The Simplest Ways to Stay Enthusiastic in Life (Even When You Are Drowning in Work)

Chronic sleep loss not only drains energy and enthusiasm, but can contribute to serious health problems. Learning and memory, metabolism and weight, cardiovascular health, and immune function all suffer when you don’t get enough sleep, and so does mood.

The typical American diet is not just terrible for the heart, bones, and belly. Big spikes and drops in blood sugar levels also wreak havoc with the way the brain uses energy. When your body doesn’t get the nutrients it needs, it affects brain chemistry, which impacts mood, memory, and cognitive function.

Shifting to a plant-based, low-glycemic diet actually changes how the brain functions, which can boost your mood, help you deal with stress, and make it easier to stay enthusiastic.

Exercise has the power to improve thought processes, attention, creativity and even eliminate depression more effectively than prescription drugs.

When you’re feeling unenthusiastic, you may want to head for the couch, but instead, do something that will make you sweat. Take a walk, swim, dance, go throw a football around with a friend. Anything that gets your body doing what it was made for (i.e., moving!) will make it easier for you to find your enthusiasm again.

Self-compassion is noticing what you’re feeling and remembering to treat yourself with the same kindness you’d give to a beloved friend. More often our response is to beat ourselves up when we stumble, but research has shown (and your own experience may echo) that it is counterproductive.

If you practice responding to yourself with self-compassion rather than aggression, you’ll discover it’s a much more pleasant way to live, and when life is better, it’s so much easier to stay enthusiastic.

Meditation (or any mindfulness training) affects the brain in powerfully positive ways.

Studies have shown that mindfulness training actually increases grey matter in brain regions involved in learning, memory, emotion regulation, sense of self, and perspective taking — all important for keeping your enthusiasm up!

Even just 10 minutes a day can spur these kinds of positive changes, and it’s the perfect way to strengthen your self-compassion muscles, too!

The more attention you put on what’s going well in your life right now, the better life goes, and the easier it is to stay enthusiastic.

Instead of focusing on all the things you wish were different, write down everything you can think of that you’re grateful for, and make a practice every day of noticing what’s going well.

It’s hard to be enthusiastic when you’re weighted down with stuff. You can’t find things, you’re ashamed to have people over, and it’s hard to even think!

To start, just pick one small area where you’ll really notice a change, and you’ll be amazed at the fresh supply of energy and enthusiasm (and motivation to keep at it!) that will be your reward.

Enthusiasm is contagious. Since your time and energy is limited, pay attention to how you feel after spending time with people in your life, and seek out those who fill you up, energize and inspire you.

Negativity is also contagious. If you notice certain people or relationships causing you to feel drained, depressed, or badly about yourself, stay away from them!

Notice where your time is going.

Write down everything that takes up time in your life, and ask yourself who you are doing it for. Is it nourishing you, or are you acting out of a sense of false guilt or martyrdom?

The happiest, most enthusiastic people I know are those who have learned to be ruthless with their time and energy, and to say no to things — and people — who suck them dry.

Spontaneous acts of kindness — even a kind word or genuine smile — can boost self-image, lead us to perceive others more compassionately, promote a greater sense of connection with others and feel grateful for our own good fortune.

Be careful it's not out of feeling obligated - it needs to be random, spontaneous acts of kindness to make us feel happier, and when we’re happier, it’s easy to be more enthusiastic.