Life is a like a river. When you’re in the flow, it’s awesome and really easy to feel great about yourself. However, from time to time you may end up marooned on the muddy riverbank, feeling lost and in a funk. It requires conscious choice to lift yourself up, dust yourself off and jump back into the river.
Here are 6 simple ways to get out of a funk and back into your flow:
1. Break Routine
Doing what you’ve always done, in the way you’ve always done it, can be viewed as a ritual or a habit. When regular routine becomes habitual and default (e.g auto-pilot), life can start to feel stale and lack lustre. Even for those of us who crave certainty – change and a little spontaneity keeps us feeling alive and in our flow.
If you’re in a funk, choose one thing in your routine that you can alter. It might be walking a different route to work, eating something you’ve never tried, visiting a place you haven’t seen before, or adopting a new type of exercise or hobby.
2. Reach Out
In the midst of a funk, it’s easy to isolate yourself. No one particularly wants to chat or socialize when they feel miserable. While you might prefer to be a hermit, one of the best ways to break out of a funk is to connect with others who love and support you.
Choose an upbeat, positive person in your life and reach out to them. Being around their good energy will help lift you higher.
3. Celebrate Yourself
Happiness requires self-love, first and foremost. When things aren’t going so well, it’s easy to start beating up on yourself. Negative self-talk only drags you further down into the doldrums.
No matter how much you’d rather eat a tub of ice cream or slump on the couch under a blanket, choose one thing that you love about yourself and repeat it as a mantra for 2 minutes with your eyes closed. “I love myself because___________”.
4. Partake in Random Kindness
From experience, being in a funk usually involves a slip into the “me” mind-set. It becomes all about what you don’t have, what you don’t like, or what isn’t working in your life. A great way to get back in the flow is to shift the attention off yourself and instead be of service to others. There are a couple of reasons for doing this – someone else benefits, you feel good about making a contribution, and this boosts your morale.
Whether it’s leaving an anonymous happy note on a bookshelf in the library for an unsuspecting browser, complimenting a stranger, or taking in your next door neighbour's trash can for them, the positive energy associated with random acts of kindness is powerful for combating a funk.
5. Stimulate Your Senses
Your physical senses of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste are powerful tools to shift your emotion. You can create very real shifts in your energy by stimulating your senses. Read an inspiring book, listen to upbeat music, use uplifting aromatherapy (such as citrus scents), get a therapeutic massage, or eat fresh, vibrant fruit and vegetables.
6. Make it Easy to be Happy
Often we put lofty expectations on ourselves and on life, setting the bar high with so many criteria that have to be met before we allow ourselves to feel good. Not only that, but if those criteria involve other people, things and situations outside of our control, we’ve immediately given our power away.
Empower yourself by redefining and simplifying what happiness means to you. For example:
- “Today happiness is enjoying breathing in fresh air”
- “Today happiness is smiling at as many people as possible”
- “Today happiness is being present in each moment”
- “Today happiness is being grateful for the blessings I do have”
With love, Bernadette
2 Responses
Funnily enough, I just said those very words today to my sister “I just feel in a funk” – coincidence?! I particularly relate to the random acts of kindness as doing nice things for others (in particular strangers) does make me feel good and it distracts me from sitting thinking too much about myself. So a good reminder – thanks!
Mmmm so true!!