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Lost Your Spark? The One-Question Exercise to Reignite Your Drive
When everything feels flat, ask yourself this one thing—a trick from psychology that helps rewire your brain for curiosity and momentum.
Valerie Alvarez
16 Feb • Reading Time: 11 minutes
Welcome to The Wellness Rewind, your go-to weekly newsletter for practical tips and inspiration to create a balanced, mindful, and energized life. Forwarded this by a friend? Subscribe here to join the community and never miss out!
Ever wake up feeling like life is running on autopilot? You’re not stuck exactly, but the spark? MIA. This week, we’re flipping the script with one simple question that can reignite your drive instantly (no, it’s not “What’s for dinner?” but close). Plus, I’m sharing five books that carried me through one of the hardest seasons of my life back in 2017—words that helped me rebuild when everything felt uncertain. Let’s shake things up. 🔥
But before we dive in, this week’s sponsor is 1440 Media. 1440 provides unbiased news so you can form your own conclusions, and it’s a newsletter I personally enjoy to stay up-to-date on what’s happening back home in the US and globally.
What's Inside
Lost Your Spark? The One-Question Exercise to Reignite Your Drive
We are judging! We’ve all had our low lows.
Have you ever woken up and thought, Wait, is this it? Not in a dramatic, existential crisis kind of way (though, been there), but more like you’re… flat. Not sad. Not overwhelmed. Just moving through life on autopilot, checking boxes but not really feeling it.
If you’ve been there, you’re not alone.
A Look Back: When I Felt the Most Stuck
I want to take you back to 2017. Portland, Oregon. The rain was relentless, the days felt like they blurred into one, and life was unraveling in ways I wasn’t ready for. My marriage was falling apart, and divorce was on the horizon. I felt like I was just existing—going through the motions but not truly living. Life felt like it was moving in slow motion.
Then one day, I came across a quote:
If not now, then when?
It stopped me in my tracks. As awful as life felt at the moment, was I actually making each day count? Or was I just waiting for some undefined better time to start living fully?
Sure, my life felt like it was over as I watched it shatter into pieces.
I posted about it on Instagram:
"Rainy days are part of Portland's charm, but sometimes they bring a case of the Mondays… even on a Thursday. Feeling stuck?
Our bodies naturally seek the easy route, and so do our minds. But living passively defeats the purpose. Falling into a rut happens, but the challenge is pulling yourself out—tapping in mentally, being present in your work, focusing on your goals, engaging in conversations, and embracing each moment.
It’s easy to get caught up, just as it’s easy to feel stuck. Let’s choose neither. Instead, let’s show up fully.
You are your best investment. Make today count."
That moment made me realize something: I was waiting. For clarity, for a sign, for motivation, for an answer, for something to snap me out of it. As if waiting for permission to someone to say that it was okay to choose me, to choose happiness, to choose a different path than my former partner. But I had it backwards. I needed to create momentum, not wait for it.
And that’s where today’s newsletter comes in. If you’re feeling stuck, there’s one simple question that can help you break out of it.