I live in the Pacific Northwest. Here, it rains more than it does anything else. Some days are easy to be happy: the sun pops out and we all are outside, enjoying the change. But many days are overcast and drizzly with a light shower of rain all day. 🌧️Perhaps you live somewhere near the equator, and this is never an issue for you-however, having lived in the southern United States as well, I know that heat can also feel endless! 😎
But regardless of where on the planet you call home, you’ll find yourself facing the reality of discouragement. Some of us feel it more than others, but even the most optimistic of us can be susceptible to discouragement in an area of life sometime! What do we do then?⁉️
For the purposes of this article, I am defining discouragement as a time when we’ve been all-out after something, or living something we want, desire, or need, and suddenly slow down. Losing motivation for something we had already been going after.
It’s so critical that we build skills to pull ourselves back up after we’ve sat down for too long.
So! Whether it is about your job, your household peacefulness, or a project that seems to be taking forever to get any traction, here are some core elements to getting back up and running your race well:
1. Step Back and Breathe
Have you just been running in circles? Rolling around like a hamster in a wheel?🐹 Sometimes we get so focused on the minute details that we forget to just…stop.
And you know what? You can always take a step back. Maybe it’s little, like going for a walk. Or grabbing a cup of tea or coffee at the local café.🍵 Or it could be larger, like playing your favorite game of tennis or going to a walk-in art class, not even tackling your big project for an entire weekend.
I have a brave friend that I am so proud of; she is taking a whole entire weekend away just to breathe. It’s what she’s been longing for, and she’s the sort of person who will jump back in and serve those around her on her return. It’s an act of compassion towards herself. Something I am learning about!🤔
And she is inspiring. I don’t currently feel the need to get away for the weekend. But I might examine what I do need. Maybe a night off to watch TV. Or a bike ride. 🚲 How about yourself? What does her choice inspire you to do?
If you take time to breath, not only do you give yourself a gift, but you also might even be helping someone else!🎁
So, step one, is stop. Breath. Evaluate. And check your pace.
1.A Find Your Friends
When you are discouraged, there is nothing like having a good friend who picks you back up. It might be your spouse (your first best friend!), your best friend since childhood, or someone who you recently met who is in the same season that you are in. 💞
But there is someone nearby that you can reach out to if you are feeling discouraged about something. And this time, go to the friend who is always supportive, who sees the glass as half-full. 🥤
Why are energy drinks so popular? We know when our bodies are sluggish to find something to help us out. (I personally do not drink them, I do coffee or matcha, but this is a clear example!). So, find your “energy drink” friend. Or your warm cuppa tea friend. Someone who warms your heart, has a great listening ear, and good, wise counsel. Go find that person!🔎
1.B Check Your Meters
Another part of resting and breathing is to check your meters. ✔️ By which I mean, what is your body doing? How much sleep did you get? What life cycle or life challenges have been hitting you? Sometimes other people’s burdens can become your own. 📦Have you been carrying too heavy a load lately?
How about food and water? Are you eating well; did you drink plenty of water lately? 💦 Some of these things have such a big impact. I know some of you reading this are well in tune with these areas, and just need to make time for the healthy habits, but I know sometimes I can get so off course just because I haven’t been paying attention.
If that’s you, stop and take some inventory. Where are your internal meters resting? On full, or has the “empty” light come on?📏
2. Remind Yourself Why You Started
This is one of my favorites, because it ties back to a huge theme for me, purpose. If you’re at this blog, I’ll bet you like the idea of purpose, too. Well, one of the funny things about purpose is…it slips! 😲
It isn’t always good at staying in place. And, again, human beings that we are, we get stuck or lost when we lose sight of our purpose. If you ever have, you know what I’m talking about. 👀
It’s more about reminders and staying on track, like when you go bowling and you want the ball to stay in the lane and not run off the sides. Maybe you need some sticky notes or a notebook or a document on your phone with your purpose behind what you were pursuing. 📲
So, after you take that deep breath, try asking yourself, “What was I wanting to achieve when I started this?” You might answer yourself with an- “oh, yeah. Because I want to build a better life for my family and myself.” Or, “because I want to get into shape in a fun way.” Or, “because I believe in this cause.”
What was motivating you when you started? Why did you even try in the first place? Write it down and remind yourself what was in your heart when you started.🖊️
3. Show Yourself Where You Are Going
After you take a look back at your reason to start, set it down. You did start it (yay!) 🎊. Now, after having achieved the difficulty of starting, how about focusing on what will your life look like after you are done?
Maybe your kitchen will look the way you wanted it to. Maybe your child will have a fuller life than you ever dreamed they could. Maybe you can finally take that special class you’ve always dreamed of. Or travel to that country that has captured your heart since you were a little kid.🛫
It can be exhausting in the middle of the work, it really can. We don’t have the end goal in our hands. But it’s worth it to be the finisher! It’s so worth it to be able to look around you and say, “That thing I started? It’s done!” 📣
Write in a journal about your dream end.💭 Find a picture of it and put it up where you can see it, or move your home around as if it were done. There’s a lot of ways to remind yourself that you are going somewhere with all this work! Sometimes it just takes a shift in your surroundings to get your hopes and motivation back up again.
If this tugs at your heart or rings true in your mind today, will you post on the facebook page for me? I want to know if this helped you, and which part you connected with. Which stage are you at right now? What one step do you feel would most benefit you today? Or, is there someone around you who needs to hear some kind of encouragement in their own stage?
Finally, please do feel free to subscribe to my monthly newsletter. I always try to bring a little boost and encouragement to your inbox, as well as keep you informed of the latest areas I am involved with! 📩