Finding it hard to stay motivated in your spiritual life?
Maybe you’ve stopped going to church or have fallen away from the Church altogether.
Maybe, at one point in your life, things were good and you felt as if God was there every day with you guiding and teaching you his gospel.
Now, it seems as if there is a large barrier between you and the Lord.
Well, this may be true or maybe not so true.
There are things that we can do to overcome spiritual lulls in our lives and to become more spiritually motivated once again.
Here are some ways to get back on track with your spirituality:
Find the time
If you feel like there is no more time in your life, then you definitely need to reconsider how you are spending your days.
Take some extra minutes out of your day and do something spiritual.
If there was one thing I learned when I got married it was that it all starts with me.
You can’t rely on someone else to take care of your spiritual needs.
You have to make the time for them yourself.
Maybe you can wake up a little early and read scriptures or pray with your family before everyone heads off to their busy days.
Or maybe you can stay up a little later at night and say a heartfelt prayer after the kids are in bed.
Remember the covenants you have made
Another way to look at it is that you are not just making a promise to yourself but that you are also making a promise with God.
In return for your obedience, he will help you get back on track and become even more spiritually tough.
When things start getting hard again remember the covenants that you have made.
In the temple, we promise to live by certain standards and if we do so, God will help us through it all.
Be good to yourself
God is there for you when you need him no matter what you are going through in your life.
He knows everything about you and still loves you and wants to help you.
He put certain commandments in place that he knows will ultimately bring us happiness and blessings.
So, when we stray away from them we are doing nothing more than hurting ourselves and God can’t stand to see his children suffer.
We need to be good to ourselves, stay motivated in our spiritual life, and follow what God would want us to do.
Get back to the basics
We live in a world with so many distractions.
Our lives are filled with all kinds of things that can take us away from God and the things he wants us to be focusing on.
We need to get back to the basics with our spirituality by attending church, reading scriptures, praying, and serving others.
These are things that will bring us closer to God and help us to stay spiritually motivated.
Take time for yourself
When you have been going through a rough patch it is important to take some extra time for yourself.
You need to be able to rejuvenate your body, mind, and spirit so that you can be better equipped to make it through the day.
What do you like to do for yourself?
It doesn’t matter what it is as long as you take some time to relax and let your mind unwind.
You might need a day at the spa or a relaxing bath in order to get that much-needed break from your busy life.
Whatever it is that you need to do, make sure that you take that time and use it for yourself.
Research
Sometimes we just feel lost and don’t know where to start.
That’s okay because there are people out there who have experienced what we are going through and they can help us too.
If you are having a hard time with your spirituality, do some research into what you are struggling with.
There are so many people out there that have shared their stories and experiences that can help you overcome whatever it is that you are going through.
Don’t let yourself go
Don’t let yourself “fall off the wagon.”
That is what we call it when we stop going to church, reading the scriptures, or praying.
This is so important because if we let ourselves go and lose interest in those things, then just like anything else that is easy to start but hard to finish, it can be hard to get back into doing those things again.
If you find yourself becoming just a little less interested in being more spiritually motivated, don’t let yourself go.
Don’t compare yourself to others
This is so important because when you compare your life to someone else’s, it leaves out all of the individualized blessings that are unique to you.
When you compare yourself to other people, especially when they are keeping the commandments and you are not, it can really hurt.
It’s like saying that somehow the things they have done are more important than what you have done.
That is not true of course but if we don’t compare ourselves to them then we won’t feel this way.
You need to know that each one of us has our own road and our own journey to walk and not everyone walks it the same.
That is a great thing because then we can help each other along the way, but you need to stay motivated in your spiritual life and let that be enough.
Pray for strength
When you are struggling with anything, take some time out of your day to pray for strength.
If you are struggling, there is no doubt that Heavenly Father is already aware of it and now what is needed is for us to turn to Him in prayer for help.
Sometimes He will give us strength right then and sometimes He will bless us later on, but either way, we need to make sure that we are turning to Him in our time of need.
Pray for others
You should also take some time to pray for people that you know who are going through hard times.
When we offer up a prayer on someone else’s behalf, it can make a huge difference in their lives and in our spirit too.
We all have trials and things that we go through, so when we can lift up other people in prayer, it spreads out the load for all of us.
