Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – People start the New Year making resolutions for themselves. But it’s important not only to make them, but to keep working on them as well. And because of that, January 2nd is Motivation and Inspiration Day, an official observance in the USA that’s meant to encourage people to become the best they can be and maximize their potential.
But no matter where you live, celebrating this day can be quite useful in helping you keep all the New Year’s resolutions you made on December 31. You have a new year ahead of you, and now is the time to focus on changing your life for the better.
Ram Kezel, a public relations coordinator at Hostinger, shares five ways to find inspiration and maintain motivation so you can accomplish what you set out to do in the New Year.
1. Read More
Books are the spring of inspiration. The important part is to read fiction. While scientific literature can boost your knowledge, fiction does the trick for the inspiration. It helps you to step out of your daily life and become a hero of a story. Psychology Today writes, that “you may find an idea or even just a sentence in the text sparks inspiration for you.”
Arnas Stuopelis, Chairman of the Board of web hosting provider Hostinger, says: “One of the Hostinger values is Learn & Be Curious. We have a bookshelf in the middle of our office. People can order any book they want for it. And book doesn’t have to be work-related. Everything that you read can give you a different perception and inspiration.”
2. Change Your Routine
Routine is helpful for your workday. It helps to stay on track and be more productive. But it’s a killer for inspiration. Once you follow your routine you do everything the way you have already done before. But one slight change can break the routine and boost your inspiration.
The change doesn’t have to be radical. For example, Dropbox suggests a route change in their blogpost: “Simply taking a new route to work can unlock your creativity. You might be surprised how quickly your brain shifts from “business as usual,” to “creatively engaged.”
3. Try Something New
Not only new routes can bring you inspiration. Anything new can! But you have to try it. HuffPost writes: “When you try new things, you put your brain into unique situations that force it to really think. This stimulates creativity, which eventually rubs off in other areas of your life. As a result, you begin to think about everything in a new light.”
It can be a painting class, or a new music album. You can try building a bird feeder from scratch or making candles. The idea behind it is that it has to be something you’ve never done before. This new activity will tickle your brain. And this feeling will stick with you even after you have finished with the activity itself.
4. Get Some Exercise
Your mind and your body are inseparable. So, if you want to spark your mind, you can work on it with your body. Professor Lorenza Colzato of Leiden University states: “We found that people who are doing exercise on a regular basis outperform those who don’t. We think that physical exercise trains your brain to become more flexible in finding creative solutions.”
5. Do Nothing At All
This might seem both: the easiest and the hardest idea at the same time. Forbes writes: “Sometimes your mind just needs to unplug from processing and skim past volumes of information in the form of internet articles and posts, text messages and other miscellaneous materials.”
So, you should just stop and let yourself do nothing at all for a while. This way your mind can get some rest. And then it starts to wonder on its own. It might seem scary at first: what to think, when you are not thinking. But be easy on yourself and find the fun in doing absolutely nothing.
Since January 2nd is Motivation and Inspiration Day, use this day to prepare yourself for the whole year. Pick a favorite idea or mix them up and get inspired. Start the year with a new book. Or break your routine once in a while. Pick some new hobbies or activities. You can exercise your body to boost your mind. Or you can do nothing at all to find the inspiration that is already within you.
Whichever way you decide to celebrate Motivation and Inspiration Day, make sure it changes your life for the better and helps you appreciate life more!