End of Year Slump?

Hi Everyone! I’d like to introduce my first-ever guest blogger, Telana Simpson. She’s a Life Coach and creator of One Matchstick (read all about it on www.onematchstick.co.za). This can be a tricky time of year for people, more often than not we find ourselves experiencing a lag in energy or motivation, it can also be one of the busiest times of year with financial year ends and kid’s final exams. I asked Telana to share some of her wisdom on how to manage this end of year slump:

 

It’s almost the end of the year.  Christmas
decorations are going up in the shops.
Work is frantic as everyone tries to finish off projects before the
December break. You’re feeling exhausted. It’s been a long year with some good
times and some challenging times.

 

There are still weeks to go though before you start your holiday break, and you find
yourself wishing the year would just end already.  How can you get through the last few weeks without feeling like you’re wishing your life away?

 

Slumps

 

End of year slumps are common.  They’re also
similar to the slumps we sometimes experience when we’ve been working on a big
project and the end is now in sight.  You were fine a few weeks ago, enjoying what you were doing and taking it in your stride.  However, something seems to
happen to our motivation when the end is closer, and that’s when we need to
push through.

 

Static and Dynamic Motivation

 

Motivation has to do with the motives that cause you to take action (or not).  There are thus different types of motive-a(c)tion, as for different actions, you need different motives.  For example, dynamic motivation is more useful when you need to start a project, or at the beginning of the year when you are ready and eager to get going.
Your reason for starting would be different to your reason for
finishing, and thus the enthusiasm and feel of dynamic motivation is
different.  It’s fun, engaging, and exciting when we begin something new, and we find it easier to be focused and motivated.

 

When it comes to the end though, static motivation needs to kick in.  We need to shift our Motive Gears into easons to see something through, to complete what we started.  The feel is different, as the excitement may ave worn off, and it’s now about the quiet joy you experience from routine and habits.

 

Top tips

 

Focus

One way to develop more static motivation, and to keep going when the end is in
sight, is have a focus.  Know the direction you are going in. Remind yourself of the end goal, or create a new goal to be excited about, something that you’re interested in.

 

Count your Progress

Then notice the progress you’ve made. Often because we haven’t reached the end goal, we discount all the steps and stages we have covered to get to be so close to
the end.  Acknowledging what you have already achieved this year and the progress you have made, boosts up our motivation to get to the end.

 

Be in the NOW

Then keeping our attention on the now also
helps.  Too much “time travelling” into
the future, to the end of the year, just leads to missing life that is
happening around you right this minute.
When you send your conscious awareness into the future or the past,
you’re more likely to feed your slump.

 

Time travelling breeds fear and worry, or just reminds you where you are not.  So concentrating on being focused and present
in the now, allows you to touch your potential in this moment, and do something
constructive.

 

Act

This brings us to another resource – taking action.
Doing some small activity now that will take you forward has a way of
bringing with it motive-a(c)tion.
Instead of indulging the slump you feel you are in, do something active
and you will find you get some momentum.

 

If you physically feel that you don’t have energy, look at your diet, starting
with the very next meal you are going to have, and choose to eat for vitality
and energy.  Some exercise and getting
out and about with good friends also lifts the spirits.  And then, take some action.

 

Think Quality Thoughts

These points should help you also quality control your thoughts.  Notice what you are saying to yourself about this part of the year, and then you’ll be at a choice point to say something more constructive and positive, that will help you take some action in the now.

 

You choose

Life is a wonderful gift, where through our powers of our thoughts, feelings, words
and actions, we get to express this gift.
Even if it’s the end of the year, and you can feel yourself and others
winding down, you can still choose to enjoy the last stretch of 2012 with a
dose of static motivation.  After all, as
Kris Carr says, “If we don’t make time for our lives, our lives won’t make time
for us”.