Bounce Back. Stay Motivated And Fight Off the Urge to Give Up.
You'll never find a rainbow if you're looking down. ~ Charles Chaplin
It’s over three years since I lost my corporate job and fell into depression. It was a horrible period in my life when I would have mood swings from the extreme sadness that made me just watch videos all day and times when the feeling of betrayal turns me into a spitting monster, angry at the unfairness in my life.
I am way past these two poles and have found my emotional equilibrium. It was not easy; as there were days when I open my eyes I just wanted to close them again and hope to wake up in a different room, wake up to a different life.
I wanted my reality to change. I had hit my lowest and needed to pick myself up.
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Sadness and anger were hard to shrug off and they both wasted my time as I was incapable of being productive. Even if my head tells me that I better get my CV updated, see my headhunters, dust off my side hustle network, here I was just cruising by viewing movies and tv series like there is no tomorrow, hunched down with soda and chips. Days and weeks turned to months. I was using my savings but I just didn’t want to face the music. I just didn’t want to be responsible anymore. I was tired and I soothed my panic with more Google-time, reading all sorts of eBooks, magazines and spending so much time lurking in online forums.
What finally made me sit up and start picking up where I left off was when I came across my old pals from the university. We had a catch up in a nearby cafe. Seeing them made me realize that life goes on. Carla and Romeo seemed both looked they had their act together. I shared my ordeal and both lent their ears. I got lucky. I came home feeling better than when I went out.
Indeed, no matter what I feel, no matter the wrongdoing that happened, I am still here and I can make changes.
image sourceIn this post, I’d like to share the 4 small ways I used to stir myself towards the right direction.
It was slow, and they were small ways. Daily, I choose to not to be angry or sad. When these negativities creep in, I nip them in the bud.
1. Start out by creating a plan for the goals you have.
List down and stare at your goals, big or small. Check out ways how you can achieve them. They need not be full of details, broad strokes would do. As long as you occupy yourself with getting out of the rut and using up your time towards achieving, then you will feel better.
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As you weave your plans, they force you to weigh your priorities. Knowing one’s priorities simplifies what you will discard and keep in your life in order to move forward. If the baggage is going to weigh you down, then throw them away. You need to travel light in this world. Less drama, the better.
2. Ask yourself why you want to pursue your dreams and goals. Keep reminding yourself.
We often lose our sense of direction when life throws us a monkey wrench. Whether this is losing a job, closing down a business or ending a relationship is nasty and very disruptive that we forget where we were heading.
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To help you deal with your rational self, write them down and keep them for later reading. Remind yourself.
3. Allow yourself to slip and make mistakes.
Give yourself some elbow room for alternate routes to achieving your goals. Early on, numerous advisers have said that I should not be obsessed with results. At times, we reach our goals not entirely the way we planned it. The destination and the journey are both valuable.
image sourceIf plan A doesn’t work, don’t worry because you have other opportunities, another plan. If you feel like there is no progress, count each and everything that worked, and look for ways towards reaching your goals.
4. Lean on an inspiration.
My four-year-old daughter is my inspiration. She is my source of happiness. Seeing her grow and take on the world her way, keeps me sane, sober and levelheaded. Wallowing in bitterness and depression is no place for a kid to grow up in. My mental health impacts hers. I have to get my shit together to make sure she gets a fair chance of getting hers. I have to set a good example for her so that she can have a good quality of life.
You'll never find a rainbow if you're looking down
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While I can choose to wallow and cry myself to sleep every night, feeling the raw pain of losing a core part of life. My work was my life. But after awhile, it was no longer a tenable position. Life indeed goes on and we can make changes in our lives.
I choose to embrace all the colors of life once more.
Thanks for reading!
Tell us how you stay motivated and fight off the urge to give up.
I’m learning a lot and so will you!
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