#9: Skipped a day? Missed a Week? You’re Off Track, Not Off the Train
By Sarah Wexler
You ever eat one bad meal and decide you’re officially unhealthy?
Stay on your phone for an hour and figure — might as well scroll for three more?
Miss one week of something you care about… and start questioning the whole thing?
Same.
I missed last week’s blog post. Barely anyone probably noticed but it almost made me quit on this project completely.
I’ve been so preoccupied with finishing my degree, applying to jobs, and you know—life—that my effort toward my “passion project” (is there a cooler word for that??) kind of went off track. That’s when my anti-growth mindset kicked in. It goes a little something like this:
Thought #1: I have no ideas for this week and my creativity/motivation are just not flowing.
Thought #2: F it. I’m not posting this week. No one will miss it anyway.
Thought #3: Since I missed this week, I’m just going to delete the whole blog. No one’s reading it or cares anyway.
The same snowballing thought process that usually pushes me and my creativity forward… also has a not-so-sparkly counter effect.
Which leads to what I’m exploring today:
Falling off track ≠ falling off the whole goddamn train.
Let’s dive into that a little deeper.
We’ve all felt it before — that moment when our performance doesn’t match the expectation we had for ourselves. Whether it be the gym, eating healthy, or really any bad habit — missing a checkpoint is a slippery slope. And instead of treating it as a small slip-up, we let it redefine our whole relationship with that habit. One skipped step becomes self-sabotage. One missed week becomes a spiral. And suddenly, we’re questioning the entire thing.
But this week, I’m taking my own advice — the very advice I’ve written about before when it comes to extremes — and choosing to use this personal “failure” as a launching point. And this week, I’m using the failure as inspiration for the thing I “failed” at.
Just a reminder: This isn’t a “how to fix your life” blog — it’s a space for reflection, imperfection, and figuring things out as we go. I’m not sharing this because I’ve mastered it — I’m sharing it because I’m living it right now. If it resonates, I love that. If it helps, even better. But most of all, I hope it reminds you that you’re not the only one figuring it all out as you go.
Anywayyyyyyy. Here’s what I’m ACTUALLY doing to stay motivated when my brain tells me my progress is ruined.
Pinterest Boards (it’s corny I know but it helped me <3)
First, let me just say Pinterest is NOT my favorite platform. The interface honestly stresses me out. But I made a board anyway, titled “LOOK AT THIS WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE GIVING UP.” Not because I think it’ll necessarily solve my problems, but because I need a place to go when I’m spiraling.
When I feel overwhelmed, my first instinct is to scroll on my phone. So maybe instead of disappearing into brain-rot, I can scroll through this: a curated, uplifting board bring me joy now — and could one day bring me success, too.
I separated into a few sections:
🌟 Success That Can Be Mine (Other influencers and marketing professionals who inspire me. Not to compare — but to expand what I believe is possible)
📝 Motivational Quotes (Self-explanatory. Cliché? Maybe. Weirdly motivating when I’m spiraling though)
📸 Content Inspiration (For the days when the blog isn’t flowing and I need a creative nudge instead of a meltdown)
💼 Success Visuals (It’s a passion project — sure. But I also want success, please and thank you)
Of course, this board is just one thing — and it’s pretty niche to my own goals. But motivation is something everyone needs, whether you're building a brand, finishing a degree, or just trying to make it through the week.
What helps me might look different from what helps you. Maybe for you, it’s a playlist, a walk, a journal, a phone call with someone who sees the bigger picture when you forget it. But whatever it is — find something that brings you back to your why.
It’s filled with quotes, visuals, and reminders to come back to your why — especially when you feel like giving up.
(Also, I’m a Pinterest newbie so please be kind. We’re figuring it out together. 💕)
Conversations
Inspiration boards are great for the visual piece — a quick fix when you need a little spark to keep going, to stay on the train. But for something a little deeper, I have discovered conversations are essential.
When you’re stuck in that in-between space — between where you are and where you want to be (in my case, talking ad nauseam to like five people on the internet instead of millions), — it’s hard to visualize the possible rewards. You have to get a little creative. Maybe even delusional. And that’s when talking to people who are already at the place you want to be makes a huge difference.
This week, I got to hear from an alum in one of my classes (shoutout Kat Norton — Miss Excel herself). She has over a million followers and has been featured in Business Insider, and hearing her story was so inspiring. The fact that she took her interests and turned them into a thriving business made me think… maybe I can, too.
I don’t just want success — I want a life that feels fulfilling the way hers clearly does.
And that moment reminded me: if you don’t currently feel motivated, go find it. Because it’s out there — in someone else’s story, in a conversation you didn’t know you needed, in the proof that it can be done.
Mindset
Fulfillment doesn’t come from the finish line. It comes from the journey itself. Every small step adds up. Every tiny step contributes to the marathon. Even when it doesn’t feel like progress, it is.
We all carry limiting beliefs that try to convince us we’re not doing enough, not growing fast enough, not being seen.
Is my blog “viral”? Lol. Not even close.
But am I proud of what I’ve created? Yes.
Not giving up on this silly little blog is proof to myself that I am capable. That the small steps I’m taking every day are building toward something real. Toward success and a life that feels fulfilling.
As Kat Norton “Miss Excel” said, the only difference between the people who make it in anything is that they didn’t give up.
And that’s hard. It’s hard to have faith in something that isn’t visible yet. But the energy you are putting into yourself, your work, your relationships, it all has to count for something.
So next time you have the option to believe in yourself or not, I’d say choose believing.
Find what motivates you. And your sparkle.
