Ep. 121 How to Generate Excitement
Ep. 121: How To Generate Excitement
Have you ever given up on a project because you stopped being excited about it? Us too. Until we learned it was possible to actually GENERATE feelings of excitement about anything we wanted! Today we’re talking about exactly how to do that.
You’ll learn:
Why we shouldn’t expect to stay excited about a project the whole way through
4 questions to ask yourself to generate excitement (or any other emotion) again
Lots of examples of how it works in practice
How to maintain the ability to be spontaneous, even while staying committed to what you said you’d do
Don’t forget to grab our FREE Create Your Own Mantra workbook that’ll help you create a mantra that speaks to you! Plus you can reuse it as many times as you’d like!
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How to Generate Excitement
I used to think I either felt good or bad almost by chance. Because of that, I often felt unable to stick to goals I set because I didn’t “feel like it.”
I had to then rely on willpower and doing what I “should” do -- but not because I wanted to, which wasn’t very fun.
But when I started doing the things I committed to from a place of truly WANTING to, the actions I took had so much more power behind them.
I was talking to someone about this and she suggested the idea that it was possible to think THOUGHTS that generated enthusiasm for what I was doing, rather than relying on what I was DOING to keep the enthusiasm running.
If that was true, I could generate any feeling I wanted at any time!
It doesn’t mean never quitting -- It just means you need to pay attention to WHY you want to stop. It’s good to see if it’s coming from a place of copping out when something gets uncomfortable or from your intuition telling you to move on?
-Kristin
4 Questions to Ask Yourself to Generate Excitement
Whether it’s a goal, habit, creative project, business or just doing the dishes these four questions can help you generate excitement again. (or any other emotion you’re seeking) It’s time to stop relying on will power and know that you can generate the feelings that you need to keep going.
What PART of it could excite you?
How could you do it in a NEW way?
What about this uses your gifts?
What’s the desire behind the desire? (What do you really want?)
Here are 3 examples on how to generate excitement
A business idea.
I get an idea, get excited, get started, lose excitement, stop. But if I want to keep going anyway or I’ve made a commitment, I know I can re-find excitement about it by exploring one of these questions.
Creating content (write/share)
Imagining the future of the successful project
My new website -- I have watched myself go through phases of excitement and phases of discouragement. It helps me to think of all the ideas I have for blog posts and guides and start writing outlines and content. Soon things are flowing again (enough for me to do the hard parts like actually designing the site).
A goal.
Say I’ve set a goal to eat less sugar and treats. I lose motivation on that quickly… what might help me generate continued excitement there?
Remind myself of why I want it. What my desire behind the desire is. Why did I set this goal in the first place?
I might have started thinking negative thoughts about myself and feeling guilt and shame. If I can use a mantra or thought to remember the desire behind the desire, I’m more likely to stay motivated and excited.
The desire behind the desire in this example might be that I want to feel physically energetic and strong. When I imagine that future self, I get excited again.
A household task like cooking dinner.
What part of cooking and planning meals could excite me? Or how could I use my gifts to enjoy this area more? Organizing a system related to it! I get excited about systems and finding clever solutions. Bringing some order and repetition and a smart system.
Now when I plan my meals using an organized system, I actually feel more excited and satisfied with the whole job.
Folding laundry means I watch a show while I do it. That’s exciting
If you liked this episode, you’ll really love these ones!
Ep. 116 Finding a Solution by using 10 journal prompts
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