What gets you out of bed in the morning?
My answer surprised me.
This question was originally asked by Sheree Angela Matthews over on her site Living Wild Studios in 2018 and below is my response that still rings true today.
My Answer:
Connection.
Funny enough for this introvert (who can put in the effort to be an extrovert when I want to but will need to have a lot of down-time to recover) I would never have thought that connection would be one of my biggest motivators.
Caroline Reynolds wrote in her book Spiritual Fitness, “Whenever we are forced into a situation where we cannot express ourselves honestly we suffer from what I call non-alignment fatigue. It occurs whenever you can’t express your natural exuberance, quietness, optimism or sadness in any situation.”
When I first read this, my world started to make more sense. She expressed how I had been feeling for years and why I originally thought that I was not a people person. I knew I definitely wasn’t a people pleaser (I enjoy being an instigator at times), but I still secretly wanted to be liked, so I acted in ways that were exhausting to me. And I also found myself swinging to the opposite end of the spectrum and purposely closing myself off as a way to protect myself.
It also helped me realize that perhaps I had been putting myself into situations that weren’t ideal. I tried to make friends or remain friends with people who were nice enough, but they simply weren’t my people. I felt drained in those situations and relationships.
What I try to do instead now is seek out connections that bring me joy, get me excited and challenge me for the better.
I consider myself lucky that I have a few great people in my inner circle who I don’t feel I need to be anything other than myself when I’m around them.
What gets you out of bed?