When the Dopamine Hits Stop

On self-motivating to keep moving forward

Motivational Mondays is a series that, I hope, will offer a moment of reflection, a bit of inspiration and a shift in mindset to start the week.

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I’m a serial starter because I’m addicted to the feeling of embarking on a new journey.

My favorite moments are the beginning of something - being at the airport before a holiday, finding out I was pregnant, starting a new hobby, opening the doors to a new business, first day of school, creating new Instagram accounts (my friends actually laugh and poke fun because they can’t keep up with the number of profiles I’ve started 😅) 

Why? Because beginnings are a blank page that can be filled with hope and possibility. The only thing that exists is the dream of what you envision. Anything can happen. How pure and magical is that?

You take the first step on your journey and the dopamine E X P L O D E S.

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Then reality sets in.

Everything looks a little less shiny and bright. Reality creeps in. Lack of inspiration and motivation set in. 

Sometimes days go by before you take the next step. Sometimes weeks, months, years. Sometimes you abandon the journey entirely.

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How do you keep going? 

That’s what I’m attempting to learn now 😅

At the beginning of the year, I made the decision to commit fully and wholeheartedly to my crochet business for at least one year. This business comes on the heels of many different ventures I’ve started and abandoned over the past couple of years. Part of this new commitment comes from the shame and embarrassment of continually starting something new, ignoring the graveyard of works-in-progress I’ve left behind. Another part is rooted in the curiosity for what might be possible if I gifted my venture patience, consistent effort and energy.

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I opened the doors to my crochet business through Etsy at the end of January. I was graced with a couple of sales from friends the first day. *BOOM* Dopamine! A few days later, I received an order from someone I didn’t know! *BOOM* More dopamine! Then the crickets moved in… and the sound of their singing was the only action I experienced. 

The drive to commit started to slip away.

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So I signed up for my first market. The excitement of prepping and planning fueled me for the big day. 

Then it came and went. 

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Now I’m here.

I’m struggling to find the motivation and energy to keep going. The novelty has worn off.  But this time I’ve put guardrails in place to help me keep going. I signed up for another market and it’s less than a week away! I have a commitment holding me accountable even though my motivation and energy levels are MIA.

I’m currently overwhelmed by how little I’ve accomplished and how much I want to get done in the next few days. It drives me to ponder whether or not my business will succeed or fail. My stress response turns on as I swim in the overthinking. My two loyal coping strategies, procrastinating and running away, wait for me in the wings. 

I’m not giving in. 

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So what am I going to do differently?

Take small actions  - This helps each task feel more manageable. In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear talks about the higher likelihood of productivity when tasks are small and achievable. I find the smaller you can break down the steps, the better. Give your brain the win! And then you’ll find yourself feeling excited to want to continue.

Practice presence - I’ve written out a list of the things I need to complete and their corresponding deadlines. By writing things down, I remove opportunities for my brain to make up scenarios that are irrelevant and unhelpful to me. I can focus on what’s in front of me.

Follow your energy  - I enjoy planning and strategizing. I like to execute on the vision I have created in my mind. Old me would push through to bring it to life even if I didn’t have the motivation or energy for it. Spoiler alert: this strategy doesn’t work for me 😅 I found myself procrastinating and ultimately getting only a piece of the plan complete. I would get frustrated because it was incomplete then give up.

For my market, I have a vision for what I want my table to look like. But I’ve found myself dragging my feet when it comes time to make certain items. So instead of pushing myself, I’m listening to my energy and selecting something that excites me even if it doesn’t make sense with the original vision.  I’m learning to listen to and follow my energy, trusting that whatever I have in the end is exactly what I’m meant to have.

Be flexible - What you plan may not always work out the way you hoped for and it’s important to be willing to pivot, flow, evolve. My original plan was to be an Etsy driven business, but I wasn’t getting the traction I hoped for, so I expanded to markets. If I didn’t sign up for my first market, I probably would have abandoned this venture because the lack of business was sucking away the energy and motivation to keep going. Instead, I’m moving forward - not the way I envisioned but still moving. It’s helping me practice openness and by doing so, I believe I’m actually finding more opportunities.

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I’m learning that dopamine hits are not sustainable. I need to self-motivate to keep moving forward. So here I am - taking small actions, practicing presence, following my energy and being flexible.  

If you’re on a similar journey, I see you. I believe in you. We can do this!  And if you have any strategies to keep going, be sure to share them with me, I would love to learn :) 

Essay 5/24 in Sparkle on Substack ‘s 24 Essays Club