What to do When You don't Want to Do (wait, what?)
As a creative, there is often a mindset that I find myself getting caught in: I don't know what to do. It's a phase that comes, sometimes for a week, sometimes for a month. It always passes but when I am caught in the middle of this phase, the world seems to turn dull and unexciting. I begin to lack motivation and creativity, and worst of all, I feel bored. On the flip side of that coin, I have weeks where I feel amazing. Everyday I want to take on the world and hustle my face off for 16 hours a day. I literally get excited to the point where even going to bed pisses me off because I want to keep working, keep learning new things, and keep progressing.
I like to call these expansion and contraction phases. (Click here to learn more about this subject through a speech regarding male self-development.)
Expansion/contraction phases are a natural part of my life. These phases alternate every few weeks. When I am in an expansion phase, I take full advantage of my inner-drive. Not only do I have extremely high energy but I am optimistic, outgoing, and ready to take on everything the world can throw at me. I am able to work my face off without getting burnt out and can go until my body and mind become exhausted (though I do not recommend this on a regular basis). Expansion phases are beautiful and I believe these are the times when people really achieve their goals. The key here is to take full advantage of these times through lots of hard work and constant progression. For myself, I keep mind-numbing activities such as Social Media and Netflix to an absolute minimum as they can severely hinder my progress.
Contraction phases, on the other hand, are exactly the opposite. These are the times when I feel unmotivated and, most importantly, bored (in fact, I am just coming out of a contraction phase as I write this blog). Contraction phases occur every few weeks and can last anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. During these times I find it particularly useful to simply let go and ease up a little bit. By this I mean: relax and accept this phase, it's natural and you cannot avoid it. I try not to let myself get caught up in the fact that I am simply just unmotivated most of the time. It can be very frustrating, not having the fire-y drive in my gut that makes me feel on top. But I don't fight the feeling. I chill out. Watch a few movies on Netflix, go to the beach, read a book. By allowing my mind to organize and regain itself, I can get through the contraction phase a lot sooner and get back to hustling hard and putting in immense work.
This canyon is part of one of my favourite runs on the back-side of Mount Washington.
Getting into my "flow-state" out in the back woods of Vancouver Island. Mountain biking is a lot like snowboarding in many ways. The riding lines are very flow-y and smooth (at least usually they are).
During my contraction phases, I absolutely love to get outside and be active. Whether it's hiking, mountain biking (pictured above), snowboarding, or just enjoying a walk in the park, I do my best to get outside on my down days. Through these activities I can often get myself into a flow-state. What is this "flow-state" you ask? My definition of flow-state or "FS" is when you are so immersed in an activity that nothing is clouding your mind other than the real life experience happening right before your eyes. It is absolute in-the-moment presence and clarity. When Mountain-Biking, it's watching the trail ebb and curve ahead of you as you dodge tree limbs and protruding rocks. When snowboarding, FS is carving back and fourth down the hill with nothing on your mind other than dodging other people and obstacles. In short, flow-state is the purest form of fun, and it's the best way to boost your energy and to regain some of your creative juices when in a contraction phase. Try it out.
As I work my way back into expansion, I always keep in the back of my mind that this phase won't last forever and I will need to take a break and enjoy life. As long as I can keep my bearings and have the self awareness to know what my mind is going through, I can keep pushing through and keep working at making this life the absolute best that it can be.
Thanks so much for your time reading this post. It genuinely means a lot to me when you give up your most valuable asset, time, to read these blogs. I am still new to blogging and I write about the truths in my life so I hope others can take value from my own experiences to apply to their own lives.
If you enjoyed this blog post, please click that little heart at the bottom of this page. Those hearts mean a lot and they let me know if people are enjoying these posts or if I am just talking to myself (which is totally cool too 😅). If you're on Vancouver Island and ever want to get into flow-state with me, I really encourage you to shoot me an email. I am open to adventures 7-days a week (assuming my schedule agrees, of course).