Post-vacation blues. They’re pretty much inevitable, whether it means you’re sitting at your desk wishing you were still on vacation, or simply finding it hard to refocus and get back into your pre-vacation routine. Luckily, my post-vacation blues now take the form of the latter rather than the former. I truly love the work I do today, but it can still be hard to get back into the swing of things after a long break. Lately, my motivation to gain focus and get back on a schedule has come in the form of motivational speaker Robin Sharma. When I first discovered him last week by way of social media, I spent at least a good hour sitting at my desk, captivated by his YouTube channel.

Being a truly great motivational speaker and life coach can be tricky business. There are so many clichéd phrases and advice to life that can seem inauthentic, but the way that Sharma delivers his advice really resonates, at least with me. I appreciate his true passion and energy and the fact that he tends to dispense actionable advice. Below, I sum up a few key pieces of advice as told by Sharma that I really stuck with me and inspired me to start taking action.

face-fears

When you resist difficult things, you are running away from your power or chance to shine.

Ever since I became self employed, I have embraced this idea of consistently facing my fears as a way to grow. When you’re self employed, you pretty much have to. I hate accounting, talking to the IRS, making sales calls, etc., but to reach my full potential as a business, I have to regularly do the things I don’t want to do. Along the way, I might even surprise myself by enjoying some of those disliked tasks.

Taking on bigger tasks and projects that push your limits might seem cumbersome, but if you didn’t take risks, you wouldn’t have a chance to let your inner strength shine. Maybe the task really is more than you can handle, but if you don’t take that first step of simply rising to the challenge, you’ll never know. And if you do end up succeeding, you’ll have reached new heights you would have never known were possible if you hadn’t tried. Know your fears and be sure to take active steps to address them on a regular basis. Run towards your fears.

Every single day, do the most challenging things first.

When you start your day off by tackling big challenges first, you will be infused with a sense of confidence that will carry you throughout the day. You have the most energy and focus first thing in the morning, so it’s best to direct that energy toward something productive. Additionally, as you start doing all of those things you’ve been resisting, you should start to feel less fearful and more powerful.

Every 7 days, get a massage.

Despite any preconceived notions you may have about massages, they’re worth every penny you can spend. Massages shouldn’t be reserved for special occasions, they should be done on a very regular basis, especially for those of us with desk jobs. The benefits of massage are vast, but in particular they are excellent for increasing circulation to help you function on less sleep and keep your body supple. Again, this is a big benefit for anyone with desk jobs.  Yes, massages are not cheap, but consider them a worthwhile investment for your physical and mental health. I would also recommend adding a chiropractor to this list as well.

Robin sharma motivational quotes

Every 30 days, pick something difficult to do.

It doesn’t matter whether the task is physical, such as running 1 mile longer than usual, professional, such as taking on a new leadership role, or even casual, such as reading a challenging book. The point is to make yourself deal with the uncomfortable as a way to grow. If you always pick what’s easy, you’ll never grow or progress.

Personally, I’m constantly pushing my own limits out of boredom. I don’t like things to be the same year after year, so I constantly strive for new routines, new skills, etc. But even though I have the personal drive to grow, that doesn’t mean there aren’t moments when my heart is pushing me to do something uncomfortable, but my brain holds back.

A big example is a recent fashion photo shoot I did in Seattle, just hours before I went on vacation to Hawaii. I had never done a fashion shoot before, and I was intent on testing out a new off-camera flash system that I was still pretty new at. I practiced weeks before the shoot and thought I had my worries fully pushed away. In the days leading up to the shoot, I struggled to sleep at night (a problem I almost never have), and hours before the shoot, I struggled to eat a meal since I was physically trembling. It was then that I realized even though my brain wasn’t nervous, my subconscious or some other inner part of me must have been, and it was playing out physically. How did the shoot go? Splendidly! Once I calmed my nerves and started snapping away behind the camera, all nervousness was forgotten and I ended up enjoying the day. The lesson here is to fully acknowledge any fears you may have, but still steam ahead.

What about you — how do you overcome those moments when you’re lacking motivation? Shoot me an email, or let me know in the comments below!