The morning my coffee met the kitchen floor instead of my mug, I realized something: tough times don’t come with a warning label. If you’ve ever sat in pajamas arguing with your to-do list, I see you. In this post, I’m not peddling platitudes—instead, I want to share the (sometimes messy, always real) ways I’ve fished motivation out of the chaos.
Rediscovering My Why (Even When It Felt Lost)
I remember the day my purpose went missing. It wasn’t dramatic—just me staring at my laptop, surrounded by cold coffee cups and crumpled sticky notes, wondering why I kept pushing forward.
My motivation had faded so gradually I hadn’t noticed until it was nearly gone.
Embracing the Beautiful Mess
When clarity vanished, I started journaling the mess—not the Instagram-worthy kind with perfect handwriting and profound insights, but the real, ugly, honest kind. I wrote down:
- The fears keeping me up at night
- The comparisons I couldn’t stop making
- The questions I was afraid to answer
Sometimes my “why” was hiding beneath those sticky notes and cold coffee cups. Clarity didn’t come immediately, but slowly patterns emerged from the chaos.
If you want to try this for yourself, a guided journal can make the process easier and more intentional. These journals are designed to help you capture raw thoughts without pressure, turning messy pages into meaningful breakthroughs.
The Question That Changed Everything
One evening, exhausted and ready to quit, I scribbled a question that stopped me cold:
“Who would care if I quit tomorrow?”
I expected a depressing answer. Instead, faces appeared in my mind – clients whose businesses had grown because of my help, women who’d messaged me saying my content gave them courage to start their own ventures.
And surprisingly… my own face was there too. I’d care. Because despite everything, this work had become part of who I am.
Turning Fear into Fuel
Reconnecting with my purpose didn’t magically fix everything. Some days my motivation tank still runs dangerously low. But I’ve learned to reframe with purpose – to use even the difficult emotions as fuel.
When doubt creeps in, I ask myself:
- What small win can I celebrate today?
- Whose life might change if I keep going?
- What would my future self thank me for doing right now?
Your “why” isn’t static. It evolves, sometimes hides, occasionally needs rediscovering. And that’s okay.
The journey back to purpose isn’t always pretty. It’s scribbled journal pages and tough questions and days when you’re running on fumes. But finding it again? Worth every messy moment.
Turning Overwhelm into Little Wins
You know those days when your to-do list feels like a mountain you’re not quite ready to climb? Yeah, me too. My mind has a way of turning simple tasks into overwhelming challenges.
Launch a new service?
Suddenly, it feels like I’m juggling flaming torches while walking a tightrope—perfectionism threatening to make me lose balance.
Breaking big projects into tiny, manageable tasks saved me from overwhelm. To keep those small wins visible and organized, using an guided journal or planner can be a game-changer.
These notebooks provide space to celebrate micro-tasks and keep your motivation flowing, even on the toughest days.
Strategies That Helped Me Stay Motivated
To keep my motivation alive, I began breaking big projects into tiny, manageable tasks. Instead of telling myself to “redesign the entire website,” I set small, achievable goals like:
- Changing just one button color
- Writing only the headline for an email
- Organizing a small section of my desktop
These small wins, these “pebbles,” helped me avoid feeling overwhelmed and kept me moving forward—one simple step at a time.
When “Checked Email” Is Your Only Win
Some days are harder than others. During my darkest weeks last year, I celebrated opening my laptop.
Seriously.
I wrote it down: “Checked email today.” And I counted it as a legitimate win because it was.
The micro-task approach saved me when traditional productivity advice felt impossible. Some days, my victory was “replied to one message” or “spent 5 minutes thinking about that project.”
And you know what? Those tiny actions eventually added up to movement when nothing else worked.
Ridiculous Rewards System
As a woman solopreneur, celebrating your small wins is essential—even the ones that feel tiny but took a lot of effort. That rush of excitement when you finally schedule three social media posts after procrastinating for days? Celebrate it!
Here are some of my favorite ways to reward myself:
- 30-second dance parties after a promising client call
- A relaxing self-care afternoon to recharge
- Dessert celebrations for hitting an important milestone
Breaking big, overwhelming tasks into manageable pieces isn’t just practical—it’s survival. Pairing those micro-wins with fun, sometimes silly rewards keeps your momentum alive when motivation feels miles away.
What’s your tiniest recent win? Whatever it is, it counts. Now go dance about it!
Affirmations with a Twist (Why I Talk to My Lucky Bamboo Plant)
Here’s something not everyone knows: I have full-blown conversations with my lucky bamboo plant—yes, named Lucky—perched on my desk corner.
Plant Therapy: Judgment-Free Pep Talks
Why do I talk to my lucky bamboo, Lucky? Because unlike people who might give me sideways glances, Lucky never judges my pep talks. While watering her, I find myself saying things like:
- “We’re going to nail this client meeting today, Lucky.”
- “Thanks for sticking with me when things got tough.”
- “You think this idea has potential? I’m feeling it too!”
Is it a little silly? Maybe. But is it effective? Absolutely. Speaking my affirmations out loud to something that listens without judgment feels surprisingly freeing—and helps boost my confidence on challenging days.
