Sometimes life happens. Sometimes you hit a big goal and know exactly how much hard work and time it took to get there and aren’t sure where to go next. Maybe you have started to feel underappreciated or undervalued. Whatever the reason is that you lost your passion, in today’s episode we will talk about how to re-ignite that spark.
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I have seen it time and time again. Burnout. Rock star consultants who blaze to the top, crushing goal after goal and then, they seem to fizzle. Its not hard to see that they don’t have the passion, the fire, the energy they used to.
Or I’ve also seen it with team members and friends. They are motivated, excited and pushing ahead and then a few months later, all of that seems to have faded.
Maybe this is you. Or maybe this is a team member or a friend who seems to be in a slump or lacking that spark or passion that they once had. It’s actually a pretty common thing to go through.
I mean, what goes up, must come down, right?! So it makes sense that your attitude and energy around your business will have it’s ups and downs too. The important thing is to not stay down too long. To not let a temporary dip derail you completely.
So let’s talk about a few ways you can re-energize that spark!
1- Set a new goal. Make it a big, scary, audacious goal. What is your next step? Set that goal and now write down 10 steps you are going to take to get there. Don’t over think this! Just write down the first things that are coming into your mind.
I tend to ponder and doubt and rethink over and over again. Don’t do this. Here’s a truth – you ready for this??
You have figured everything out in your life up till this point. Everything you have accomplished, you have figured it out. And you will also figure out how to hit this new goal. So write down your goal and your 10 steps to get there. And then pick 1 (just one) and start making a plan on how you will get there.
Got it? Good! Now we can move on to step 2.
2- TRY something new.
Maybe it’s a new event or speed sales. Maybe you haven’t done a home party in a while or maybe a basket party or holiday open house. If you can’t think of a way, ask your team members or some other Paparazzi friends how they are working their businesses. Pick one and get to work on making it happen.
Whether it is trying something new or bringing back something you have done before, getting away from your norm is a great way to shake things up and freshen things up a bit.
3- BE.
Sometimes finding your passion again for something takes a little more time and effort than setting a new goal or getting outside your comfort zone. And sometimes, the reason why you lost your passion in the first place is still very real and very much effecting your life still.
While this method is a little more drastic, it can be really effective. Make a list of what someone who HAS their spark, who is full of passion would be doing. And then do all of that.
If you had your passion, would you be going live more often? Would you be talking to more potential team members? Would you be doing more parties or events? Would you be doing more to train your team?
What does that look like to you?
A lot of times when we loose our spark or when we don’t feel like we are finding the success we want or expect, we tend to pull back. We disengage. We take less action. This step, this suggestion is simply the opposite of that. It is taking action. Getting moving. WORKING your business.
Studies have proven that when you aren’t feeling happy, if you smile anyways, soon you will find that you ARE happy. Same idea here. You are going through the motions of working your business. Doing those things that someone who is growing and achieving is taking. And with enough action, I think you will find that you not only start to discover more success in your biz, but also your spark gets re-ignited.
4- LEARN something new
I am a perpetual student. I love learning different ways to grow personally and professionally. I listen to podcasts, audio books, take free courses online and attend training meetings where I vigorously take notes. This growth is part of what helps me keep my spark. Learning new ways to build and work my business. Learning new ways to help my team. Learning new ways to maximize my results and minimize my efforts. Learning ways to better myself or my relationships.
So try learning something new in one area of your life. “A rising tide lifts all boats”. If you decide you want to work on your relationships and start listening to podcasts or reading books on the subject, its very possible that the success and passion you find with that will bleed over into your passion for your business.
Or maybe you decide to challenge your team by working your business in a new and different way. Maybe a messenger party or a live event. As you are learning how to master this new area of your business it shakes things up and helps shake off the dust that may have settled in other areas of your biz.
5- Shake things up.
Another reason your spark may have faded is because you have gotten bored. You do the same things to work your business day in and day out and while you have developed great habits, your mind no longer feels challenged. Engaged. You need to find a way to shake things up. Add new challenges or new activities into your daily routine.
When your mind has a challenge to attack, it will work on how to break it down. How to accomplish it.
I’m gonna show my nerdy side a bit here. Ready? When your mind is trying to tackle that, it almost jump starts your brain again. It stimulates the pre-frontal cortex in the brain. This is the part of the brain that you use to problem solve and to make decisions. When you are stuck in a rut or just doing things out of habit, your pre-frontal cortex almost shuts down. There isn’t any new information or new challenges, so it takes a little nap. Gets SUPER bored and that’s when it starts chewing on other things you could be doing or when it starts to look for new challenges for you so that it can re-engage.
So do something new, set a huge goal (see #1), switch up your routine and you will be amazed how a spark or tiny flame starts to emerge.
6- Evaluate
Most of the time I find my passion fading, it’s because something (usually business and home/life balance) is out of wack. Maybe I was chasing down a huge goal and was spending an insane amount of time focused in on working and accomplishing that. Or maybe I have been working with my team on hitting some huge goals and didn’t take any time for me.
Maybe it’s a busy time of year and I feel like I’m always running and never have time for just me.
Whatever that looks like for you, take a break. Sometimes this is the most difficult advise to follow, but it’s so important. Go to a movie with some friends. Have a date with your hubby. Make a craft or just have some snuggle time with your kiddos. Read a good book. Completely detach your mind from anything business or work related for 24 hours.
HEAR me when I say – a FULL 24 hours. Recharge your soul and the rest will follow. A dead battery cannot charge another dead battery. So take time to recharge, to just BE. To add some balance or self-care back into your life and you’ll find that your passion wasn’t gone, it was just muffled.
To avoid this in the future, schedule out some YOU time. Whether that’s a monthly pedi, getting your nails done or a massage, it could be Bunco or Bingo night with some girlfriends or maybe you join a book club so you are sure to take time to read a book every few weeks. Evaluate the areas of your life that you might not be giving enough attention to and then be very intentional about how you are going to add those into your life in the future.
If you feel your passion starting to drain or feel like you’ve lost it altogether, try one or all of these suggestions above and see if they work to help get your fired up and re-energized.