Lately, I have had a massive lack of motivation. And this isn’t the lack of motivation that stems from laziness, this is a lack of motivation that stems from boredom. Why? Because many of the things that I have done for this business I’ve done for over 10+ years. I started this blog in 2008, and I started my podcast in 2010. But here’s the thing, when I started my business in 2004 life was much simpler. I had an analog phone, and the only messaging was voicemail. There were no blog posts to write, podcasts to record, and business was advertised through this thing called newspapers, phone books, and magazines. My best ad was placed in the Nashville Home and Garden magazine, one of the hottest and most coveted local magazines in town. It cost twelve hundred dollars a month for a quarter-page ad and I’d get ten to fifteen calls a month off of it. Man, life was good. It was simple.
Then in 2007 Apple introduced this thing called an iPhone. Everything could be done through my phone via apps and programs. Emails, texting, and eventually, social media were all at my fingertips. Without even realizing it life went from zero to sixty overnight. To promote my business I started a Facebook page, started a blog, and then launched a podcast. And when 2008 happened the world was in shock. High-paid CEOs were applying for jobs at Starbucks and people everywhere were losing their homes and jobs, so what did business owners do? Produce MORE content. Lots and lots of FREE content.
All of us were vying for business to survive. At the time, I was writing three to four articles a week. Each one taking three to four hours to research, write and produce graphics for. I became a machine. The goal was to put out as much content as possible to build a positive image around my business. To prove that I was loyal and most importantly TRUSTWORTHY. After 2008 trust was all but lost. So I just produced more free content to help people see my value. To show that I was very educated in design and Feng shui because I was!
But the machine never stopped.
Years went by and the machine grew. I was still writing three articles a week on the blog, doing weekly shows for the podcasts, writing a weekly newsletter, and managing all my social media accounts. Then in 2014 I added a youtube channel and started producing weekly videos. I mean why not, right? More is more! I went from placing one ad in a magazine, which took about 30 minutes of my time, to spending thirty to forty hours a week just producing free content. Add to that another forty to fifty hours a week actually doing design and feng shui and VOILA, I had an extremely busy and very full schedule. But this was the American way, right? The busier you are the more productive and important you seem.
Is curiosity the new rich for business and life?
You may be saying, ok Amanda what the hell is the point to all this? Why do I care? So you worked a lot, so did everyone else! And we did. Everyone was doing it. We all got on the train and left the depot and never looked back. In fact, we never even questioned it. That is until 2020 hit us. Suddenly we were forced to slow down and take stock of our lives. We were forced to really examine our ways and get our priorities straight. And for me personally, it was the first time that I realized how much work I had been creating for myself and I wondered, “does any of this really matter?”
Since the pandemic hit I have stopped doing most of my busy work. I stopped writing regularly on this blog, I rarely make videos, and I stopped making podcasts. You will rarely if ever, find me on social media. At first, I felt guilty. What will my tribe think? Will they be upset that I’m not consistently doing what I’ve always done for the past ten years? Will they be disappointed?
And you know what happened?
NOTHING.
No one cared, because everyone had their own stuff to deal with. And finally, the noise stopped. The information overwhelm stopped and I could think. I could finally come to rest like never before. Most importantly it made me realize that many of us got on the train and left the depot and never bothered to get off the train. In fact, we never questioned why we were on the train in the first place!
And for that I am thankful.
It’s now been over a year and I keep thinking that I “should” get back into it. I “should” record some new podcasts, write new blogs and get back in the saddle. But something has happened, I don’t want to. Like never before I lack the motivation. I just don’t care. At first, I labeled this as laziness. Good grief, why have I become so lazy, what is wrong with me? But I have come to the realization that it is boredom. Who wants to get back on a train they’ve already been on? I sure don’t. I’ve been there and done that. As I have thought more about this and I have meditated on it, it’s not that any of us lack motivation – because many people I am talking to are in this same boat – (yes we’ve moved from a train to a boat 🙂 ) it’s that we no longer want to do the same things and have the same experiences. It’s already been done. How much more can you say about the same darn thing? My podcat is technically in its 12th season. I have literally said and interviewed every intuitive and healer on every topic there is, how much more can I possibly say? I have over 750 blog posts, how much more can I write about the same things? It’s boring.
The same goes for you. If you are experiencing a lack of motivation it is not laziness. It’s a calling, deep within you. That is a sign that your soul craves something new. Curiosity is emerging and wondering, “What else is there?” For so long we humans have taken and accepted the worn path where others have already been. We’ve done it without question because it was safe and because it was familiar. We could anticipate the outcome. And we accepted that THAT outcome was desirable for us. But the repetition stops here. The sameness stops here. Moving forward as the energy continues to speed up, and our world evolves, we are asked to step into a place of curiosity and possibility. Rather than going into something with the expectation of how it ends, move into new things (without fear) simply for the adventure and CREATION of something entirely new. Why? Because there is so much more. We have so much more to experience and it’s no longer about the outcome and producing what’s already been done. This new paradigm is about creativity, possibility, and fun for the sake of fun.
And that my friend is why curiosity will become the new rich.
Curious about what’s going on in the stars and how to use Feng Shui to keep your Chi open and curious? Join Astrologer Sharita Star and me in our new 6-month workshop, Astrology and Feng Shui. Join in on the fun here.
Absolutely agree! Thank you for addressing the boredom aspect. I change careers every 7 to 10 years & this is partly why. Another heavier I work with is Valerie Louis. Her work may resonate with each of you – maybe she could be a guest speaker down the road. https://www.valerielouis.com/about-valerie.html
*healer not heavier
Yes the bordeom is very real! And we weren’t meant to do the same things over and over again! To take the well-worn path that so many others have already taken. Let’s be curious and adventurous!
xx
Amanda
I feel so much the same way! I am bored and do not want to get back to the same thing I was doing. I am constantly searching for something I want to do in this changed world and HOW to do it.
I agree!! I’m really struggling with many of my “old ways.” My podcast and blog are two things I’m really struggling with. I just can’t bring myself to keep doing it. I’m so bored, been there done that. I want to be challenged, excited and anxious about the new and unfamiliar!
xx
Amanda
A wonderful article! Great insight into how many of us are feeling. It inspires me, personally, to get back into theatre…a place where stories of the past, present and future come to life…a place to find community, adventure, and challenge.
“To enter a theater for a performance is to be inducted into a magical space, to be ushered into the sacred arena of the imagination.” -Simon Callow
I want to go there again.
Wow, that is beautiful, a “sacred arena of imagination.” YES!!!!
I think you should. What a great way to expand .
xx
Amanda
OMG Amanda, I so resonated with this post! I’m an interior designer too and have been for the past 17 years and have had the same feelings as you have lately. To post on social media for my work seems so daunting these days. My dad passed away Dec. 2019 and soon after I had little care about social media and have been pushing through a lack of motivation for much of my interior design work. I feel like I just want to create without an invoice or project attached, or just sleep, read or walk on the trails near me. What used to fuel me, isn’t so much anymore. Though, being the breadwinner of a family of 4 doesn’t alone me to stop cold turkey and I do like some aspects of what I do. So for now I’m using my morning time to journal, dream and visualize so I can shift when the timings right. Thank you for your post.