Creative and calming activities for our demotivated selves
Simple activities to light up our days
Negativity strives to attract the attention of the masses. It revels in its inglorious forms in this modern age. The hours that we spend are ceaselessly affected by it. And at times we find ourselves helplessly drowned in it, so removed from motivation and the will to move forward.
But inspiration can never be dismantled by the growing chaos.
No matter what goes wrong, there’s always a chance to come across that speck of motivation against a dark background.
There are many activities that help us find that speck, and we are able to draw it in to revive ourselves and thus build our lives even at moments of distress.
Here I state a few of those activities that don’t beckon much of our efforts. These can very well guide us to deal with negativity creatively. And we might begin to witness the change of our moods in a relatively shorter amount of time, which won’t happen if we chose to stay glum instead, and pay too much attention to the thriving dispassion.
1. Writing Notes of Inspiration to Ourselves on Good Days Which We Can Refer to Later During the Bad Phases of Our Life
One can attempt to write down those tiny pieces of advice meant for oneself, a kind of a pep talk in a written format. We all have days when we are more aligned with the best version of ourselves, when we see things in a better light. And we can use those days for our benefit. Making notes to our own self for example — enlightening notes, pieces of motivational jargon to be read on bad days.
There have been times when I have skimmed through my journal and found a helpful anecdote written at a time when I was in a self-reflection zone or when I was my more thoughtful and practical self.
We can be our own guide at times. There are things that we have learnt and we are able to reflect on them in a better way on certain days. Days when we are attuned to our wiser self.
We are naturally more understanding at certain moments. Whether we went through a self-reflection process or whether we had a good meditation session, there are times when we are in a happier, kinder and wiser zone. And at a time like this if we attempt to write something, that will be from that space of wisdom. And at other times when we are in a slightly destructive zone, that is if we are demotivated or stuck in a rut we can come back to our own reflections or advice.
2. Doing Something Outside of Our Passions
Even when we are indulged in a passion project, it’s tied to work. There are tangible goals attached to it and deadlines to overcome. In the case of a writer, there might be a piece of writing they need to send to a magazine. There might be another that awaits completion, the one that’s been due for so long.
But there are those occasional hobbies or activities from which we don’t really expect much. That is, we are not bound to them professionally and we don’t hope to derive any result through them.
These are the things we need to access at certain moments. Especially when we are struck by that distressful immobility that strides in the wake of demotivation or when we are caught in our own mess.
Say, if someone loves to draw, but they aren’t ever planning on becoming an artist, chances are that they would freely do that thing, indulge in it with a sense of calm which would in turn help them to unwind. A passion is more than just a hobby. Not all hobbies turn into a passion. And that’s a great thing. Because next time, one might dance just for the heck of it. Or colour in a journal aimlessly, without care and a reckless effort, allowing them to relive the essence of those art classes of their childhood.
3. Going Through Old Books or Films
Again in the context of perusing the old stuff, we can hop into the wagon of the bygone elements of childhood. That is, making an attempt to recreate the magic we had once found through certain books or films. There’s a feeling that’s associated with any kind of book or film we watch. And when we go back and rewatch the film or reread the book, we would remember that feeling, and be able to hold onto it, accessing that unadulterated joy of the yesteryears.
We would remember what it might have been like to be at that moment of lesser stress and burden. We might be able to cultivate it even at the present moment. Even when we might not remember everything about the film, we would remember the feeling.
And that feeling is a gift in itself.
That feeling is a reminder that good things have always existed and will continue to exist. And that, a rawer form of joy can often be accessed through things of art and beauty.
4. Creating a Beautiful Interior Space
We could have made our rooms a work of art if we wanted to even without the requirement of expensive things. If we are cultivators of artsy things, like shooting good photos or painting, we could easily involve ourselves in creating stuff for those dank corners of our room. It might hone the essence of being in a faraway place.
But chances are not everybody has the will and the drive. And the requisite time to harness such efforts for a room. But we don’t even need to work too hard for it, if we don’t want to.
We can just make a few small changes. A little bit of change trims the boredom and cuts through stagnation. The sameness of things proceeds to thaw our imagination.
Our visions are easily influenced by the exteriors. It’s fueled by beautiful scenarios. On the other hand it is dulled by the monotonous similarity.
That chair in the middle of the room might still hold an assortment of clothes, that table might have been stacked by the same books in the usual fashion, the walls might have the same faded pictures inside dank photo frames.
Changing those things a little might help. Replacing the mellow pictures with something vibrant, for example. Making our own motivational postures and sticking them to the walls. Placing some newer books on the tables. Or wiping it clean and putting a vase of flowers instead. Removing the clothes from the chair, dragging the table and the chair to a different position.
Making such simple changes in this way would be enough to change our mood and influence us positively.
5. Exploring Our Own City or Town
In the context of exploring too, people can be stuck to the usual.
When our appetites need refueling, our cravings nurtured, we go for dinner in the same restaurant. We make our way through familiar rows of sweatshirts, in the same shops.
It’s very rare that one knows everything about the place in which they live. And even if one has gone to a lot of places, there’s still much left to explore.
At times we can strive to change directions, roaming around without an agenda. We can even loiter on the local streets, discover nooks and corners even near our home, go for a walk in one of those never-have-visited-before lanes while being careful and aware of our surroundings (i.e. checking whether it’s safe and there are respectable people or houses nearby).
Or maybe hop onto a local bus and go on a city tour.
We can easily go and search for the places we haven’t ever gone to, peep into those clothes stores we never had a chance to visit, walk into those small flower shops on the corners that had always evaded our gaze before.
We might walk into those vague places of unfamiliarity that had so been out of our fractured vision and find something of value. Who knows? There might be shops that need our attention, they might hold things that we need. Or we might chance upon a stranger there, who’s meant to be our friend.
6. Reflecting on Things. Reflecting on the Past Hours
Or reflecting on our day, overall.
Reflecting on the past week, month or year, and analyzing what we have been doing.
What are the things that we need to give a pause to. How are these things affecting us or the others around us? Are we indulging in angry arguments often? Are we increasingly bitter about things?
We can watch out for the things that aren’t helping us at all and are retarding our growth. Instead we can pay attention to the things that had energized us, and had contributed to our happiness. We can watch out for the wasted hours. We can check if we are resting more than required. Or wasting more time than it’s necessary. Or working too much without any breaks.
We can analyze whether we need better routines or be able to create one that can help us carry out our work and balance our passions, aiding us to also smoothen our family life and hours of relaxation.
We can find or create our own kind of activity, maybe add a little modification to the above. There’s no rules to finding acts that calm us down or help us during a rut.
But apart from this, we need to strive to hold on to the parts of us that can never let go of that inherent inspiration. We can use these activities to nurture those parts more.
And it’s not necessary to push ourselves too much because a little demotivation can flare up in everybody’s life. But we can try to guard our best selves even during the bad days through creative efforts.
