10 Ways To Get You From “Ugh” To “Ahh.”  

Life Hacks on how to get inspired and motivated. 

Heyyyyyy, How the heck are you beautiful people doing? Hopefully better than I was just moments ago. Do you ever have a great big rush of inspiration to do something creative or something that moves you? Maybe it is to draw or write or read or garden, or something that you’re excited to do. I’m not talking about the rush of inspiration to go do laundry, unless you like that sort of thing. But the thing that makes you smile when no one is looking. You know THAT feeling. If so, do you ever just lose that drive in the snap of a finger? Let me tell you a tale of how feeling unmotivated got me to writing this radically off topic post. Here’s 10 tips on how to get you from “Ugh” to “Ahh.” 

Preface: There are a lot of things wrong, psychologically, with this blog on how to get you out of a funk. And there are probably thousands of other articles out there that are far better and well written than what you are about to embark upon. But let’s be honest, no one is going to footnote my advice in a clinical study. So here we go. 

I woke up and had a decent morning. Had a good therapy session and was really inspired to do some writing. I had my calendar all set that I would write for an hour and then go about my day to do some very important things. Right as I was about to start my timer, something came up and I absolutely had to help someone with a problem. It wasn’t a pleasant task and it threw me off my mojo completely. I just couldn’t get that spunk back. And I was mad at myself that I let their problem throw me off so bad. So I thought, I’m going to take a deep breath and see how I can get that adrenaline rush. It doesn’t always work but I sat down and went into my bag of tricks and pulled up YouTube. Now, this particular rush of inspiration that I was trying to get back was specifically the gusto to write. I started typing in the search bar, “Inspirational videos that help you write” and got some pretty bland videos that just weren’t doing the trick. So then I typed in “motivational videos” and I came across this one below. Now for me, I can get inspired by so many things. Could be an episode of Hot Ones, a beauty tutorial, an Amazon haul, a music video, cooking show, a comedy skit, motivational speeches, interviews with people from various walks of life, the Graham Norton Show clips, and so on but one of my favorites is filmmakers talking about how they get inspired or advice on filmmaking. Especially from film directors. So, I watched this link below and half way through, my skin starts getting all tingly, and my eyes start to water and the music is just pushing me to write notes down and quotes from these directors. And 15 mins later, voila! The rush and vibrancy is back. Of course, to cement it, I needed to do one more video so I found the second link below and watched that. It inspired me as a writer, as an actor, and as a storyteller. I think Ridley Scott said it best, “Go make a goddamn movie,” as if he was speaking directly to me. The choice of the cinematic music moved me too. I started to think about a story that I’ve been tinkering with and the opening scene and immediately, I wrote down some more quotes, walked into my office and got into my creative bubble. And the first thing I did was write this piece. I’ll work on my screenplay next but I just had to share this moment of “Ugh” with you and share that there are ways to get out of the “Ugh” and get into the “Ahh.” We all need a kick in the pants once in a while to push us to do what drives us. So if you’re having a hard time getting that motivation, try a few of these. 

My Bag of Tricks:

