It’s Not a You Problem, It’s a November Problem: How to Stay Consistent When Motivation Tanks

Feeling off lately? 'Tis the season! As the days get shorter and motivation dips, your body and brain are reacting to less light, more stress, and lower energy.

In this episode, Anne Jones, fitness and mindset coach for women 30+, explains why motivation disappears in the fall and how to rebuild consistency through nervous-system support and simple, sustainable actions.

You’ll learn:

💙 Why your brain isn’t “lazy” (it’s low-dopamine)

💙 How to shift from pressure to presence

💙 The 5-step November Toolbox to stay consistent

💙 How to action yourself into motivation

By the end, you’ll feel grounded, capable, and ready to show up — even in the dark months.

Connect with Anne:

👉 Instagram: @annejonesfit

👉 Learn more about coaching: http://annejones.ca/

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Connect With Me:

• Instagram: [@annejonesfit]

• Website: [https://www.annejonescoaching.ca/]

• YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/@annejones]

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the Muscles andMindset Revolution podcast.
The podcast for ambitious womenwho want to build strength, feel
confident, af and lose body fatfor good, without counting
calories or BS quick fixes.
I am Anne Jones, your host,certified life coach, personal
trainer, and mindset expert.
After 15 years in the fitnessindustry, I know the real key to

(00:22):
lasting change isn't what youdo, it's how you think.
If you're ready to shift yourmindset, build a lifestyle you
love and feel confident af,you're in the right place.
Let's dive in.
Today we're talking aboutsomething that's been coming up
in almost every single clientconversation for the past couple
of weeks.
Low motivation.
Heavy energy and November blah.

(00:43):
So if you've been wondering whyyou can't seem to get yourself
going right now, this episode isgoing to help you to understand
what's really happening and giveyou some practical, soul
friendly tools to move throughit without guilt or criticism.
Okay.
I wanna start by saying this outloud, just so you hear me.
Okay.
You're not lazy.
I've never had a client who waslazy.
You're not unmotivated,probably, especially if you're a

(01:03):
client of mine.
You probably know why.
You want what you want.
You probably know why you wannaexercise.
And get outside.
You're not losing your edge.
Your body and your brain areliterally reacting to the change
in light, temperature androutine.
If you're over here in NorthAmerica, where not all, but most
of my listeners are shorter daysmean less sunlight, right?
Less dopamine, thus less energyand focus.

(01:27):
And in colder mornings withholidays creeping up, there is
an added emotional load to theyear.
Especially for my femaleclients, my mamas, and boom
motivation tanks, right?
So instead of thinking, what iswrong with me?
Why can't I get my shittogether?
I want you to think, what doesthis season require from me,
like at a base level?
This is where most women get itwrong.

(01:49):
We often think the answer is tobuckle down and get back on
track overhaul, but when yourcapacity is lower, right, even
your immunity is lower this timeof year, more pressure creates
more resistance.
Then you don't want to, and thenyou say that you're not
motivated, but that's not reallywhat's happening.
So right now your job isactually not to do more.

(02:10):
Necessarily, unless you'refeeling great, then like, go
crazy.
But if you're not, if you'refeeling low energy, your job,
your responsibility right now isto ground yourself so that you
can keep doing enough.
Your focus shifts from intensityto consistency.
I mean, as it always should.
From outcome focus to energyfocus, managing your energy, we

(02:31):
often focus on the outcome.
I want this thing, I want thisresult.
So I'm gonna keep doing, doing,doing, doing, pushing without
managing the energy piece, whichis then we, why we feel crappy
and crash and burnout.
So we're shifting from intensityto consistency, from outcome
focus, to energy focus, and fromcontrol to connection.
I promise if you trust in this,it works.

(02:52):
Here now is your Novembertoolbox.
I wanna give you a littleNovember toolbox that you can
use this These are some of thethings that I'm giving our
clients inside muscles andmindset who are going through
the same stuff because they aresuper successful, high achieving
women just like me and you, whoall are also going through these
things.
Nothing wrong with you or them,or me.
So here's your little toolbox.
Number one is to get morninglight.

(03:13):
I know it's like overdone, likeyou've heard everyone say it,
but it is very real In gettingyou that natural, cortisol and
dopamine hit as well asregulating your circadian
rhythm.
i'm gonna insert a littlescience lesson here'cause I
think this is important.
So here's what's actuallyhappening.
When you get natural sunlight onyour face, on your eyeballs, not

(03:33):
sunglasses in the morning, whenyou get morning light in your
eyes, particularly within thefirst.
30 to 60 minutes of waking.
It signals the superchiasmaticnucleus I know in your brain,
which is basically your body'sinternal clock that it is
daytime.
So that cue thus kicks off anatural cortisol awakening
response.
Now, I need to say cortisol getsa bad reputation, but it's not

(03:56):
actually a bad, it's notactually bad all the time.
Cortisol is not just the badstress hormone people think it
is.
In the morning, we actually wantthat little spike of cortisol.
Naturally it is what wakes youup.
It is what boosts alertness.
It is what helps your circadianrhythm for the rest of the day.
It's like pressing go on yourbody's 24 hour hormone rhythm.
And then the other reason isthat sunlight exposure also

(04:18):
triggers dopamine release, whichespecially through the retina,
you have light sensitive cellsin your retinas.
So that is why morning lightexposure feels good, because it
helps with motivation, focus,and energy, not just at the
moment, but throughout the day.
And then over time, consistentmorning light exposure can help
to stabilize your mood andreduce seasonal dips.

