Pressing On When You Don't Feel Like It

How do you cope when you can't find your superhero cape?

Let’s be honest. Some days you just want to stay in bed. Am I right? Some days you don’t feel like:

• Working out
• Eating healthy
• Showing up for work
• Cleaning the house
• Yada, yada, yada

But there’s no getting around these things. Whether you feel like it or not, they must be done. So how do you make yourself do the things you should when you’d rather not? A few ideas…

Tell the toddler inside of you, “No!”

Giving in to your feelings of not wanting to do a particular task is like caving in to a demanding two-year-old. The more you do it, the uglier things get. Tell that inside voice to pipe down and do what needs to be done anyway. Then you can reward yourself (and your toddler) with an ice cream cone.

Focus on the outcome.

Instead of dwelling on the drudgery of what you have to do, skip ahead to the outcome. How great you’ll feel after that half-hour on the treadmill. How your pants won’t be digging in at the waistband if you pass up the pasta for a salad. How sweet it will be to have a finished manuscript because you stuck to your production schedule.

It’s not easy to persevere when you’re feeling drained, but the payoff is worth it.