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Friday, February 7, 2014

Getting Out of the Funk . . .

It happens to everyone. We develop a feeling of complacency, laziness, attitude of negativity. We just don't care anymore. Yes, this is absolutely normal, and the longer you've been doing something and working in the same job, the more often it happens. Even professional sports players get caught up in the occasional "funk". People pay big money to performance coaches trying to get a superstar out of his or her "funk". For the past 12 months, I've been in a major "funk". Finding out I had prostate cancer, having back problems, losing a parent and realizing I can't do all of the things I used to do proficiently 25 years ago. All were contributing factors to increasing negativity and the feeling of hopelessness in my life. I felt like I was running out of time, yet I was doing nothing about it. I'm sure most of you can relate to everything I just described and have encountered a similar "funk" yourself. At this moment, I'm sure you're thinking "So, is this whole column designed to get everyone depressed and feel sorry for Frank? Well, no actually, it is written to get me and anyone else who may be in a "funk" out of it. Here we go. 1. Make a plan of action with some short term goals a. Figure out something that you know needs to be done, that you like doing and do it! It will make you feel better, instantly. b. A short-term goal will head you in a direction that makes you feel good about yourself and what you are doing. c. Reward yourself when you have reached the goals with an experience that you really enjoy, like dinner at your favorite restaurant. 2. Organize your life a. Nothing gets me more in afunk than feeling like I have lost control. b. Schedule at least 30 minutes each day on cleaning off your desk, making a calendar of targets to reach for and rewards you will give yourself. c. Use technology. There are so many time management and priority management systems available. Try them out! 3. Ask for help a. One thing I hate more than anything else is going through my mail. Why? I have no idea, so I ask my wife to go through it first and she organizes it for me. Now I can handle it. b. You are not Superman or Superwoman. You can't do everything so find someone who is better than you and pay them to do things you aren't so good at or hate doing. c. Talk to someone. It could be a best friend, your spouse, co-worker or whoever may be able to give good feedback. Sometimes another brain is all you need to get you back on the right path. d. I don't consider myself a very religious person but God has played a big role in my life. Sometimes just realizing there is a higher power available to talk to helps immensely. 4. Make some long term goals a. Begin with the end. If we were building a house we wouldn't just start digging a hole and figure things out as we go, we would have someone lay out a floor plan and draw a picture of what it will look like when finished. Once you have this picture, you may now begin building a foundation. Life isn't much different, you need to know what things are going to look like before you start building, otherwise you may not have the final product built as intended. b. Involve your loved ones. They need to have input since they are there with you. c. Be realistic. Winning the lottery to retire is not a reality. d. Help others reach their goals and they will help you reach yours. 5. Realize there are things you have no control over. a. Worrying about things that are out of your control is a waste of our brainpower, time and talent. b. Spend your brain time wisely. Yes, there is a wide variety of issues we can all get together and complain about. How much influence do we really have? If you have no control over it, don't worry about it. c. Accept things for what they are, now how you wish for them to be. 6. Be Positive and do it! a. Getting depressed by spending my time thinking about how things suck adds no value to anything. b. Set a roadmap for positive things to happen and start heading in the right direction. c. Nobody likes a person who has only negative things to say. So stick with the positives. Go out of your way to find people doing something well and do it as often as possible. You cheer others on and they will cheer you on. 7. Avoid people who drag you down a. I've seen many intelligent, motivated and potentially very successful people ruin their lives because they've surrounded themselves with negative people. b. Look for happy and successful people and spend time with them. Success breeds success. 8. Become more physically active a. When you have anxiety or depression, exercise often seems like the last thing you want to do. But once you get motivated, exercise can make a big difference. b. Exercise helps prevent and improve a number of health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis. Research on anxiety, depression and exercise shows that the psychological and physical benefits of exercise can also help reduce anxiety and improve mood. In conclusion . . . Yes we all get into those days, weeks and sometimes even months of "Funk". It doesn't have to be. Don't let yourself get dragged into the sludge of depression because a few things aren't going your way. Look at the situation, decide if there is anything you can do, decide if you need help or not and head into the right direction of working through it and reaching your goals, no matter what!