It’s been raining in Massachusetts for a month.
Every day has been cloudy, cold, and bleak.
Winter is clinging desperately, digging its heels into the fresh soil of spring.
While it would be easy to blame my lack of motivation in my business on winter’s inability to surrender, I know deep down that my energetic rut isn’t about the weather—it’s the same old pattern coming back around again.
You know, the pattern you think you’ve healed, only to have it show up on your doorstep wrapped in different paper.
For the majority of my life, I’ve struggled with getting stuck in a lack of motivation and cycling through energetic highs and lows.
The highs are always great.
Who doesn’t love feeling energized, checking tasks off the to-do list, and creating exponential results in their life and business? For someone who’s comfortable in her masculine energy, the highs have never been my problem.
Nope. It’s the lows that derail me.
I have a much harder time sitting with myself when creativity dries up and I feel inescapably exhausted from just thinking about the big vision I have for my life and business.
It’s during these times that I get stuck in a lack of motivation; that I stress out the most; that self-criticism and judgment live in every corner of my brain; that results slow down; that I feel like I’ll never get my energy back.
Can you relate?
I’ve done enough inner work to know that when I feel a lack of motivation coming on, it’s an invitation to pull back into my feminine energy—to reflect, to rest, to receive, to “do” less—at least until my masculine energy and creativity return.
But while I’ve been practicing these tools diligently, I noticed something alarming this time around: they haven’t been working. My lack of motivation is sticking around.
It seems, like winter, that I too will not let go.
“But why?” I wrote in my journal.
As I dug deeper and deeper, I had a startling realization:
For all of the awareness I’ve created around the fact that my energy is cyclical rather than linear, I’ve NEVER fully accepted or honored this.
In many ways, my actions still suggest that I believe an energetic low is less valuable than an energetic high. I talk about an energetic low as something to navigate, something to cope with, something that is not me. I see it as darkness, rather than light; something to disown, rather than love.
The reason I’m stuck in a lack of motivation this time around is because I’m meant to receive and integrate a new level of healing. I’m meant to see this pattern from a new angle; from an embodied state of consciousness.
So, over the past couple of days, I’ve been leaning into these questions:
💭 How can I be more intentional with honoring the way my energy cycles?
💭 Instead of seeing a lack of motivation or an energetic low as something to watch out for and cope with, how can I embrace it and incorporate it into my life?
After all, if I truly loved my cyclical nature, I would honor and embrace it instead of trying to “fix” it by eliminating it.
Wow… now that’s a different angle.
What’s come up from asking myself these questions is the revelation that my energy directly correlates and is, in fact, influenced by the cycles that are found in nature. Whether it’s the four seasons or the lunar phases, I can flow my energy in alignment with how they cycle.
The truth is, we’re not designed to be “on” all of the time.
Just how nature has seasons and the moon has phases, we have highs and lows in our energy. We’re most productive when we live from both the masculine and feminine energies, however, in a society that highly values the masculine, it’s difficult to see the value in, and connect back, to the gifts of the feminine.
Not to mention, there’s people like me, and possibly you too, who feel the consequences of always trying to live in the masculine.
Getting stuck in a lack of motivation?
The state of burnout after an extended period of “go, go, go” with little to no rest?
These are the consequences of disowning our cyclical nature.
💭 So how do we stop getting stuck in a lack of motivation? How do we honor and incorporate the cyclical nature of our energy into our lives and businesses?
Quite simply, we can plan for rest and productivity in congruence with the different phases:
1.) The first phase correlates to winter and the new moon 🌑
During this phase, your energy is low.
The primary focus is to rest, be lazy, revel in a lack of motivation, and take care of yourself. Book a relaxing vacation or a weekend get-away.
The secondary focus is to meditate on what you want to create next and plan for it.
Ask yourself: What would I like to manifest over the upcoming cycle? What projects would I like to work on? What goals would I like to accomplish? What actions will I need to take to accomplish my projects and my goals?
This is also a great time to check in with the larger vision you have for your life and business and make adjustments if anything feels out of alignment. Need help with this? Let’s chat.
2.) The second phase correlates to spring and the waxing moon 🌖
During this phase, your energy begins to build. It’s time to sow the seeds!
The primary focus is to begin carrying out the action plan you crafted in the first phase that will help you create more of what you want.
This a great time to initiate a new project or launch an offer in your business.
3.) The third phase correlates to summer and the full moon 🌕
During this phase, your energy is at its peak.
The primary focus is to take action. This is a great time to push yourself, act on your inspirations, and have lots of exciting activities scheduled, like speaking engagements, networking events, or sales calls.
The secondary focus is to receive and show gratitude for what shows up.
4.) The fourth phase correlates to fall and the waning moon 🌖
During this phase, your energy begins to slow down.
The primary focus is to wrap up tasks and tie up loose ends. Do you need to organize your books? Close a project or a launch? Tidy up your office?
Plan on giving yourself extra time and space to get things done and take a moment to reflect on what went well and what did not go well during this cycle. Release what’s no longer serving you and if you find that you have some inner work to do [ex. money mindset, spiritual healing, etc.], this is the best time to do it.
Depending on how attuned you are to nature, you might find yourself experiencing these phases in direct alignment with the moon, the seasons, or if you’re a woman, with your menstrual cycle. However, you might also find yourself cycling through these phases at your own unique rhythm and pace.
The important thing is to honor and love the phase you’re in instead of trying to fight against it.
💭 Now, you might also be wondering: How is it possible to honor phases one and four when I don’t have the luxury of putting my life or business on hold?
I totally get it.
If you’re a mother or a father, if you have a full time job, if you’re not making consistent cash flow in your business—it can feel impossible to slow down.
So here’s the thing: Honoring the ebbs of the cycle doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t take action, but it asks you to take a closer look at what you need to do and how you’re doing it.
For example, during phases one and four, could you do the bare minimum of what needs to get done? Could you combine activities to get more done in less time [ex. catching up with a friend while working out in the park]? Could you slow down by physically doing activities slower?
I think the most important point to take away here is that we don’t have to wait until we get stuck in a lack of motivation or until we burn out completely BEFORE we decide to honor the totality of our energetic cycle.
If we can be intentional about how we flow our energy; if we can plan “slowing down” into our regular schedule, we can set ourselves up to accomplish more with less effort or in other words, we can set ourselves up to be in and stay in: FLOW 🌊
For more insight about ebbing and flowing in business, check out Building Resilience: What Do Nature and Business Have in Common?
With love & slowing down,
-Kayla
P.S. Have you heard of the human design system? If you struggle with a lack of motivation or energetic highs and lows like I do, you may benefit from having a human design reading with me.
Human design is a spiritual system that gives us insight into who we are, why we’re here, and how we best flow and use our energy. Since I found out that I am a projector type with gate 1 defined in my incarnation cross and a completely open will center, I’ve been infinitely more compassionate with myself when a lack of motivation hits and I’ve learned new tools to successfully navigate my energetic highs and lows.
I would love to share how all of this applies to you and more in a reading with you 🤍
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