Tuesday's Tip

Get out of your slump.

It happens sometimes: Life is moving along swimmingly when all of the sudden - BAM! - something in your perfect little world goes wrong. And, when you fall out of exercise due to illness, injury or disruption from things going on in your life, it’s hard to get started again. You try to restart but your energy levels have dropped; You've got zero motivation; You feel like offering an extended middle finger to the world. Know that feeling? It's called a slump. I've been there. It's not fun.

So, how do you pull yourself out of a slump?  Sure, you could muddle through it and hope things return to normal soon. Or, you could develop some strategies for Successful Slump Recovery (I may have coined a new phrase there...Let's call it SSR).

Here are some things to try:

1. GET INSPIRED. For me, inspiration comes from others who are achieving the same goals I have placed for myself. (Ahem....I've heard this blog can be a great source of inspiration... *wink wink*) When I am getting into "Slump Land", I set aside some time to peruse blogs, books, and magazines. I type my goal into a search engine Google my goal and read success stories. Reading can help motivate and focus you on the subject of whatever you’re reading. So read about your goal every day, if you can, especially when you’re not feeling motivated.

2. EXERCISE. I know...I know.... You don't feel like exercising, but it really is a wonderful way to get out of a slump. Exercise stimulates various brain chemicals, leaving you feeling happier and more relaxed than before you got your blood pumping. By making you look and feel better, exercise will also help increase your confidence and improve your self-esteem.

 3. CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE. Every morning, you wake up at the same time, shower, eat your usual bowl of cereal, pack your typical lunch and head to work. You spend the day in meetings, having the same dull conversations about the weather and everyone's health and return home. In the evening, you make dinner, clean up from dinner, and set out your clothes for the next day. Rinse. Repeat. B-O-R-I-N-G! No wonder you are in a slump. Just changing something small about your normal routine can reinvigorate you. Try taking a walk after dinner, jamming to your iPod during your morning commute or even just taking some time to make something fabulous for your lunch. Do whatever it takes to get you to look forward to something...

4. MONITOR YOUR THOUGHTS.  Negative self-talk isn't going to help you with your SSR so ditch it NOW. Try spending some time becoming aware of all the negative thoughts floating around in your head. Then, try squashing those negative thoughts like a bug, and replace them with a corresponding positive thought. Squash, “This sucks and is too hard!!!” and replace it with, “I can do this!!!” It sounds corny, but it works. Really.

If you aren't in a slump right now, GREAT! Bookmark this blog though because one of these days, it's going to happen and when it does, I want you to be prepared for recovery. Thanks for reading!