by Estee Jaacovi
A slump. Yikes. Even the word “slump” is, well, slumpy. Unfortunately, it is something that can happen anyone. Even the most talented and most motivated people experience a slump now and then. The slump is not what’s important, it’s how you react to it, and how quickly you can get yourself out of it. Here are eight tips to help you get yourself out of your next slump:
- Acknowledge It. A slump is no different than any other problem or obstacle in life—you can’t simply stick your head in the sand and deny that it exists. Admit that you feel really low right now. Acknowledge that there is a problem. Start here.
- Accept It. This is how you feel right now. There is no getting around it. Accept it. Say a couple of things like this to yourself:
“This won’t last forever.”
“I feel like a failure, but I know I will get better.”
“This, too, shall pass.” - Don’t Throw a Pity Party. You feel down, you feel like a failure, you feel like things are never going to get better. So, what do you do? You throw a pity party. You tell more and more people about how unfair things are. You want their pity. You want them to tell you that you are justified and that you should feel bad. But this only has the affect of prolonging it. When you’re in this mode, you’re not looking for any solutions—you’re just looking for people to feel sorry for you. Cancel your pity party. Focus on getting out of it instead.
- Reconnect to Your Plan. Review your goals and either recommit to the action plan you set for yourself at the beginning of the year—or create a new one! Perhaps recalculate your plan after every month if you don’t hit your quota to help ensure next month’s quota includes both what you were supposed to do PLUS whatever you missed last month. This helps to redefine actions and gain clarity to get back on track.
- Get Back to Basics. Once, after Tiger Woods had spent hours on the practice green sinking hundreds of putts, a commentator asked him why he was still practicing considering how consistent he had been. Tiger responded: “I don’t like the way the ball is rolling into the cup.” That’s mastering the basics. As Tiger knows full well, problems aren’t usually caused by something complicated. They’re usually the result of doing the simplest thing just slightly wrong. And more often than not, we know exactly what the problem is. If you’re in a slump, start by looking internally, not externally. Remember that the slump is your slump, not someone else’s. Be strong enough to realize this and take corrective action.
- Work Smarter & Harder. Think of 10 things you could do this week to work more effectively. Then commit to working just a little bit harder until you’re out of your bad spell. This will help reduce the timeframe of being out of balance so you can get back in the swing quicker. Would you rather that you’re out of balance, or your checkbook? The choice is yours.
- Get a Coach. Have someone you respect ride-along with you, watch you at the homeowner’s kitchen table, and evaluate your presentations. Ask them to be honest with you—and when they are, do something with the advice they give you.
- Shock Your System. Sometimes it’s a matter of changing everything up. Or just changing one big thing to shock your system. Many time slumps come from getting in a rut and then they slowly get worse as you get more and more comfortable in that rut (even though you gradually feel worse and worse). So, you need to do something to shock your system into action.
Are you a night owl? Try waking up early for a week.
Are you super serious? Make laughter a priority for a few days.
Always online and on your phone? Try a digital detox.