The Melbourne Storm 2021

A guide to resilience and tapping into your motivation

Finding the inner motivation during so many lockdowns in Melbourne isn’t easy. Melbourne does have 4 seasons in a day but this storm is not so pleasant.

How to find motivation?

Tell me about it – we need to dig very deep in 2021.
It’s 5 am and I’m writing my thoughts, In Melbourne and it’s our sixth lockdown since 2020.

Yes we are all f’ing over it!

What can I say… yes, we are all feeling flat, disheartened and f…….. drained this time ’round. Excuse my French but I decided to keep this real and 2021 has made me swear my than usual. 🙂

My clients have double stress, trying to work and home school and trying to be a good parent. It must be tough.
My single friends may feel disconnected and have given up on Melbourne and I completely understand.
Small businesses don’t know who to turn to in order for their business to survive. Finance stress is a big factor too.

The emotional toll on kids who are feeling the uneasy energy of the world. We need an injection of nice thoughts into them ASAP.

Here’s an idea plot:

I know it’s a lot to take in and I feel the same way sometimes.

How can we beat the lockdown blues, then?

I have worked my arse off for 18 years building a fitness business and literally overnight with one day’s notice I had to change my business model to survive. Families and friends are separated due to the lockdown and the list goes on and on. NEVER DID I THINK IN MY LIFETIME I WASN’T ALLOWED TO VISIT MY MUM IN ADELAIDE OR MY PARTNER VISITING HIS FOLKS IN NORWAY. SO MANY STORIES and people are in the same boat.
Well, life has been like an uneasy storm for the past 18 months, especially in Melbourne.

It feels like you lift yourself up when lockdown eases and a huge wave brings you down and you are trying to swim each day and not sink.

“When is the article going to say something uplifting?” you think? I know. I’m trying …. 🙂 But if anyone that knows me.. I’m real and sometimes you need to rip off the bandage in order to feel good again.

What can you do to help YOURSELF?

I have a few simple tips.

I know this sounds simple but just do it. Trust me.

Get some fresh air and exercise. Make it your goal. It may be a lot more difficult with young children but try at least 10 minutes here and there.

Exercise is very important to help try to change your mindset into a calm and positive one.
As a trainer, I still sometimes find it hard to dig up my motivation but I know I will be a lot better if I keep moving, and guess what, I always do.

Why don’t you join one of my zoom classes? 🙂

Avoid those press conferences – no need to listen, get the facts later. Don’t inject an hour of your time of negative energy. You’re better off gardening to be honest – which brings you joy.
Or listen to your favourite playlist!

Think of 3 things each morning you are grateful for and 3 things before you go to bed – I’m sure there are more than 3 things in your life you’re grateful for but it’s a positive start.
Keep moving forward and delete the news feeds on your phone and social media. – It’s easy to deactivate the notifications.

Detox your news feed. Everyone has an opinion and everyone is a so-called “expert”. Stick to the facts and find an activity or tv show that brings your joy, not anxiety.

Try not to overthink.
Know that this too will pass and accept that on some days you are going to feel flat. Try to remember that there are other people in other parts of the world who are doing it really tough, but don’t feel guilty because your down moments mean something too. Don’t get caught up in your own thoughts too much… Try to go for your daily exercise and look up something on YouTube that will make you laugh. Laughter is the best medicine!

WE WILL GET OVER THIS MELBOURNE/WORLD! BE STRONG AND WE WILL ALL GO BACK TO COMPLAINING THAT OUR COFFEE IS NOT RIGHT OR YOU CAN’T GET INTO TO YOUR FAVOURITE RESTAURANT. Or you are feeling jet-lagged. Give me jet lag now please… 🙂 Don’t forget your sense of humour. Trust me, it’s helped me more than you can imagine!

SMILE A LITTLE MORE AND PLEASE GO FOR YOUR DAILY WALKS!

Enjoy the new wellness journey and maybe I can see you in my live online pilates or strength band classes soon.

X Rocco

If anything in the article has brought anything up, please remember that you can contact always contact Life line or Beyond Blue. Look after yourself!