4 ways to (Re)Ignite your Spark

Have you ever lost your mojo and felt like things weren’t going your way?

Sure you have! Everyone faces a spark funk every once in a while. We’re sure you’d agree that those are tough, debilitating times. We doubt ourselves, we harbour thoughts of quitting, things stop going our way, and the black cloud above our heads just spews rain, rain and more rain.

However, you CAN get out of the funk by (re)igniting your spark. Here are some ways:

1) Take a break and evaluate. What’s really eating you, and what’s sapping the juice you’ve thrived on to do the good work you’ve done and gotten you to where you are? Is it your manager? Is it a colleague who got that surprise promotion? Or is it something outside the workplace, or even at home? Aren’t there any extracurricular activities that can keep you busy and can take your mind away from work? Do some soul searching before you sink too deep into sorrow.

2) Talk to a friend. We often don’t listen to our own good counsel. After all, if it came from within during a down period, surely it can’t be good. It’s time to turn to a trusted friend who will be able to help you analyse the reasons for your funk. Who knows? You may stumble upon the culprit, and find ways to tackle it right away! All while enjoying good company.

3) Write it down and sort it out. If you’re a fan of the good ol’ pen and paper, write down what’s eating at you. It could be more than one thing. For every one of those things, find two or three solutions to overcome it. There’s a good chance you’ll pluck some perfectly workable solutions from thin air. And the best part is – you thought about it.

4) Practice gratitude. Before you start rolling your eyes – hear me out. The topic of gratitude has been included in many success literature, not just during the 21st century, but even from years before. In ‘The Science of Getting Rich’, first published in 1910, Wallace D. Wattles dedicated a whole chapter to Gratitude. He wrote: “The whole process of mental adjustment and atunement can be summed up in one word: gratitude.” In Rhonda Byrne’s bestseller ‘The Secret’ Dr Joe Vitale, Metaphysician, Marketing Specialist and Author, said in the chapter ‘The Powerful Process of Gratitude’: “As soon as you start to feel different about what you already have, you will start to attract more of the good things.”

Krauthammer’s ‘What to do when work sucks’ states it simply: Appreciate what you have. Author Susanne Barth writes: “It’s natural for the enthusiasm for work to ebb and flow. However, we often dig our own motivational holes because we develop tunnel-vision and put a lot of stress on our shoulders. Stepping back, thinking about what you’ve already achieved, and making some changes which challenge your traditional way of thinking are often enough to make the job more enjoyable again.“

There are many ways to break the bad feeling and pick yourself up. Try one of the above methods and see if it works, or try them all for maximum effect!