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Motivation

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I'm a very creative person, I find it hard to not be doing something creative. But its bloody hard when I feel so crap (which is quite often) to do pretty much anything. I sit and knit, but I'm just following a pattern rather than being actually originally creative. I used to always be doing something - reading, writing, making, baking, etc. Theres so many things I can't do any more, but I'm finding myself not even doing the things that I can do.

So how do you motivate yourself when you're not feeling well?

(apologies if I posted this a few months ago...I can't remember if I did or not)

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi Miss Riot, :wave:

    I hope you are ok *hug*. It can be very hard to motivate yourself to do things when you are feeling low. Please try not to put to much pressure on yourself and maybe take really small steps to get into something you enjoy. You could even start by doing as little as 10 or 15 minutes of knitting twice a week ( for example) and increase this slowly, take it at your own pace and do whatever is feeling comfortable for you. After a couple of weeks, if this is going well you could try and incorporate another activity for one or two small sessions a week. Give it a go and see how you get on :thumb:. and of course keep posting to let us know how things are going for you.

    I hope this has been helpful.

    Take Care,
    B:heart:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I can spend days knitting, but I've got so many things I want to do any I can't manage to get them done. It just annoys me. I annoy me!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    the whole thing about being creative is the joy you get from it, so stick to the things you enjoy, rather than putting pressure on yourself to do things when youre really not feeling it.
    Its not nthat youre unmotivated, its that you havent got the spare emotional, physical and mental resources to start making things at certain times, so just go with the flow. Have things easily available so that you can do it if you get a bit of energy without having to have too much set up, and stick to the simple stuff. Keep your knitting by your bed.
    When youve got your new place it will all be easier x
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I Think that's the problem - not having it to hand. If I want to paint I have to clear some space on the desk/get out my easel/find paints/find pallet/find board or canvas/etc and by the time I've done that i've probably forgotten what it was that I wanted to paint in the first place and knackered myself out in the process. I think I need to have some kind of better organisation system.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    As suzy says I think it may be a case of being realistic with what you have the energy to do rather than beating yourself up for not doing anything, for example I lived with someone with ME for a year and she would have to manage her energy. As long as you don't use things as an excuse. (As an example, she would pre-emptively deny opportunities to herself because of her condition, without thinking about if there would be a compromise. It really eeked away at her confidence which is maybe what you feel? Don't accept limitations, look for compromises if you want to do something and there are physical/mental barriers.)

    As for motivation itself, there is no simple trick. I think I quite like Nike's phrase: "Just do it." It's a mindset really that there could be a million billion excuses, but you simply disregard everything and do what you can. Whether its a motivational thing for you though or actually a physical limitation thing you have to measure that yourself.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Miss_Riot wrote: »
    I Think that's the problem - not having it to hand. If I want to paint I have to clear some space on the desk/get out my easel/find paints/find pallet/find board or canvas/etc and by the time I've done that i've probably forgotten what it was that I wanted to paint in the first place and knackered myself out in the process. I think I need to have some kind of better organisation system.

    If at all posible try to keep your horizontal surfaces clear - then you won't have to clear up before starting something. I keep all my art stuff together in a plastic box, I keep it in a cupboard then when I want to do art I just take the whole box to besides the table where I do it.

    Another thing I have learnt about painting - if you aren't feeling up to painting with a brush, sometimes it helps to put some paint on the paper and move it about with a pallet knife. It creates a good effect and somehow is mentally easier than using a paint brush.
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