No matter who you are, what you do, or where you live, we all have times where we slip into a slump. You know, that place we go sometimes (yep, even me!) where we feel unmotivated, sluggish, and lack-luster. It’s a place where we can often feel trapped, with no obvious exit ramp. And when we find ourselves in this horrid place, making positive changes and rebooting our motivation seems as though it has been placed in the too hard basket.
As impossible as it seems sometimes, you are not helpless or hopeless. And you are never alone. Through my own personal experience, and in dealing with clients for close to twelve years, I’ve found various useful ways to help us escape periods of ‘slump’ that enable us to re-awaken and reboot our drive, our desires, and our underlying determination. Here I share some of my secrets and tips to re-igniting those powers.
- Seek Inspiration. For most people this means searching for and learning from the stories and success of others who were
possibly once in the same boat as you. Google blogs, find magazines, and absorb yourself in any inspiration you can find. In short, act to become inspired. - Choose just One Goal. Slumps can often be caused by us trying to tackle more than we can chew at any one time. This makes us feel overwhelmed and in this kind of state we cannot maintain the energy and focus to achieve things. Choose just one goal, and give it your full attention and focus.
- Gather support. It’s much harder to accomplish things on your own. You must generate your own little community of support. This can be family and friends, but can also be extended to include online forums of like-minded people who are out to achieve the same kind of thing as you. Support networks are worth their weight in gold.
- Announce your goal. It’s important you publicly commit to your goal. We like to look good in front of others, and we like to flaunt our progress. By announcing your goal to friends, co-workers, or to followers of your online blog, you are immediately making yourself more committed and accountable. We are often willing to go the extra mile if we know others are watching us.
- Get excited. To break out of a slump you need to get excited. After seeking inspiration and support, you need to visualize what success would look like. What will it feel like to achieve this awesome goal? See and feel the benefits, and continue to read success stories and inspirational journeys. Excitement promotes energy, whilst energy promotes ongoing discipline and dedication. And these are the ingredients required to reach your goal.
- Start Really Small. Lots of baby steps will get you a long way. Sure you’ve got your goal sorted, but to ensure you leap right out of that slump you need to keep your steps small. Don’t plan to exercise for an hour five times a week if you’ve been doing no exercise at all. Instead, set a goal to exercise for 20 minutes three times a week. Make each little step really achievable, and once you’re consistently excelling, then you can opt to step it up a notch.
- Celebrate all successes. Any step in the right direction is a great step and one that should be celebrated. Focussing on successes will make you feel good about yourself. Take that positive feeling and build upon it. Add another step or another level of intensity. Success breeds success.
- It’s about the benefits, not the difficulties. One common problem is that we often talk ourselves out of things because we focus on the obstacles and difficulties. If you find yourself doing this it is critical you invert your thoughts immediately. Focus on all the good and positive things, namely the benefits and how awesome it’s going to make you feel. Feed your flowers, not your weeds.
- Understand Ebbs and Flows. We must realise that motivation is a little like the tide – it comes and goes. But although it may go away, it will come back. We must be patient when this happens, and we must not give up. Giving up may seem like the easier thing to do short term, but it is far more painful in the long term. If you notice your motivation waning, maintain calm, and reiterate your goals with yourself. And the best thing you can do is try one or more of the other tips above to see if you can kick the ebb to the curb. Sit tight, hold strong, think only positive thoughts, and your dreams will happen.
