I think I mentioned before that I truly motivation comes from within.  No one else can motivate a person to do much of anything.  Inspire someone else, yes but motivate? No.  What happens when you feel too exhausted and kicked around emotionally to be motivated? Well, you take a break.

Last week was not stellar for a number of reasons – financial issues, work issues, and personal relationship issues.  Any one of the irritations wouldn’t have been that difficult to deal with but by the end of the week, it felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders.

What should have been an easy, breezy day off from work on Friday turned into a day filled with agitation.  I couldn’t relax or find that inner peace thing.  Tried going for a walk, taking a nap, and lying by the pool in the warm sunshine.

Nothing seemed to work so I gave in.  I gave myself permission to feel aggravated and irritated and agitated for one day.  While there was a list of things I “should” have been doing, I settled for reading and then working on a photo album of old family pictures.    Oh, and baking cookies.  Chocolate chip cookies are good for the soul.

The point is, sometimes life just sucks and beats a person down.  A lot of people might disagree, but I have learned that allowing myself the indulgence of wallowing for one day helps me get over it.  By the end of the day, I realized how silly or insignificant the perceived problems were and I felt more relaxed.  It didn’t mean I was less “happy” or less of a positive thinker.  No indeed.  The ingrained positive thinking thing took over and kicked the wallowing thing in the butt.

So when life gets you down, take a moment or an hour or a day to just go with it.  What is the real issue? Can you fix it or is it one of those things you can’t fix?  If you can’t fix it, let it go.  In my case, I can’t fix the work issues but I can partially fix the personal relationship issues and can work on the financial issues. It’s not the end of the world and these are not obstacles that can’t be overcome.