For those who want a little extra inspiration, motivational cards make great companions—small, portable boosts of positivity you can pull out anytime you need a pep talk.
Physical Rituals: Embodying Positive Affirmations
Connecting affirmations to simple physical actions helps them stick in my mind—ever tried a power pose before a big call?
Every morning, I take a deep breath and place my hand over my heart while repeating my daily affirmation. This small gesture makes the words feel more real and grounded. Other rituals I use include:
- Striking a confident power pose before client meetings (hands on hips, channeling my inner Wonder Woman)
- Raising a fist or doing a little victory nod every time I say “I’ve got this”
- Quietly whispering “I am strong” after finishing a tough task
These may seem small—or even silly—but they work. When motivation wanes, these physical reminders help me reconnect with my confidence and focus.
“The mind and body connection is powerful. Physical movements can reinforce positive thoughts in ways words alone cannot.”
During my darkest days last year, when client work dried up and self-doubt crept in, those little moments with Lucky and my mirror high-fives were sometimes the only things that got me out of bed.
So yeah, I talk to plants and high-five mirrors. Judge me if you want. Or better yet—try it yourself when no one’s watching. Your houseplants are excellent listeners, and your bathroom mirror might just become your biggest cheerleader.
Support Networks (Or How Video Calls Saved My Sanity)
When my business hit a rough patch last year, I wanted to hide and pretend everything was fine on social media while panicking behind the screen.
That lasted two weeks before breaking down on a call with my best friend Chloe.
The Power of Honest Vulnerability
I still remember blurting out: “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. Everything feels like it’s falling apart.”
Her response? A GIF of a dumpster fire with the caption: “Same, girl. Same.”
That single moment changed everything for me. Not because she offered brilliant business advice (she didn’t), but because she normalized my struggle. Sometimes support doesn’t come packaged as sage wisdom – it arrives as memes, terrible jokes, or just someone saying “Yep, this sucks. I’m here though.”
Finding Your People
After that breakthrough, I started building what I call my “sanity squad” – a mix of:
- The Cheerleaders – Friends who believe in me when I don’t
- The Truth-Tellers – People who’ll lovingly call out my excuses
- The Been-There Survivors – Mentors who’ve walked similar paths
Weekly video calls became sacred—sometimes troubleshooting problems, other times venting or laughing at chaos. When motivation falters, having a support system makes all the difference.
If you’re looking for guided support beyond friends and family, consider a Gaia.com membership. It offers thousands of videos on meditation, mindfulness, hypnotherapy, and visualization—all great tools to help you stay grounded and motivated during challenging times.
The Magic of Simple Check-ins
The most powerful support often came in the smallest packages. One accountability partner and I started texting each other every morning with just: “How’s today looking?”
That simple question moved mountains for me. Knowing someone was waiting to hear about my progress made me want to have progress to report.
When motivation disappeared (which it regularly did), these connections became my lifeline. On days when I couldn’t work for myself, I could show up for them.
This isn’t about constant hand-holding. It’s about creating touchpoints of human connection when the entrepreneurial journey gets lonely – which, let’s be honest, is often.
What surprised me most? The strongest networks aren’t always the biggest or most professional. My most valuable support came from three friends in completely different industries who just… got it.
Who’s checking on you? And more importantly, who are you honest with when things get hard?
Visualization, Mindfulness & Using Meditation Apps
Here’s a little secret: most days, my visualization practice doesn’t look like the calm, polished scenes you see on Instagram. Instead, it’s more like sitting at my cluttered desk, eyes closed for a few moments, while my kids or pets create a beautiful kind of chaos around me.
The Beautiful Mess of Visualization
When life felt overwhelming—juggling school runs, unpaid invoices, and uncertain clients—I realized visualization isn’t about being perfect but making room in your mind for possibility.
Some mornings, sitting at my kitchen table surrounded by scattered papers and toys, I closed my eyes and pictured confidently signing new clients and growing my business—even if everything around me was chaotic.
Mindfulness: Where Failing Is Actually Winning
My experience with meditation apps has been anything but perfect. I’d set timers for 20 minutes, but most sessions lasted less than a minute before my mind wandered to grocery lists, upcoming deadlines, or embarrassing moments.
For a long time, I thought I was failing at mindfulness. Then I realized the real win is catching yourself when your mind drifts and gently bringing your focus back. It’s like training a muscle—your attention gets stronger with every return.
On tough days, celebrating those small “coming back” moments helped me breathe through anxiety—even if I only managed five minutes of focused mindfulness in a 30-minute session.
What kept me going wasn’t perfection, but kindness toward myself—accepting that an imperfect practice was exactly what I needed.
Mindfulness and visualization practices don’t have to be perfect to be effective. For ongoing support in developing these habits, a Gaia.com membership provides guided sessions that fit right into a busy solopreneur’s life, helping you build resilience and calm amid chaos.
If you’re struggling to stay motivated when life feels overwhelming, remember this: visualization can work even amid chaos, and mindfulness is most powerful precisely when you feel like you’re not doing it right.
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