How to get back up again: one small thing every morning

Lia is a barista at a small coffee shop on Session Road in Baguio. She used to be the first one in. She would open the shop, set up the espresso machine and greet the regulars by name.

Then came the year when everything happened at once. Her best friend moved to Manila. The shop closed for three months for renovation. Her savings ran out. When the shop reopened she went back to work, and she felt like a different person.

She woke up at nine, late. Coffee was breakfast. After her shift she went straight to bed and scrolled until the early hours. On weekends she stopped going out. "Pagod lang ako," she told her mother on a video call. She knew it was more than that.

Some days she felt sad. More often she felt nothing at all. No motivation, no direction, her life on pause while the world outside kept moving.

No motivation, no direction, her life on pause while the world outside kept moving.

The hardest part for Lia was that she knew everything she should do. Exercise. Sleep early. Save again. Call her friends. Go to church. Apply for a better job. When she looked at the whole list she felt overwhelmed, and she ended up doing none of it.

Then she blamed herself. "Ang tamad ko." "I've wasted so much time." Every day that nothing happened made the next one heavier.

She was embarrassed to talk about it, too. On social media everyone she knew seemed fine: new jobs, new homes, trips abroad. She still couldn't get out of bed.

This is common when you have been stuck for a long time. When your mind is tired, even a small step looks like a mountain. And if you wait for motivation to come back before you move, you can wait a long time. Often we move first, and the motivation follows.

Often we move first, and the motivation follows.

Tita Baby, who owns the shop, was the first to notice. One afternoon while they were cleaning up, she asked, "Anak, okay ka lang ba talaga? Parang ang layo mo lately." Lia cried at the sink. It was the first time she admitted she wasn't okay.

Tita Baby just nodded, then asked: "One small thing tomorrow. Just one. What is it?"

Lia thought about it. She used to love Baguio mornings, the cold and the fog. So that is what she chose: wake up at seven, make coffee, and drink it outside the boarding house while looking at the mountains. No phone. Just ten minutes.

The next day, she did it. It was cold and she was still sleepy, and there she was outside, holding her yellow mug, watching the fog lift slowly off the pine trees. It was simple, and she had already done something by seven in the morning.

After a week of morning coffee, she added one more thing: walking to work instead of taking the jeepney, fifteen minutes through Burnham Park. Two weeks later, another: calling her best friend every Sunday night.

Some days she did none of it. She learned to stop counting those days as failures. Tomorrow, coffee again.

She learned to stop counting those days as failures. Tomorrow, coffee again.

She went back to church too, to a small group of young professionals. At first she only listened. One night someone shared about Isaiah 40:31, and Lia decided it was fine to walk for a while before she tried to run.

When she noticed her heart still felt heavy for weeks even with the small progress, she went to the health center for a checkup. The doctor referred her to a counselor. That is where she learned to be kinder to herself.

Now, six months later, Lia is the first one at the shop again. She still has hard days. Every morning there is a yellow mug, a mountain, and one small thing already done before the day begins.

If you feel stuck right now, with no motivation and no idea where to start, aim for just one thing this week.

Pick one small thing for tomorrow morning. Coffee outside. A five-minute walk. A text to a friend. Do it, and count it as a win. We move first, and the motivation follows.

Some days you won't manage even one. That is okay. Try again tomorrow. One heavy day doesn't erase your progress.

If you have had no motivation or a heavy heart for more than two weeks, or it is getting hard to get through the day, talk to a doctor or counselor. That is a normal next step, and it helps.

If you want help today, HopeBegins is free. Pick how you feel and you get one small thing to try today, calming tools, someone to pray for you, and an e-coach you can message on Messenger. If you don't know where you are headed, read I feel lost.