up to your expectations.

Whatever the reason may be, you need to realize that you need to also take care of yourself physically and mentally through all of it. If you do not get at least eight hours of decent sleep at night, you could feel burned out and more exhausted than you did before; practically to the point where it physically wears you down to where you cannot function because you overdo it.

Getting a good eight hours of sleep allows you to wind down and rest up for the following day. So when you start the new day after waking up, you have a clearer mind, fresh eyes, and a new set of energy to start the day with the plans you have set out after getting the eight hours of sleep you needed.

Another Suggestion

It’s always good to take vitamins because they are vital to our health. So to take a healthy approach to start your day on a good note, take some vitamins like Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, and any nutrients your body needs to function in a healthy state.

6. Decorate Your Personal Space

We all need personal space to do anything we want and/or need. You may have a little office inside your home or a desk in your bedroom that you use to do some work. You may also have a little shop in your garage or basement to work on your personal projects. Well, if you need some motivation to get some work done, try decorating your personal space.

If you want to decorate your space, you can design its layout however you like. It’s something you, and only you, have complete control over. You can have some picture frames on your desk and maybe some figurines to spark your motivation. You can also hang up some wall art or even paint the walls your favorite color. Having what you like in your personal space that you use to get work done and how you want it to look can help ignite your creativity to be more productive and motivated.

Times can be utter chaos, especially in the middle of a pandemic, and we have no control over it. Hence, it’s essential to know that some things are out of our control, and we have to put our worries in God’s hands and have faith and know that he is in control, and if you believe in him, his plans for you won’t lead you wrong.

So, if you decide to decorate your personal space, use your ideas of how you want it to look to keep your worries at bay and keep you inspired and have motivation during hard times, along with having faith in the process.

7. Repeat Some Positive Mantras To Yourself

Mantras are phrases or a few words we can tell ourselves for various reasons, some of which can be spoken to uplift ourselves in good spirits. Mantras can also be expressed as a way for us to believe in ourselves and encourage and motivate us to not give up during difficult times.

You can use your favorite quotes as positive mantras to tell yourself. For instance, one of my favorite quotes I like to use as a mantra is this one down here by Sigmund Freud.

There are many mantras out there that can provide you with that kick of motivation and perseverance. You can write down some mantras on a post-it note and place them on your mirror or your refrigerator so you can look at those words first thing every morning when you wake up so you can have your day off to a good start. You can also repeat it a few times to yourself so that you won’t lose the motivation, and the more you do that, the more motivated you will be.

Whether it be a phrase or a favorite quote, mantras are a good source of motivation because the more you repeat the mantra(s), and the more you believe them, the more you can thrive during these challenging times.

8. Go On a Day Trip

Living through a difficult time is hard enough, whether it be a pandemic or something else that causes you to go through hurdles and stress, and it’s even more tiring when you want motivation but don’t know what to do to get it. Sometimes, it’s best to take a step back and breathe when you get that feeling. And by breathing, I mean go somewhere away from home or wherever you feel the pressure and allow yourself to take a breath and relax.

There are many ways you can do this, especially if you are on a budget. For instance, go for a walk in a park that’s a bit out of your way, like a park you love to visit but haven’t been to that much. If it’s warm out, take a little day trip to a beach or a lake with a cooler and relax in the sun, and enjoy the scenery around you.

You can also go on a hike or a bike ride somewhere with many trails. If you feel like doing something fun like shopping and exploring different types of shops and stores, do that because it can get your mind off the stress you have been feeling, and doing something fun can give you a spark of motivation since you’re out and about and having fun doing it as well.

Whatever you decide to do to get away from your worries and stress, do it. Life is too short to be worried and stressed. I know it’s easier said than done, especially during tough times, but if going on a little fun day trip can ease your mind and make you relax, by all means, do it because you might find some motivation in the process.

9. Make A Vision Board

You can always seek motivation with the guide of a vision board. Vision boarding is a way for you to get creative with your goals and how you want to achieve them. You can create a vision board in the form of a collage with magazine photos, your favorite quotes and sayings, and even photos you have taken yourself. When you’re in the process of creating a vision board, you’re also brainstorming, and with brainstorming and creativity, there’s no doubt that you’ll find the motivation to keep you going through the hard times we so desperately want to be over.

Creating a vision board is a goal list or a wish list with visuals that can help you picture and visualize what you want your goals to look like even after you accomplish them. So when you see your goals and aspirations on display, that will provide further motivation to keep you driven and focused.

So, use a vision board as a key to your motivation. Vision boarding can also inspire you and help you develop ideas you didn’t think of before. Vision boarding is also fun, and the more you add to it, the more you can have to use as motivation to escape the difficult times and turn them into the best times of your life.

10. Think Happy Thoughts

I know I mentioned something similar on this list, such as repeating some positive mantras and how they can get you to think positively and having positive thoughts be used in a similar and different form.

When you have happy thoughts, it can be anything that can make you happy. I don’t know about you, but when I have happy thoughts, it motivates me to be productive and work on myself and my goals.

So if you can think of some happy thoughts, if it is your favorite place in the world, some happy memories, or even something you’re excited about doing, think about them; also, when you think about those happy thoughts, you can figure out ways to keep your head up during these difficult times. By doing that, you begin to feel that drive to stay motivated, and the more you think happy thoughts, the more the hard times seem to lessen, and you start feeling more productive and uplifted.

So….

There you have it! Ten creative ways to have motivation during hard times. I know it may feel like a struggle to find inspiration when times are tough, and you feel stressed and worn out all the time, but if you want to change that, try the things I mentioned in this article. I hope this article is beneficial to you, and if you have anything to say or have something you want to add, feel free to mention them in the comments.

And remember, these hard times do not have to last forever. You got this!

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