Not only that but when we pray for others, Heavenly Father will help them in whatever they are going through in much better ways than we could ever do ourselves.
Don’t worry about what other people say
People are always going to have something negative to say about you, your choices, and the way that you live your life.
That is just a fact of life so it is best not to worry yourself with that too much.
When people are being rude or making nasty comments, they are doing that because they have their own problems in their lives.
What matters most is what you know to be true.
Sometimes people are just mouthing off because they feel the need to put other people down so they can raise themselves up, but don’t worry about that.
Keep on living your life according to what you believe and eventually, everyone else will see the light too.
Keep good company
Surround yourself with other people that are trying to do good in the world.
We all need people around us that can encourage us to act better and think more positively about life.
You should never feel like you have to lower your standards or beliefs just because of who you are hanging out with, but if everyone around you is acting trashy then you might want to think about finding some new friends.
By keeping good company, you can be uplifted by others who are striving to do better and that is great for your own personal growth.
Accept the trials in your life
The best way to stay motivated in your spiritual life, especially when dealing with trials, is to accept them.
This means taking responsibility for what is happening in your life right now, not hanging on to blame and regret.
Knowing that God loves us through these challenges is the most important thing of all because if we know that He has a plan for our lives then everything else starts to make sense.
We need to understand that even though it might be really hard right now, there is no doubt that everything is going to be okay in the end.
Volunteer
When we volunteer our time and talent to help others, it gives us a great sense of fulfillment.
It is simply one of the best feelings ever to know that you are making someone else happy by giving your time or money or whatever else is on offer.
It might not be easy to find time or motivation, but it is worth it for sure and you will make new friends too.
Think about the good things in your life
We all tend to focus more on what we don’t have instead of thinking about how great our lives really are.
The best way to remind yourself of this is to keep a gratitude journal where you write down all the things that are great about your life.
It can be anything, from being grateful for your bed to be thankful for your friends or family.
The more thoughts you have about how lucky you are, the easier it will be to stay motivated in your spiritual life.
Have something you are working towards
It is so much easier to stay motivated if you know that you are moving forward in life instead of just standing still.
If your goal is to find a job, then getting up every day can be really tough because it feels like nothing has changed for the better, but if you have something to look forward to then it will help you to see things differently.
It could be anything, like getting another degree or buying a house, but having something that is meaningful to you can make all the difference when it comes to feeling positive about your life.
Live according to what you believe
The best way to stay motivated is to live your life according to what you believe.
If this means that you will be mocked or criticized by other people, then it might seem like a good idea not to talk about your religion or spirituality, but if you really follow these beliefs then eventually everyone else will come around too.
It might feel like nobody understands at the moment, but the best way to deal with that is just by living your life and showing others what you believe in through how you act and speak.
Repeat!
Once again it’s so important not to worry about motivation.
Just start where you are today and take it step by step.
It might seem like such a small step, but it can make a big difference when you think about how far you will go in the end.
Embrace failure
If you want to succeed in life, then it is necessary to embrace failure.
Everyone learns from their mistakes and grows as a result of them both physically and emotionally so if you get something wrong, then you have gained a lot of wisdom from this.
Nobody is perfect and the sooner you get used to not being perfect for whatever it might be that you are doing, then the easier it will be to stay motivated in your spiritual life.
Look after yourself
It can be really hard to stay motivated, but one of the most important things that you can do is to take good care of yourself.
This means eating healthily and getting enough sleep.
If you feel like you need to get more exercise, then make an effort to do this because working out will make you feel better about yourself and make it easier for you to think, speak and act in a positive way.
Keep moving forward
What you believe in isn’t just about what you say, but also how you behave and if this is full of negativity, then your life will reflect this.
You don’t have to be perfect for whatever it is that you are doing which means it isn’t necessary to beat yourself up if something goes wrong or you make a mistake.
Everyone makes mistakes and learning from them will be the best thing about living your life according to what you believe in.
Have fun
Don’t take your life too seriously and enjoy yourself as much as you can because this is the best way to stay motivated in your spiritual life.
If you feel like you’re not enjoying anything that you do, then maybe it’s time to change something so that you can start having fun with whatever it is that you are doing.
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