In this moment, I have no motivation to write this article. I would rather be watching Bling Empire New York on Netflix instead of writing these words.

I tried writing different articles for this week. For example, I tried to write on how fast fashion was stealing from Ethiopian culture (read more in Exhibit 1 – 3). But, I didn’t think I was the right person to talk about the impact of fast fashion on the world. I tried writing about how to deal with setbacks by using my running as an example. But I felt like a liar because I haven’t dealt with the setbacks in my training nor in my research. I thought about not writing at all and skipping this week. But, I knew if I skipped this week, the promise for my blog would be broken.

So, I am writing the truth about having no motivation. In one of my Nike/Headspace guided runs, I learned what actually it means to have no motivation.

Having no motivation doesn’t mean there is something missing and we need to go out and find it/create it. Motivation is actually always there, like the blue sky. Sometimes it flows freely like a perfectly sunny day. Other times, there are clouds that block the sky, making motivation hard to see.

These clouds can be thoughts and feelings about the task at hand. For example, I don’t want to write this week because I feel like I don’t have anything to say. I think I don’t have anything worthy to write about and other people want to read. I get caught up in these cloud and I lost track of the blue sky.

All of these expectations about writing lead to rumination which leads to resentment which leads to no motivation and no action being taken. It’s a crude application of the perception-action loop. So, what can be done to break the cycle?

First, nothing changes without awareness. We must learn to recognize when we are getting caught up in the clouds. Even this takes a lot of time and practice to do. But, once we recognize we are trapped in the clouds of thoughts, feelings, and expectations, we can take a small step towards the blue skies.

For me this week, my small step is writing an honest article about where I am at and what I have learned. Instead of expecting to become an expert commenter on fast fashion or writing about dealing with setbacks I still haven’t dealt with, I wrote about exactly where I am.

So, how do you deal with no motivation? First, be aware of the clouds that are blocking your motivational sky. Second, take a tiny step forward to clearing up the clouds.

By the way, do you think I was right in thinking fast fashion is stealing from Ethiopian culture?

Whoever is in the design team, knock it off! It looks like you asked ChatGPT to remake the designs so no one can tell but everyone who knows can tell