1. Start stocking up on a list of video links that move you. Maybe it’s an instagram post, a reel, a short, a Youtube video, anything that you find gets you in a good mood. Put it on a notepad on your phone or computer for later. 
2. Start stocking up on songs or playlists that really inspire you. I have a whole CVS receipt list of playlists that I listen to depending on mood or what I’m doing. I sometimes like to listen to film scores, while other times I’m in the mood for 90’s R&B, or sometimes a little Taylor Swift, or 90’s rap, or maybe a complete dance mix with a little bit of Foo Fighters. I even have various sappy moody playlists that make me cry. If it moves me, I add it to the list.
3. Find a place in your home or outside that inspires you. Find a few places in fact that you can rotate when you feel stagnant. It could be a certain seat on the couch, or a place in your home that you like to dream. Maybe a certain window that looks out to the sky or a garden. And if you don’t have a place in your home, maybe a park or a coffee shop, or a curb that has a place where you feel great and comfortable to just rest your mind. 
4. Get in the car and drive. Some of my best thinking is in the car. Mindlessly driving helps me dream up the biggest ideas or helps empty this clogged brain of mine. And I don’t mean mindless where you’re missing lights and driving like an idiot, I mean where you don’t have to think about following your GPS to an exact location. Find a drive that is easy and just shake out your brain until the mojo comes back. 
5. Take a shower. This is one of my ultimate FAVORITE places to think and get inspired. There’s no phones, no notifications, no distractions, nothing, just you and some water to drown out the noise of the world. 
6. This next one I only pull out once in a while because it could be considered unhealthy depending on how much you use it. But if I need a pick me up, I go to my favorite coffee shop or restaurant and I get my favorite coffee and/or food. I’m sure many will say this could cause a negative effect on how the psyche relates to feeling good and food. Its absolutely textbook wrong to feed your feelings or drink your feelings, all I’m saying is it works for me so if you don’t have any food association issues, maybe, just maybe, you should try it. But I said once in a while. I don’t need fan mail coming to me saying you’ve somehow created a disorder because you followed some crazy chick online who is shelling out advice on how to get your mojo back. I mean I literally wrote a blog about how to tell if someone is a psycho by the way they make Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. So please take all of this with a grain of no salt. Do not interpret me wrong. I said, once in awhile, go get a treat. And to make it better, make sure you sit at a window or alone in a corner and enjoy it. Oh also, if you tell the waiter its your birthday, blowing out a candle on a muffin, or a waffle, or a burrito, will truly lift your spirits. 
7. Something that I should have listed sooner is, go for a walk. Personally for me I’m in a walking district so I combine #6 and #7 together. I go walk to my coffee shop and get a coffee. It’s the sound of the city or the people and just being outside that inspires me. Sometimes I see a billboard or I listen to music and as I’m walking I just zone out and start getting all fired up again. Also, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS, say Hi to everyone you pass by. I don’t care if they look like they are not friendly and are stuck in their phone. By you giving your good energy to them, it will brighten their day and your endorphins will be heightened as well. I just love saying hello to strangers. My goal is always to say Hi to at least 5 people while I’m out. You never know what someone is going through but if you say hello to 5 people, you have effected 5 people in the world and you never know how that simple act can have a domino affect on everyone else in their lives for the rest of the day or week or year. So just do it and don’t give me an excuse.
8. Dance it off. Put on your favorite song to dance to. Go back to #2 and find that list of songs that you like to dance to and put it on. Getting your blood going is half of the battle with the brain. I could use this bullet point and say exercise but your eyes would roll. So dance, exercise, do some stretching, or whatever it is to move you and you’ll shake off the “Ugh.” If you have danced to at least one song and you still feel poopy then skip to #10.
9. Affirmations. Oh no! She brought up the foofy foofy. Yes I did, and by the way 99% of successful people whether thats success in fortune, love, relationships, family, etc, use affirmations so call it something else if you don’t like the term. But get yourself quotes or positive affirmations to save on a notepad and read them often. I actually use an app that sends me affirmations throughout the day. They are in the “I Am” form so my mind is constantly creating and knowing what I am. You can also read quotes of people you admire to kick your booty into gear. This is one of my favorite tricks in my bag to light the fire. And I read them multiple times a day. 
10. Take a nap. Yep, it resets everything. Just take a 20 min nap or an hour nap, whatever time works best for you. I don’t even care what time of day it is. I’ve taken naps at 11am, 2pm, and even 6pm. Just a short nap. And I usually pair it with doing #9 before I take a nap that way you prime your brain and body. Before I take a nap I say to myself, “Dear God, help me let go of everything that does not serve me” if you don’t believe in God, no worries, just say, “I release everything that does not serve me” and just with that intention it will help. Then if you want to add to it. Do what I do and say, “Ok lets go on an adventure. I want some inspiration, some good juju, and a good nap” and then close your eyes. While it may sound silly, I usually wake up from some wild dream and I’m ready to rock and roll. Pro Tip, my favorite type of nap is mid afternoon, windows open with a breeze, and blinds slightly open so you know that its daytime. (I’m not a fan of blackout blinds, I know a lot of you probably do but I like to know what day it is when I wake up)

Thats a solid 10 tips to get you going. I just keep collecting ways to get me out of a funk because sometimes that dark hole gets too close to my feet. The words I read every morning are: Persistence, Discipline, Positive Energy, and Drive. And they keep me focused to stay on track but sometimes we slip up and get off kilter so hopefully this will help you stay the course.

I realize this post may have been specific to getting me to write but I use these same tricks when I want to draw or write or create. Or when I’m trying to study a script. Sometimes I even use it if I need motivation to workout, or to do some of those mundane things I don’t want to do. In fact, I probably practice these most when I have to do something I don’t want to do. 

All in all, I hope you find inspiration and motivational things that fit YOU. These links below are clearly filmmaking focused so for those that are in that world or want to be in that world, then these may inspire you, for those that are not, check them out anyway. Some of the greatest poets, writers, artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, scientists, etc found their inspiration in things that were unexpected. So keep your eyes and other 4 senses open to what is possible. Sometimes, you just need to reset and rest your mind. 

Enjoy and go on with your day and leave it better than you found it. ❤️

Thanks Abel Berry for making this motivational video. Please keep them up. 

And thanks to NatesTutorials for making this second video. Great inspiration. 

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