Handling a Slump
Everyone finds themselves in a slump from time to time. I define a slump as a time of low performance which can often be frustrating. When I work I believe in working. Getting things done is incredibly satisfying. Now don’t get being in a slump confused with resting or taking a break. I consider a slump when I am trying to work but I cannot get myself going or failing to get things done. The purpose of this post is to share some thoughts on breaking out of a slump. We’ll start with Things that can lead to a slump and move on to what we should do to minimize its impact.
How Did We Get Here
I think that many slumps can be a consequence of both success and failure. Let’s talk about slumps that come out of successes. Sometimes when we crest the mountain faster than expected you get caught with a sense of “What Now.” There are stories of astronauts who had difficulty adjusting to life back here on the earth. It makes sense to me. I mean if you have literally walked on the moon or looked down on the earth from space what do you do after? How can you ever find something that satisfies more.
This can affect our lives in all areas. There are relationships that burn hot and heavy that fizzle out after Marriage. You have seen athletes make it to the Big Leagues only to fizzle out after signing and Entrepreneurs with one big success they are never able to repeat it. What are the drivers that can lead us here?
What Did We Miss
Outran your vision
Sometimes the visions that we set for ourselves are too limited to sustain us after we meet the milestone. Having a vision to shoot for is important, necessary but I have learned that your vision has to big enough to make you chase it. In my time I have made the mistake of having a vision that is too small. I created a list, called the things I wanted to do before I turned 18. There were reasons why I chose 18, but that is beyond the scope of this article. Needless to say that was not a vision that would last. When I hit 18 I no longer had something to chase after. This slowed and it had a big impact my first year of college. This made me create additional lists. First, what to do before graduating, What to do before marriage and then what to do in the next 10 years.
Meet your vision but not fulfilling
One of the things that I wanted to do from a very young age was to work creating video games. To me this was the dream. I played games, I wrote them in my spare time. It drove much of my love of technology in the early days. The problem was that once I had gotten there I learned that this would not fulfill me. While I loved the work I found that it did not satisfy me the way that I wanted. Some of it might have been that I fell in love, moved and got married, but I found myself in a slump as I tried to adjust to a vision that did not fulfill.
Develop patterns that are not helpful
Sometimes, especially for those chasing physical goals, we develop patterns that actually get in the way of success. Bad form is dangerous to an athlete. When your form is off that is where you can hurt yourself. Lifting with you back instead of your legs...
It also shortcuts your ability to grow muscles in the best way…
Separation
When we are separated in our thinking it is hard to devote more of your strength to your vision. I know that we often try to compartmentalize our lives but it dilutes our strength. We want to concentrate our strength, focus our efforts not water them down.
Now that we know some of the things that can impact us let’s talk about how we can change.
What Do We Need
Find a compelling vision
The most important that you have to do to get out of a slump is to connect back to your vision. If you vision is too small it won’t excite you. A boring vision slows you down. I suggest finding a vision that is bigger than you and longer than your life. This means that part of achieving your goal includes the creation of a legacy to continue you on once you are gone. This isn’t an easy process but it is necessary.
Remember the motions
Remember when you were most connected to your vision. Once you have gotten that point clear in your mind remember what you did to stay there. If you were writing it down every day, do it. If you were repeating it aloud, do it. Keep it up. Don’t stop. Sometimes we have to get the body in line before the mind reconnects.
Focus on who you were when you were there and reinforce the things that made you the most productive. Sometimes you have to get outside of conventional wisdom to achieve what you are after. This last piece is about changing the game.
Focus On Big Wins
A lot of times we focus on the minute things that we need to do to get things done. Turn the screwdriver ¼ inch instead of ½. While understanding the tactics are good you have to figure out what will give you the most bang for your proverbial buck. You need to identify the big wins in your life. I came across this idea while reading through Ramit Sethi’s The Big Win Manifesto. In it he contrasts focusing on the conventional wisdom against focusing on things with a large impact (Big Wins). Finding a Big Vision and then identifying the big wins that will leap you forward will energize you to keep going. Put your time and your heart into that vision and you will soar.