For the past few months, I have really struggled with getting motivated to write and be creative. Not only do I have a severe TBI, I also suffer from seasonal affective disorder that exacerbates the side effects of my brain injury:
- Depression
- Inability to focus
- Fatigue
- Vision problems
After my accident, I was really depressed over my new normal. I was partially paralyzed on the left side of my body and couldn’t walk at all. I needed help feeding myself and doing basic things because I had no fine-tune motor skills in my left hand.
I struggled focusing on anything, especially with people I was having conversations with. My eyes became super sensitive to light due to their inability to focus in a normal manner.
I learned about a condition called adynamia due to having part of the frontal lobe of my brain removed. This condition made me sleep over half of the day initially. I lost the motivation to continue living.
Motivation is an important aspect of life, especially if you are living with chronic illness or health concerns like me.
What Is Motivation
Motivation is a driving force that helps us accomplish big and small tasks in life. It is defined as “The act or process of viewing someone as a reason for doing something; stimulus, incentive, or drive.”
Without enough motivation, we become like boats floating in the ocean with no wind or power source to move, we simply drift with the ebb and flow of the sea. Motivation can be difficult to come by when we are facing any kind of hardships.
Being flexible and having a routine are just two tips for helping us stay motivated in life. As an early riser, it helps me to get up early in the morning each day at the same time, if I sleep in beyond my normal time, I feel sluggish and have a hard time getting motivated to do any work. Routines are necessary for writers who need to be focused and creative.
The Writing Life
The writing life can be overwhelming at times between rejection letters, deadlines, and trying to create ideas to write about. Writers need to stay motivated to push through the bad days and sometimes weeks of being unproductive.
There is no need to feel isolated if you have experienced the writer’s blues. Below are some tips from Jerry B. Jenkins on how to stay motivated during the novel-writing marathon:
- Stick to your writing routines.
- Take Care of your health.
- Write at your own pace and give yourself grace.
- Remember why you want to be a writer.
- Know that you are not alone in this process.
- Push through and create your writing motivation.
We writers spend long days inside writing, often alone. We miss out on the benefits of getting sunlight to warm our skin.
Sunlight helps our bodies create vitamin D3, and vitamin D3 has lots of important benefits for the body: boosts mood, increases energy, and reduces feelings of sadness and anxiety.
Now that the days are getting longer and a little brighter, try getting outside and soaking up golden rays to help chase those winter blues away. If it’s cold outside, just dress in layers and bundle up.
Who knows, along the way, you just might find a little inspiration to help you press through whatever you’re struggling with on your writing journey.
Inspiration
It is no secret that we feel better when we are motivated to do more and are more productive. Winter blues and S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder) occur because of a lack of sunlight, which leads to less vitamin D in our bodies.
Nature walks, even in the cold, are an opportunity to get more sunlight and find inspiration in the simplest things. I enjoy being outside in nature, whether walking, hiking, or biking, and it’s where I find most of my inspiration.
Inspiration is a catalyst that motivates us to press on, and it can come from two sources:
- Internal sources
- External sources
What are some ways you find inspiration to press on in life? I am an active person and find inspiration through exercising and staying healthy. I also find it in nature because I am a devout nature freak.
Like most of my audience, I am also a book worm who likes to be inspired and to learn new things that I read about. Inspiration is a great antidote if you are experiencing motivation mayhem!
Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.
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