Unmotivated or Overloaded?

Everyone has those moments. You know, the ones when you just feel negative about everything and you just can't seem to do anything. It's not always because you're unmotivated, sometimes it's just 'cause your body or your mind needs a rest.

I am currently a student, working full time, working a photography business and running two blogs. On the outside I may seem like I have everything together, but in reality my mind just needs to shut down for a while. This week has been this "while" I couldn't write my two papers that was due and I can't even write a blog post.

But finally, last night after sitting in bed trying to tell my boyfriend that he needed to go for a run because his first football game is in 5 weeks, I realized that I just needed a rest. I had been working out  everyday and trying to get everyone and everything around me perfect that I wasn't listening to my body.

Listening to your body is extremely important. We need to do it in order to achieve the goals we have set. If your body tells you that you're hungry, THEN EAT! Don't starve yourself. You won't get to any healthy goals by that. If your body tells you to rest, THEN REST! Don't push yourself past any limits. I have discovered that if I try to push myself too much, I make myself sick and have unhealthy habits.

Listening to your body is how you can overcome the negative downs in your life. Listening to your body makes it so you can attain your physical and mental goals in a healthy way.

This guy does beach body videos and is a great motivator. Here he explains why listening to your body is important. He explains that listening to your body allows you to stay on target and that if you don't you could injure yourself and put you on a negative course to your goals.

Like Andrea, I've recently hit a plateau in what I thought was my motivation. Her and I have been texting each other everyday, talking about how we feel like we're stuck in a rut and we're not happy with our progress lately, be it in our workouts or in changes in our bodies. This has happened to me many times throughout the last few years and this used to be when I would always give up completely. However, I've learned that I haven't lost motivation, drive, or sight of my goals...I've lost energy. Actual energy. Like Andrea, I work full time, contribute to this blog and a personal blog of my own, volunteer for the local Humane Society, and am a freelance model. Because of my schedule, sometimes even though I technically have time for a quick workout, I lack the energy. My body and mind physically can't handle each of these things sometimes, and therefore, sometimes I need a break. I personally love the video that Andrea posted of Tony Horton, creator of P90X. One reason I've always loved working out to his programs is because he's very knowledgeable and body conscious. Often times in his videos he will tell you to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Pay attention to how your body reacts to certain things and don't push yourself beyond your limits, mentally or physically, or you'll have a harder time getting the results you want. You might even injure yourself and have to take some serious time off...setting you back even further. Sometimes we are just too tired to workout and it's as simple as that. In the big picture, taking a day or two off from working out isn't going to kill you. Having that spare time to just relax is going to help lower your stress levels and allow your body and mind to re-energize. You'll thank yourself later. Working out is a major stress reliever for some of us, but sometimes having to worry about squeezing that workout into your schedule on a particular day is just adding to the stress, and you could use a breather.