Activities aligned with my values that I can perform right now

The easiest and most effective short term justification for creative inaction is to announce to ourselves:

II just don’t feel like it.

This reasoning is widely accepted and highly relatable. It’s happened to almost everyone at one point or another.

Who among us hasn’t let the old, I don’t feel like it excuse, decide the course of our action?

But the worst part is, it becomes a vicious cycle. The more we don’t feel like doing something, the more we grow exhausted from trying to be stronger than we feel, which only demotivates us further. Blech.

Behavioral psychologists often refer to this as an either/or attitude. We think and act in seemingly black and white, all or nothing terms. And so, this is a motivational issue, but also dialectic challenge.

Since language is the house of being, how we speak to ourselves about ourselves keeps us stuck.

My question is, what happens when the prevailing wisdom on motivation falls short? What happens when the traditional tools, like setting timers, establishing rewards, inflicting punishment, taking breaks, changing routines, minimizing distractions and reducing overthinking, aren’t enough?

A common intervention therapists use to combat the I just don’t feel like it justification is called behavioral activation. It’s been clinically proven to help millions of navigate depression. The strategy helps clients reconnect with their true self, while also increasing their levels of rewarding activity, even when they don’t initially feel motivated to do so.

I have used it for many years, and cannot recommend it higher.

It all starts with awareness.

I acknowledge that my reaction, I just don’t feel like it, is merely a thought. That’s okay. Because there are no right or wrong thoughts. Only healthy and unhealthy ways of expressing them.

Besides, there’s no rule that says that I have to abide by any one thought. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean I have to do, or in this case, not do, what it says.

Please note, this cognitive awareness is a victory in itself. Because even if we proceeded not to do that thing we didn’t feel like doing, we would still have already put ourselves in a better place by noticing and naming our reality.

Up next comes the meat of behavioral activation.

We combine action and values. A prompt that I have personally found to be effective goes like this.

What activities, that are aligned with my values, could I perform right now, that are likely to elevate my mood?

Let’s break that question down piece by piece.

First, the activities. Meaning any opportunity to experience pleasure and achievement and to have positive social interactions. The more of these we supply for ourselves, the easier it will become to overcome inaction.

In fact, corny as it sounds, creating a prefabricated activity menu is a practical solution that can overcome the obstacle of having to generate activity targets in the moment of distress.

I have been using a simple laptop sticky note for years, and it’s a life saver. If I don’t feel like doing something, I consult the list and pick something I do feel like doing.

Keep in mind, though, doing things alone is not sufficient. Actions must also be aligned with our values. Endeavors need to manifest the unique ideas we believe are important in the way we live.

For example, if we are not the kind person who values civic engagement and community service, volunteering to sit at a table for twelve hours on election day might not make us feel better. That may actually spiral us into an even worse state.

Conversely, if artistic expression isn’t something we treasure, then attending the weekly open mic at our local coffee shop will not be compelling enough to get us out of the house.

Without invoking our personal values, it’s like multiplying by zero. Doesn’t matter how big the number is. The answer will always be zero. We need a strong enough layer of existential meaningfulness embedded within the activities to sustain us when motivation is low or absent. Otherwise, it will be yet another goddamn thing we have to do, rather than something that honors our cherished principles.

Finally, we need to be able to perform our values centric activity right now, and as a result feel better.

It has to be actionable in our immediate future, not days, weeks or months from now, otherwise it won’t build momentum. Buying tickets for a musical seven weeks from now is not going to alleviate our depression in the short term.

Whereas finding venues in our neighborhood that have live theater tonight, might get us moving.

Here’s that behavioral activation question, once again.

What activities, that are aligned with my values, could I perform right now, that are likely to elevate my mood?

Next time you just don’t feel like doing something, it may help to ponder this question before you roll over and hide under the covers. What’s more, it can also be helpful to sequence this intervention with multiple executions to build momentum.

Don’t just do it once, try it two or three or four times in a row. Go do something, then, once you feel better about one thing, go do it again for something else. Now you’ll feel better about two things. Keep rinsing and repeating until you’ve forgotten all about that pesky thought that you didn’t feel like doing something.

Another way to make this behavioral activation practice more compelling is to convert it into a game. Leverage your natural desires for socializing, learning, mastery, competition, achievement, status and expression, in the service of growth.

Keep a tally on the refrigerator of every time you do something you don’t want to do, and use that victory log to fire inspiration back to you throughout the day.

Privately compete with friends or coworkers to see who can overcome inaction the most creatively, and the winner gets treated to free lunch.

Use a daily habit tracker app that helps you connect to strangers on the internet with the same goal, so you can congratulate each other publicly.

Any of these approaches would enliven your practice of doing creative projects when you don’t feel like doing them, and help you practice moving past the point at which you are stuck.

Remember, motivation is not only incredibly problematic for many, but deeply personal to all. If we want to beat inertia, then we need to be aware of our motivation reality, reconnect with our true self, increase our levels of rewarding activity, and find ways to enliven the process for ourselves.

And it will only be a matter of time until mood becomes a four letter word we no longer use.

How many of your activities manifest the unique ideas you believe are important in the way you live?