How to flourish through your funk.
Funks freak me out. Every time. When goals, visions and hopes fizzle, flop or fail do you ever find yourself head first down a slippery slide of emotional upheaval?
Ya. Funks are not fun. But they do offer an opportunity to FLOURISH.
My most recent funk was like PMS on cocaine. Emotions in hyper-drive. Drama. DRAMA! Endless….ceaseless….self talk that nips, pinches and bites away at my self confidence. Sabotaging my sense of self worth. More drama. Tears. Questions. Whatever’s. Sobs. And then. SILENCE.
A SUDDEN SILENCE IS THE SOUL TAKING A DEEP DEEP BREATH.
We all experience FUNKS. Yours might be experienced in different self-depreciating ways but the overall process is similar from one person to the next.
The clouds of doubt roll in. Shame rains down. Guilt fogs joy in. And FEAR sends lightning bolts of soul deep sadness through the body, heart and mind.
And then there is the eye of the storm. The silence. This is the opportunity. Valuable moments to muster strength, confidence, love and empathy. This is when we choose to either give in to shame or SHOW UP AND SHINE.
Some tips to FLOURISH through your funk:
1. DO NOT RESIST OR RESENT BEING EMOTIONALLY RAVAGED & RAW.
Vulnerability is the vehicle to rejuvenation. The eye of the storm is a gift of opportunity. This is the time to acknowledge and accept the hurts, circumstance, events, hauntings and FEARS that have combined for your perfect storm. Go with it. Let the emotions out. They require release for renewal.
2. WRITE IT DOWN.
I 100% guarantee you that in 2 weeks you will be surprised at the intensity of your emotions. Totally impressed with your minds ability to so powerfully take over your life experience. Don’t waste a good funk. Write about your experiences and emotions as they happen. It’s therapeutic, thought provoking and helps to steal the thunder from the storm.
3. TALK THROUGH IT.
Self-thinking through a funk is emotionally dangerous. Funks require human to human contact. Get out of your own head and start talking about whats going on (with a person who has your best interests at heart). I’m pretty sure my husband said only a few words during my last blithering out poor of emotional words. Just hearing myself speaking my thoughts out loud added valuable context.
4. TAKE A BREAK FROM YOUR EGO. DO RANDOM ACTS OF RENEWAL.
Funks funnel our thoughts into a small self-inclusive bottle of “all about me”. Funks are, by nature, self-centered. And that’s ok. They are an opportunity to flourish through AH- HA moments and self realizations. If they happen. I find the best way to grow from pain is to embrace it, experience it and then take a break from “me”.
Taking a break from thinking about you and your experiences offers time for your mind to grow from new insights, perspectives and valuable outside influences. Read biographies, volunteer your time, bake for a neighbour…..these are all ACTS OF RENEWAL. And they are awesome.
Repeat after me, “Tomorrow will be better.” Yes it will and as always…YES YOU CAN
