The past few months have undeniably been so difficult for so many people around the world. All of our situations are so different, but I think we’ve all found ourselves in a pretty tough position and to really define this new normal.

So in today’s video, I wanted to give you 5 ways to stay motivated and get inspired even in tough times.

Welcome back to Self-care Style Saturday and thank you so much for joining me. Today’s topic is a little bit different, but it is some kind of style-related.

I wanted to talk about the 5 ways to get inspired and stay motivated throughout these tough times that we’re in.

And yes, you can do it through style. In fact, I lead a group of women in Style Club and we’ve been doing these 5 things all along, we’ve talked quite a bit about it and I think it really does help to lift our spirits. So, here they are…

1. The first way might seem pretty obvious, but just being conscientious of self-care in the first place, knowing that you need to take time out for yourself.

I get it, you’re probably very busy, everyone’s situation is so different. I have three kids at home, we’re doing distance learning, I have two companies that I’m running, a family and it’s difficult! I definitely had to take some time out for myself, whether I have to get up early in the morning and have that one hour to myself, where I stay up a little bit later, not necessarily to watch TV, cause I don’t. But just to journal, to reflect, to pamper myself, to do anything that I can that will lift up my spirit and give me more energy.

Part of that self-care routine, for me personally, has definitely been exercise. I feel like I need to keep my body moving in order to really be able to have that energy, and also I nourish myself well because again, I know that will give me energy.

So, self-care is the first tip on how to get motivated and stay inspired through these tough times.

2. The next thing that I think is so important just to get that energy going, is having a strong morning routine. Now, this wasn’t always me. I was one of those kinds of anti-morning type of people. But now I’ve definitely really created a strong morning routine for myself with journaling, exercising, and just taking time out for myself as part of that self-care. And it just really helps to lift my mood for the rest of the day.

Now, about that morning routine, I get it… You might be busy, might have to run off to work, but again if you could just get up maybe like 15, 30 minutes early and have that time to set yourself up, to get to build those strong morning habits, I promise it’ll set you up for the best energy and for a great rest of your day.

3. The third thing that I feel really gets me motivated and energized, and I know it works for many of our Style Club members, is to find a new hobby. Now again, I know that time’s sometimes of an issue, it is for me too, but one of the things that I’ve taken up is photography. Although yes, I’m a stylist and I’m a designer… I have always been behind the camera styling. Not behind the camera, but next to the photographer and styling models. But now actually I’m the one behind the camera, and I’m loving it. It’s a new hobby that I’ve picked up and I’m just finding great joy in that, and it really inspires me.

One of the things that we do in Style Club is we actually bringing in new hobbies for a month that potentially our members could get into. We’ve done different kinds of craft projects, like DIY, tie-dying, or going into sewing, cooking… Different kinds of activities just to kind of try new hobbies and get that inspiration going. Newness our brain definitely loves something new.

4. The next thing that I do as a designer at least twice a year, but I’ve also inspired my Style Club students to do and I do it myself too for my personal, not just for my design collection but also for myself, is I create a mood board. And for me, a mood board is more than just picking out pretty colors and fabrics and leathers that I’m going to be using for the season. But a mood board really sets me up for colors that I want to wear, the quotes that I want to live by, the goals that I want to have, and I have different images that I select and I create this pretty mood board. It’s basically a goal-setting but in a visual format. And most of, actually all, of our Style members have done this, and it really is a fun activity to kind of get yourself inspired and get going for a new season.

5. And the fifth way to find motivation and get inspired during these tough times is to create what I’m calling, as cheesy as it sounds, a ‘happy capsule’. So undeniably also the way that we dress really affects our mood, it reflects how others react to us, which is kind of a mirror to how we react back to that person. So, in other words, like if somebody is like checking you out and you know you look good and they’re just kind of eyeing you and they’re showing respect to you, you’re going to feel that positive energy back and vice versa.

So no matter what you have styled, it’s just a matter of that style where somebody’s going to react in a positive way. But anyway, what we’re doing in Style Club is we’re building a ‘happy capsule’. So we’re being very intentional about everything that we pick out for our fall wardrobe.

And quick, a capsule is basically a collection of 20 pieces that mix and match, they’re typically separates and anything like if you pick like a top or a bottom, those 2 pieces will mix and match into an outfit. So, it just makes it really quick for you to be able to get ready, you know everything in there fits you and flatters you and make you feel amazing. And happy! And so that’s part of the motivation, is creating a beautiful capsule that’ll be your happy capsule, you know everything in there is going to be very intentional because again, you’ve tried it on, you know what color works for you, you know the color works for boosting your energy as well.

So one thing that I have to do as much as I love black especially when it comes to cooler weather, I tend to reach black and like it. I think it’s a very flattering color on me, I think it’s very elegant. However, due to these times, I’ve really tried to stay away from black. I really tried to go more for lighter colors, like colors of hope and joy and happiness. And that’s what I’m really focused on my capsule in these current times.

So I encourage you to do the same. To be very intentional about your style, about what you wear because it does affect your mood.

In fact, if you’d like to get more information on How to Dress for your Shape, How to Build a Capsule, I’ll leave the links here for you, so you can join us for that.

Anyway, thank you so much for watching. I hope that this gave you some things to think about, motivation, inspiration, especially in these tough times.

If you have any questions, any comments for me, you know where to reach me down below.

And until next time, stay stylish my friend, and follow me here and here. And personal message me if you’d like to stay in touch.

Thank you again, and I’ll see you next time on Ada Style Minute!

Useful links:

Free Online Body Shape Class
Download the Determine Your Shape Guide 
Essentials for your closet
Body Shape Calculator (please use it from your desktop)