(04:40):
So morning light equals naturalcortisol bump, plus dopamine
boost, so you have calmerenergy, a sharper focus, and
better sleep later that night.
So open the blinds, curtainsfirst.
The first thing I do.
my 8-year-old daughter.
The first thing she does in themorning is choose her clothes,
make her bed open.
The blinds, like that's, we openthe blinds.
That's what we do.

(05:01):
Open them within an hour.
Even if it's gray, it makes adifference, I promise.
If you can 10 minute walk, walkto the end of your street, your
mailbox, grab your coffee, justget light in your eyes.
It's the cheapest dopamine boostyou'll ever So number one is get
morning light.
Number two is anchor yournon-negotiables.
Pick three strong maintenancehabits.
And if you know me, I have alove hate relationship with the

(05:22):
term non-negotiables because Ido think that you should have
some non-negotiables, but I alsothink everything in our health
is negotiable.
cause who knows what's gonnahappen, right?
But you should have three strongmaintenance habits.
So if you're not in a positionwhere you're currently like
moving forward in November, noproblem, but let's have some
strong maintenance habits.
Maybe it's three workouts aweek.
A daily walk and protein inevery meal, boom.

(05:43):
Don't start adding fourth andfifth things.
That's it.
That's your baseline.
You don't have to be in peakseason to be successful or keep
moving the dial forward.
Most women, after the age of 35gain weight every year.
So if you're maintaining, you'rewinning, that's better than that
because that adds up.
Action yourself into motivation.
Motivation doesn't show upfirst.
Stop waiting for it.
Action does, and then you getmomentum and then it keeps

(06:05):
going.
Do one thing that reminds yourbrain that you are capable.
Make your bed, drink your water.
Do some body weight squats.
You will be shocked at howquickly your mood follows.
Number four, ground yourselfbefore you go when you feel
anxious.
Or when you feel frozen, stoptrying to think your way out of
it.
You can't outthink, you'reoverthinking.
Get into your body by doingsomething that calms your body,

(06:26):
touching your body, breathing,stretching, walking, journaling,
shaking out your hands.
I have tons of tools on myYouTube.
A calm nervous system will getyou a lot farther than a perfect
plan ever will.
Number five, community andconnection.
You don't have to white knucklethrough this season alone.
Reach out to a friend, make thatone of your Sunday rituals,
reach out to a coach or hop intoa community group if you're in

(06:49):
one.
I am just opening a threadinside of muscles and mindset,
which I'm calling the seasonalsupport circle because like I
said, we're all going throughthis and it's already full of
women, of my clients sharingtiny habits that keep them
grounded, and that is what realmotivation looks like.
It's contagious energy.
It is not comparison or forceddiscipline.
So here's a mindset reframe foryou.

(07:10):
When your motivation and energydip, your brain loves to
whisper.
What's even the point, right?
What's even the point of this?
That's when your real workbegins.
That's your invitation.
Because the point is not to haveperfect weeks.
It is to learn how to stay withyourself when it gets hard, when
you have to ride out the cravingof the urge.
If you can keep showing up at70%.

(07:30):
During your low seasons, youwill be unstoppable.
When the light comes back, youwill maintain your momentum and
you can continue to move thedial forward.
70% is more than maintenance.
Before we wrap up, I wanted togive you three journal prompts
to reflect on that you canactually use to, so grab your
journal or just think on this,what season am I in right now?

(07:51):
Am I in a growth season?
Like truly like with thecapacity that you have, right?
I talk a lot about capacity withyour responsibilities, parents,
kiddos, pets, career.
Maybe you have a team at work.
Many of my clients do.
With your capacity in this givenseason of life, what season are
you in right now?
Growth, maintenance, orrecovery?

(08:11):
It is not always growth.
Number two, what three habitshelp me feel grounded when life
gets heavy.
And number three, what would itlook like to honor my capacity
instead of fighting it thismonth?
And that's your reminder fortoday, my friend.
You're not lazy, you're justexperiencing some low light.
You don't need a new plan.
You just need.
To support your nervous systemdifferently this season.

(08:32):
So this week I want you to pickone of those tiny habits that
helps you feel grounded.
Go for the walk.
Open the blinds.
Make your bed.
Breathe before you scroll,action yourself into motivation.
And remember, this season isn'tabout perfection.
It is about steadiness.
If you found this episodehelpful, it would mean the world
to me if you shared it with afriend who's been feeling a
little off lately or left aquick five star review so that

(08:55):
more women can find thismessage.
And if you want my help stayingconsistent through the winter.
Workouts, mindset, all of it.
You can join us inside musclesand mindset.
My signature coaching programfor women who want to feel
confident, af and strong forlife.
You will find the links in myshow notes.
Until next time, take care ofyour body, calm your mind, and
remember, your motivation is notmissing.

(09:16):
It's waiting for your next move.