What Keeps You Motivated?

I have been in a slump since the holidays ended. Well, to be honest, to us that is just this last week because we had a late celebration with our out of town kids and then our grandkids were here for a few days.
But now that it back to the normal routine, how do I get motivated to be creative, get some exercise and just feel good in general?

One thing I need to do now that we have our schedule back is what I wrote about last week: my regular routine. It may sound boring but my routine grounds me. Every morning I do my daily reading and meditation, my yoga exercises, which open my chakras and I usually, have activities for certain days of the week.
My writing group meets one morning a month, I attend a couple self help groups weekly, get a massage for my fibro every few weeks and have coffee/get together with my close friends who nurture and support me. I also write a gratitude list daily that also seems to keep level and out of depression or self-pity.
I also have a mental /writing exercise I developed while I was a counselor. I published it as one of my first blogs. It nurtures my spirit and makes me feel good. Just reading it feels good.
I need to update that list regularly and read it daily as I always told my clients to do. Practice what I preach!

I am excited for the next few weeks. I was invited to participate in a once a month workshop called Awakening the Muse which sounds very motivating!
And I will be facilitating a workshop myself February sixth on Nurturing your Spirit. Hopefully that will not only motivate me but others as well.

Winter, at least in this climate, can be somewhat depressing with very little sunshine, extreme cold and the three feet of snow we currently have on the ground. So it really helps me to have lots of activities planned to keep me motivated and excited. Writing, reading both fiction and nonfiction that I find stimulating, getting together with friends to talk and share how we’re doing and having art projects planned, helps me to stay up and feeling good.

Spring is always wonderful to look forward to. Making plans for my butterfly and rose garden, looking through garden books and making a design for what I want to change/update also keeps me busy.

If I can’t get outside to walk alittle with the dogs, at least I can do some yoga or dance around to my favorite tunes to keep my body loose and unstressed.
Just being outside to throw some retrieves for my goldens and breathe fresh air keeps the cabin fever away.

If you have any ideas to share that motivate you in the gray winter feel free to comment! I know this time of year serves a purpose. Just as nature needs to rest and replenish so do we. Sometimes we have to get creative and help ourselves.