Why You're Not Feeling The New Year Motivation & How To Fix It

There’s a lot of pressure when we start a new year (even ending the old year) to start the year guns a blazing. Everyone seems to be inspired as soon as the clock strikes midnight. But by morning, once the initially excitement wears off, things start to feel a lot different.

There is nothing wrong with you if you aren’t feeling the “New Years Motivation“

Sure, the calendar my seemingly be telling us to hurry up and get started on our goals, but when we listen to what we are actually feeling, it might be a lot quieter and ordinary.

Motivation doesn’t know or frankly care what day it is. It is a feeling and there is always more behind our feelings than meets the eye. So, here are five reasons you might not be feeling inspired once the new year arrives:

You haven’t reflected on the previous year. Maybe the past year was super jam packed and there was no time to reflect. Maybe you’ve dealt with some serious changes that you’ve wanted to avoid looking at. Either way, the old year lingers and before you can get excited and focused on the year ahead, you need to step back first and reflect.
You need more time to reflect on the previous year. Maybe you started reflecting last year but things got overwhelming and you were too uncomfortable to continue. Or maybe life deadlines and responsibilities got in the way. Reflection isn’t meant to be done in a single afternoon. I mean, you’re contemplating an entire year! So much has happened and it’s completely okay – in fact, it’s valid, if it needs to take you a bit more time.
The holidays were rough. It might have been the first holiday after heartbreak or loss. Things may have happened that you weren’t expecting or you had to face some difficult relatives. The holidays aren’t the easiest for everyone and you might just need some post holiday downtime to recover before jumping into new year goals.
You are stuck in distraction/numbing mode. It’s possible that your system is in shut down mode to end or start the year. You might be burnt out from giving your all but not filling your cup. Maybe you’ve ended the year feeling defeated. Now is the time to give yourself grace, not crap. Feeling numb is not the breeding ground of motivation.
You’re content with your life. This suggestion may seem surprising in a world where we are always encouraged to want more. But it’s also possible that you are complete content with where you are and not feeling a desire to change things just yet. A lot of times desire (the flame of motivation) is driven by dissatisfaction. Whether we are trying to get away from where we are or move towards a more ideal life, you will change when you feel the pain of staying the same long enough. If you’re not feeling that pain right, that is something to celebrate!

Regardless of why you’re not feeling motivated or excited for the New Year…IT’S OKAY.

You’re allowed to honor however you’re actually feeling about the new year

You can just meet yourself where you are. That’s the key to “fixing it”.

More PRESENCE.

More noticing the details of life all around you. More sitting in silence and noticing how your body feels. More self-honesty. More grace and compassion.

When you practice presence, everything begins to fall into place. You create a clearing for inspiration to come through and inspiration needs to come before motivation.

There really is no rush or hurry. January is still the dead of winter. Animals are still hibernating and your motivation might be hibernating too. It’s okay if your body just wants to go with the rhythm of the season.

The calendar doesn’t tell you when to start your year. You decide when you’re ready to look toward the future.

And because I know we are all feeling differently at the start of the year, I created a free Notion Template which you can choose to start at any time to help you plan your year based on how you want it to FEEL.

This framework is meant to help you reflect and craft a vision for the coming year that is aligned with what your life currently needs. You can use it to get clarity and see what areas of your life would make your life feel overall more fulfilling if you focused on them.

The best part is that you can use this process at any time of the year, not just in January. If you’re currently satisfied then just enjoy where you are at! But if you begin to feel discontent or disappointment, use this as fuel to help you identify which area of your life needs some love.

The template is completely free and includes tutorials on how to use each section.

Plan your meaningful year using this free Notion Template