It’s been a remarkably awful year. A global pandemic, unscrupulous politicians, biased media pundits. You can be comfortable with being uncomfortable, but 2020 has been insanely difficult to motivate even the most resilient among us.

Not only is your work suffering, but your mind is starting to feel the heavy weight of life crashing down around you. Right now, things seem to be the worst they’ve ever been. Right now, you must dig deep to motivate yourself. Or you’ll start slipping into the abyss of this year’s insanity. Your life depends on it.

If you’re waiting for this world to “get back to normal” you’ll never get out of bed.

Here’s how to be motivated when life is insanely difficult.

1. BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF

The first person you need to tell that you love and are here to listen to — is yourself. Meditate on that. Seriously.

On Monday morning, I had a few minutes before I had to drive my nine-year-old daughter to school. I asked her if she wanted to meditate with me. I was thrilled that she said yes. I put on a 15 minute guided mediation via a meditation APP.

The meditation focused on telling myself I was sending myself love. I’d never taken a moment out of my day to send love toward myself. It was a profound paradigm shift, and I hope a great lesson for my daughter, Olivia. Now I hope its a lesson for you.

You’re trying your best. Send yourself some love today. You deserve it.

2. BUILD YOUR LIFE RESUME

I’m a big fan of Jessie Itzler. In the middle of quarantine, he shared one of his life hacks that has helped me greatly. I think it will help you too.

• Make a list of seven good habits. They should be simple little things that you can get done easily. For example: Go for a walk outside. Read a chapter in a book. Meditate. Exercise. List those seven things that you can consider a vitamin that will help to improve your day. Hold yourself accountable, and complete at least three of them every day. Then you can put that day in the win column. This can be a powerful reminder that you can make daily progress toward good things in your life without having to accomplish something huge. Kickstarting your intrinsic motivation to do bigger things!

3. HELP SOMEONE

Literally, today. Reach out to someone you’ve been thinking about and just check-in. There are lots of reasons to do so. See how your old friend is holding up working from home these days. Did they lose their job? Is their business suffering? Are they healthy? Is their family healthy? Ask them how you can help. These intense conversations can crack you open in ways you could have never imagined. You’ll feel great afterward. Also, it will have a more profound impact that posting some platitude on social media. I promise.

If you’re having trouble figuring out where to start, read The Go Giver.

4. STOP DRINKING (during the week).

You’re human, so maybe at the beginning of the pandemic, you may have gone a little overboard. It’s ok. We were all on hyper-alert, and our global anxienty was at an all-time high. Now it’s time to clean up your act. Give your mind and your body a 5-day break. You’ll enjoy that glass of wine on Friday evening, even more. Better yet – get on the sober October bandwagon.

Are you still not convinced Alcohol is holding you back? Read The Easy Way to Control Alchohol, by Allen Carr.

5. WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW

Maybe you’re not commuting any more or maybe you’re not working anymore. Maybe you’d like a career change. No matter what your current life situation, take that time back to take steps to build your personal brand. You’re good at your job. Now show the world. Leverage this platform to help others to get better at their jobs.

Helping people is an incredible way to get back your mojo.

6. EMBRACE “THE SUCK”

A global pandemic is bad. Losing your job during a global pandemic is worse. Embrace these things. Welcome them into your home and invite them to sit a the head of the table.

My friend Jason Van Camp, a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point once shared with me that the Army calls this “the suck.” So embrace it.

If you want to explore “the suck” even more – buy Jason’s book Deliberate Discomfort: How U.S. Special Operations Forces Overcome Fear and Dare to Win by Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable. Or if you’re still feeling bad for yourself, learn about Jason’s pal, Tomy Parker.

I hope this rekindled your motivation and will bring some ease into your life, even when things feel insanely hard.