Small Steps, Weird Hacks, and Other Ways I Keep It Together
Unpopular opinion, but lowering the bar can actually be a power move. Here's how...
Let’s be real: motivation is like that friend who hypes you up on Friday night but is mysteriously unavailable when it’s time to actually help you move your couch on Saturday morning. It feels great in the moment, but it’s not showing up when you actually need it.
I’ve always been a motivated person. I wanted to be fit? Cool, I laced up my sneakers and worked out. I wanted to grow my brand, LYB Collective? I signed myself up for pop-up vendor events, hauled racks of clothes, and pretended like breaking down a tent in 90-degree Florida heat was part of the “glamour” of entrepreneurship.
But here’s the thing…motivation is like Wi-Fi: strong when you first connect, but by the time you’re actually trying to stream something important, it’s buffering. So what keeps me going when the hype dies down? Here are 4 slightly strange and maybe unpopular things that actually work (for me):
1. I imagine the worst-case scenario
Everyone loves “positive vibes only,” but sometimes the thought of everything going to absolute crap is what gets me moving. If I skip workouts forever, I imagine myself auditioning for a role on my 600 lb life. If I don’t show up for my brand, I imagine all my unsold hoodies collecting dust in a thrift store. When I start with the worst possible outcome, even the smallest action feels like a win.
2. I stop giving a f*ck
Sometimes, the cure to low motivation is dropping the pressure altogether. Don’t want to keep up with the fitness girlies on Instagram? Cool, I just remind myself that my body isn’t a group project. It doesn’t need to meet anyone else’s deadline. Same with my business. Who cares if I’m not the Beyoncé of athletic apparel? I get to enjoy the process. Releasing the pressure makes it easier to keep going.
3. I do the bare minimum (on purpose)
Some days I am not the girl who’s “crushing it.” Some days I am the girl who walked around the block and called it cardio. And honestly? That’s enough. Doing one small thing keeps me in the game. Sometimes, that little thing snowballs into more. Other times, it doesn’t, and that’s fine too. Progress > perfection.
4. I bribe myself like a toddler
Yes, I will 100% promise myself a spa day or a ridiculously overpriced pair of shoes if it means I’ll get through my workout. Call it childish, call it genius, I call it survival.
Motivation is cute and all, but it’s not the long-term relationship you think it is. What actually works? A mix of weird little hacks, a lot of perspective, and sometimes just lowering the bar enough to step over it.
So next time you’re waiting to “feel motivated,” try one of these. Or invent your own strange trick. I won’t judge. Just remember: small steps add up, and sometimes the bare minimum is still more than nothing.
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