July 20, 2021 - It ends up that during the summer I have a lot more free time, because most of the teaching I do is at the University of the Vermont, and I don’t teach there in the summer. Every year heading toward summer I can’t wait to have nothing to do. Just sitting around, no pressure, lots of free time. And, every summer, I absolutely hate it. I love the low pressure, but I can’t stand having so much time and nothing to do. I get just about as much anxiety with all the free time as I do feeling the pressure of no free time. Darn it!

What I realize is that in the summer I am waiting to get motivated to do stuff, and a lot times that doesn’t come. And, this creates a spiral downward. But, I came across a new way of look at it that really helps me, and maybe you, too, if you ever feel this way. It was a meme I saw on Facebook by a friend that said, “Motivation doesn’t create action, action creates motivation.” YES YES YES!!

It’s clear that I have been looking at it all wrong. I’ve been waiting to motivated so I could do stuff with all my time, instead of getting myself moving and creating some energy so I could find motivation. When you flip it in in your mind and accept that action comes first, not being motivated is irrelevant…just move and create action, any kind of action, to get the energy of motivation going. It’s such a great way to look at it.

Today in class we get things moving and energized so you can get motivated for the day…I hope you enjoy it!