Do you ever feel like saying "I quit"?
You know, there you are cruising along with determination; motivation high, making real, positive steps forward towards your goal. And then BAM… you are hit by a seemingly impenetrable wall of “I don’t care”.
It’s confronting. It’s exhausting.
That has been me – for a WHOLE MONTH! I release Passion Points every 15th of the month and here I am on the 15th of the month, writing this piece. Why? Because I have been avoiding the activity for nearly 30 days now.
So where does this come from? Why does it happen and can I stop it from happening?
The short answer is, we are human and we come pre-built with a full range of emotions and energy levels. It’s perfectly normal to hit periods of time where you lose or question your motivation. It’s natural to experience different levels of energy. And knowing this gives us all our power back.
So you hit a slump. Ok. Our first stop on this de-motivation train is to recognize that this is normal. So, we can give ourselves a break here. No need to waste energy on trying to figure out what’s wrong with you or comparing yourself to others that are seemly steaming full speed ahead. Recognize where you are and understand that this is part of the human experience.
Think of this phase like you are going through cold and flu season. You know there is a good chance that you could catch a cold and if you do, you’ll probably feel pretty crappy, right? But you also know it’s a passing feeling. That cold won’t last forever.
And what do you do when catch a cold? You look after yourself. Eat some chicken soup and get proper amounts of sleep. No amount of beating yourself up (mentally or physically with exercise) will help you recover from the cold faster. That’s a waste of energy that could be used in actually recovering from the bug.
But you also still pay the bills, do the laundry and take out the trash. Because we know that we still have to maintain our daily lives – even when we don’t feel 100%. We can recognize that there are some things that just need to get done whether we feel like clicking our heels about it or not.
Recovering from a mental funk works much the same. We know there is a possibility that we hit some motivational downtime. When that happens, recognize that it’s normal and be kind to yourself. Know that it is a phase and this is something you will overcome.
At the same time, recognize that you can still get things done. You can still send that invoice. You can still create that newsletter. These are things that don’t require heel clicking even though you may have a little voice in your head telling you that they do. You can still move forward and when you do, you will reap the mental rewards. Even as I write this, I can feel a mental shift because I know I am keeping my promise to you and that makes me feel great!
So, when you hit a slump, should you quit? Hell no! Take a moment to recognize this part of your journey and then put that thought down and move forward. There is nothing wrong with you. This is not a sign. You are not broken.
Keep going. You got this.
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