Pandemic Motivation

[Hugsplox]

Hello again friends!

I know the holidays are a little rough for those of us who have some mental health issues, and this year is.. let's just say a little rougher than usual. I thought This would be a good time to throw some ideas or practices out that you're using to keep yourself motivated and moving forward through this mess.

This year I jumped back into the reptile hobby, started checking out some genres of music that were outside of my normal comfort zone so to speak, and made it my personal goal to do some self reflecting and work on my patience. I also started watching a lot of foreign films, and I'll tell you, once you get pass having to read subtitles, you'll discover a whole new world of fantastic films.

I also found this forum, and you guys, are a stellar group of people and I'm very thankful for each and every one of you. Not to get all sappy and weird, but remember you're valued and you matter. Anyway! I'd love to hear from you all, what are you doing to stay motivated?

[jmcrook]

I've been in the habit of going on a ~2.5 mile walk every night while listening to podcasts to get some light exercise and clear my mind since about march/april. Nice way to occupy an hour of my evening. Quickly turned into the highlight of most days for me. I listen to a lot of Morelia Python Radio and some art related podcasts on my walks as well. Also helps me to take reference photos for my studio practice as an artist. I make printed engravings of nocturne street scenes and the quiet and stillness of that atmosphere is good for relaxing my mind as well as providing me with imagery to explore in the studio.

Don't know how much that is necessarily motivation related however. I did pull the trigger on a pair of Brisbane locality carpet pythons this year though, as I've thought about breeding for at least a single clutch in my lifetime pretty much since I started keeping 25yrs ago. Finally decided that I didn't want to live the rest of my life just wondering about that/growing old and regretting never having even given myself the chance. Still no guarantee that the pair will produce and it'll be bare minimum 1yr if not 2yrs before they're at a mature enough size to start breeding trials. I guess the uncertainty of life in general as was very suddenly presented to us this past spring lit a fire under me to stop thinking about it and start being about it.

[Bogertophis]

We all have different interests (other than snakes+) but I think it's all about appreciating the time you may now have to pursue those interests, that maybe you couldn't do when you were working more hours. I guess it's the old saying "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade" bit... If you're one of the ones still working, thank you!!!! Please do your very best to stay safe & healthy!

Oh hey, I agree with you about those foreign subtitled films! No multi-tasking, you gotta pay attention, but many are very well-worth it, & so different from our own media.
Listen more to music (& sing along!) Find fun ways to exercise- hiking or dance like no one's watching! and play with your dogs, etc.

And remember that we can all still connect with those we care about, it's just different- verbal instead of tactile or in person. By all means, remember to show up HERE!