Do you ever feel like you’re in a mental fog? I remember waking up as a kid, the morning we were suppose to leave for vacation. I was happy and excited to get out of bed, no matter how early I had to wake up. Excitement comes from our curiosity and hope for something new. If I schedule time for rest and leave my schedule open for spontaneity, life starts to surprise and excite me more. Not only that, but sticking to consistent business hours and being strict with my 'clock out' time helps create that balance I've been longing for.
Here are a 4 things that have helped me get out of the fog and spark joy again:
Trying New Hobbies
I saw a friend of mine posting videos on Instagram about rollerskating. We hadn’t talked in years, but I was curious. I replied to one of her stories and asked if rollerskating was actually as fun as it looked. She quickly responded and was so excited to tell me all about it. She invited me to go skating with her and I thought, “Why not? I should try it!” Since then we’ve gone skating a couple times, I bought a pair of skates I love, and I’m getting better at it every day. It’s been a slow process, but trying something new has been so refreshing. It has nothing to do with work, but it makes me so happy. I tend to feel the need to be productive all the time, but this has helped me realize it’s okay to have fun, actually it's critical for our mental health that we have fun! Give yourself permission to have fun with no agenda!
Set Boundaries in Work & Life
This is still a constant learning curve for me, but I’ve made some changes that have helped A LOT. I’ve been working strict consistent hours in my business, scheduling out reoccurring tasks, and planning quarterly instead of just for the following week. I’ve had to get better about not responding unless it’s during work hours. This doesn’t always happen, but I realize when I stick to this, things seem much less overwhelming. I’ve even stopped posting a lot of work on my person Instagram feed and only posting on my business account. A big thing I realized after doing this is “I am not my business.” My business is a part of me, but not all of me.
Shift Your Mindset
Focusing on what I do have, not what I don’t have. I listen to Joyce Meyer when I can’t get out of my own head. It’s not always what I want to listen to, but I have to choose to set my mindset. It sounds cold, but attitude is a choice. She’s a wonderful stepping stone out of the darkness and back into the light. Sometimes all we can do is simply choose the next right thing. (A quote from The Next Right Thing by Emily Freeman)
Baby steps are still steps, no matter how tiny.
Take a little step towards a better attitude. I’ve heard that gratitude interrupts anxiety. I found this to be so very true. When I focus on what’s going right, not what’s going wrong, things start to shift. It’s not going to solve everything, but it always helps put things into perspective more clearly.
Create Without an Agenda
This one can be a challenge, but has so many benefits. I tend to think I have to make money on all my creative projects. This mindset can hold me back in so many ways. It can cause the flame of a new idea to be completely blown out. Give yourself permission to be creative without perfection. Want to paint something, do it! Don’t like it? Paint over it with white paint and start again. Those words are so powerful, start again. The more you use creativity, the more you have. God created us in His image, therefor by default, we are creators. Creativity is simply a muscle. It takes time to build up those muscles, but man oh man is it rewarding if you simply keep trying. Allow yourself to fail. Trying is much more courageous than being stuck day dreaming about it forever!