Are you trying to get out of a slump? Has it been days since you had an energising workout? Has it been months since you felt really productive? Or have you been going through the motions and not feeling very excited about your current situation?

Maybe you’ve been watching inspirational videos for the past few days, hoping to feel motivated again. Before you know it, days have passed and you are still feeling out of funk.

In fact, I felt that way for the past 2 weeks and it seemed almost impossible for me to regain my momentum as the days dragged on. However, after I implemented a few small adjustments in both my mindset and routine, I bounced right back.

If watching inspirational videos or listening to motivational podcasts still doesn’t help, I got you. Here are 7 ways for you to pick yourself up again!

1. Get Curious.

Regardless of what you’ve done (or not done), don’t beat yourself up over it. Instead, be curious and examine the reason why you’ve been acting this way. Answer the following questions with pen and paper:

>> What are you dreading?

>> How do you feel about it?

>> Why do you feel this way?

>> What is stopping you from getting out of this rut?

>> What are the challenges that are preventing you from gaining momentum?

When you carefully examine your answers to these questions, you may feel more compassion towards yourself. For example, I found that I was getting overwhelmed, and being stuck in confusion about what to do was making it worse. No wonder I felt out-of-whack.

Once you understand the reasons behind it, you can move forward more quickly.

2. Talk to Someone About It

They could be your best friend, a family member, mentor, or someone who can provide a judgement-free space for you. Speaking your thoughts aloud not only helps to get it out of your system, but also reveal some beliefs you didn’t know you had. Who knows, they may offer a few tips or advice for you as well.

Don’t forget that you can turn to your journal and write out your thoughts as they are. After that, just imagine what you would tell a good friend if he or she were to be in the same situation as you are right now.

3. No Pressure.

Who says that you have to get out of this rut? Unless it is life-threatening, you can always choose to stay where you are. You can continue to dread that particular task you have been procrastinating on.

But at some point, your higher self knew what was best for you. You have the power to steer your life in the direction you want it to.

4. Fill Your Cup First

I was watching one of Kimberly Wenya’s recent Instagram live masterclasses and she was talking about taking action whilst waiting for your manifestation. One of the journal prompts she mentioned really stuck with me and made me re-look at how I am taking action.

>> Where are you not showing up for yourself?

This question can not only help you to uncover the reasons behind your inactions, but also present a simple solution to them. Could it be because you needed more self-care time? Perhaps you haven’t been drinking your favourite tea? Maybe it has been so long since you curled up with a book while listening to soothing music? Or how about dancing to your favourite song?

Well, if you haven’t been doing things just for yourself, no wonder you feel so much resistance in showing up for others. Go ahead and schedule some space just for yourself. Make it a priority.

5. Acting As If You Are Not Slumped.

If you are more of a go-getter, action-taker and just really need a kick-in-the-butt, let me be the one to call you out.

What if you pretended that you didn’t fall into a rut in the first place? What if you just moved forward as if you had momentum all this while? It doesn’t matter if you procrastinated every day for the past 3 or 30 days. What if you pretended to be the person who does things at the first opportunity? What if you are the kind of person who feels that taking action is normal for you?

When you start to believe in a new identity for yourself, your brain will eventually act in accordance of your new identity.

6. Give Yourself the Benefit of the Doubt.

Another way to overcome this is to acknowledge your belief that it is almost impossible to get out of your rut. For example, you may think that it will take a lot of willpower for you to get back into the groove.

Then, make a commitment to yourself that you will believe that there is hope for yourself and will try an experiment for the next 3 days to overcome your slump. Whether you really believe this to be true or not, you will commit to taking action.

This experiment is a challenge to yourself. For example, you want to make progress towards a particular goal for the next 3 days. You will do everything you can to make progress before each day ends.

I find it works best when I treat these challenges as games.

7. Start Small. Really Small.

Breaking down the steps into very small, ‘no-brainer’ steps eases you into the actual daunting task. Remember to also make it as easy as possible for you to show up. For instance:

Step 1: Get up from your chair.

Step 2: Take a nice stretch.

Step 3: Shake out your limbs.

Step 4: Jump 10 times on the spot for.

Step 5: Go to your YouTube workout video playlist.

Step 6: Click on a video.

Step 7: Follow the workout routine in the video.

Once you feel the resistance again, set a timer (e.g. 5 minutes) and choose not to do anything else but the task at hand. If you choose not to work on that task, you can’t do anything else (i.e. you can only stare at the blank wall in front of you). Once the timer is up, you have to live with the consequences of not making any progress towards the task.

There are ups and downs in life.

We go through cycles. It is totally normal to have periods in your life where you are on top of your game. Other times, you struggle to follow through or end up just going through the motions. (Save these tips so you can refer to them when you feel this way again!)

The most important thing now is your next step.

We also can’t always rely on motivation because there will be times where we won’t feel like doing it. In this case, self-discipline and reminding yourself of your true purpose of doing that thing is going to keep you going.

Once you’re all fired up, why not ride on your momentum and start with some journaling and planning for your next term? You can access my free guide to create your best term ever!