More than Meg

The Ultimate Guide to Get Out Of a Funk

Hello friend!

I am so glad you’re joining me today. Can we just break the ice right out of the gate? These days, things are WIERD. I’m not sure what day we are on of “social distancing” / “quarantine” / “self-isolation”… but what I do know is, nothing feels normal.

Most days I wake up and forget the reality of how this pandemic has disrupted our daily rhythms. Everything, from the most simple act of going to my favorite local coffee shop in the morning, to getting dinner with friends, and even going to church on Sunday morning… it’s all different.

Honestly, I forget what day of the week it is more times than I would like to admit, and more often than not I feel in some sort of a “funk” at least once a day. But you know what? I would bet money that I’m not the only one… especially if you’ve made it here with me today, and I don’t mean that in a bad way at all.

I find comfort in the fact that I am not alone, and you should too…but that isn’t enough for me right now. I truly believe that this is a time not only to care for one another from a distance, but be proactive in supporting each other. The best way I know to do that is by sharing practical tools you can add to your “tool belt” right away, to use as little or as much as necessary, no expiration date included.

Sound alright with you? Let’s jump in!

5 Immediate Mood Boosters

+ bonus challenge

  1. Re-read a message that made you smile. Or maybe it’s a voicemail you have saved on your phone. Either way, remind yourself that you can carry happiness with you even when it feels like nothing in your immediate reality seems like it.
  2. Do something for someone else. Kindness is not only contagious, it’s heart warming. Maybe you send your neighbor some cookies anonymously, or do something extra at work to make someone else’s day easier. Even the smallest acts can have the big impact.
  3. Set a timer for 10 minutes and do one small task on your to-do list. One small burst of productivity can change your mindset.
  4. Make a list of all the things you are responsible for…then applaud yourself for taking care of YOU. Treat this as a reminder for how valuable you are.
  5. Put on your favorite dress and lipstick, just because! Remember the days when you used to play dress up? That girl is still inside you! Adults can play too. Give yourself permission to have some fun and feel fabulous…. yes, I said fabulous.

Bonus Challenge: Get dressed every day. Yes, even when you won’t leave the house. Start with 7 days… then see how different you feel!

Why? I’m glad you asked! The simple act of getting dressed every day may result in the following symptoms including (but not limited to);

A change in mindset. There’s just something about changing from the clothes you slept in that wakes up your mind. You’re suddenly ready for whatever the day throws at you.

Feeling good. When you put on “real” clothes, even if it’s just leggings and a t-shirt, guaranteed you will feel more put together and just overall more positive all day long.

Improved self-care. The fact is, when you get dressed you’re taking care of yourself, and that’s important.

P.S. – If you want to treat yourself a little, here is something that will do just the trick: Ivy & Leo is offering you 15% off your entire order when you use the code “meg15“.

Re-Framing Self Talk

I’m going to throw this out there, a lot of us are either alone, or “in our heads” lately. With less distractions, there is more room for thoughts to enter our conscious mind. This can be helpful, but if you’re anything like me, I KNOW I can be my own worst enemy. Our brains mean well, we talk to ourselves in a way that protects us from getting hurt. Sometimes this comes in the form of guilt, obligations, justifications, “what-if” scenarios, the list goes on. It’s time to pay attention to the way you talk to yourself, take the control back, and re-frame self-deprecating thoughts into positive statements.

Instead of…

“I have to…” I CHOOSE to.

“I should go to the gym/ eat healthy/ stop being lazy…” I WANT to feel better.

“I can’t do this…” I’m going to take this one step at a time.

“I must get everything done to feel accomplished.” I have accomplished what I can today, it’s okay to leave a few things for tomorrow.

“People won’t like me if I...” I can’t control what other people think, and I choose not to spend my time and energy worrying about them.

“I’m going to mess up.” I won’t assume the worst before trying. Plus, what if I succeed?

“If I make a mistake I will no longer be worthy or valuable.” Making a mistake makes me human, my worth is not measured by my mistakes.

“People will criticize my opinion… so I just won’t say anything.” I am allowed to have my own opinions and I won’t jump to a conclusion.

Emotional Audit

+ extra credit exercise

Feelings are coming up left and right these days…just me? I bet I’m not the only one. Okay, so what are all these emotions really trying to tell you? Let’s take a brief overview…

Insecurity – I’m human.

Emptiness – I need to fill my tank with something that fuels me.

Stuck – I’m forcing clarity.

Confused – I’m scared to choose (or afraid of what I don’t know).

Lost – I’m on the verge of a breakthrough.

I know this is a short list, but I think it helps to put our emotions in a place we can see them. By doing this, we can learn to recognize what we are feeling as it comes, practice rooting down into what we know, and using it to process how we feel.

Extra Credit: Take an inventory of all the emotions you are feeling. Write them down. Then, pretend you are talking to someone you care about. With grace, respond to that emotion with an “I am” statement.

These are just a few of the things I am doing to get myself out of the “funk” I have been feeling lately. Which, trust me, is easier said than done. I know I’m not the first person to experience these feelings, and I am certainly not the last. However, I think one of the most important things to remember through all of life’s up’s and down’s is, YOU ARE HUMAN. All of us are bound to make mistakes, have bad days, and to need someone to lean on. I am going through this with you, WE are going through this together. Let’s look out for one another. Let’s equip each other with tools to live better. Most of all, let’s be gentle with ourselves and practice patience and giving ourselves grace.

Verse of the Day:

He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 CORINTHIANS 12:9

Your Past, Defined.

past (adj) gone by in time and no longer existing.

It a bittersweet reality, that each one of us have a past. Whether that be good, bad, traumatic, blessed, complicated, or otherwise, we each have one.

Some of us are ashamed of our past, some of us want to bury it, black it out, forget it ever happened — it’s simply too heavy to cary under the weight of our obligations, pressures, and stressors in our current reality.

On the other hand, some of us cling to our past, put it on a pedestal — it’s the unachievable, nostalgia we long to have back.

Somewhere down the line, we stop assessing our past by what happened to how it happened to us. As if we have no active role in the equation anymore.

The question turns from an introspective, “how do I define my past?”, into an external facing, “how does my past define me?”.

When do we let the things that happen to us start defining who we are rather than taking ownership and control of the perspective?

Want to know a secret? Lean in close…there are a few things you need to know.

Your past does not define you.

That regret, shame, disappointment, or pride that shadows your memories, is not who you are. Sure, you walked that road and experienced first hand the moments and circumstances more intimately than anyone else on this earth, but in this current moment — right now — you have a choice. You can hold on to the past or use the experiences as lessons for personal growth.

Hold on to it and you are stuck recalling negative memories, without learning from them.

OR

Lean in to it and gain perspective that shapes your character and is reflected in the person you are becoming.

Your past does not need justification.

You are the only one that will have experienced your truth.

Your first hand account of what happened, or what you felt from your perspective, is yours — no justification necessary.

I find myself getting defensive over things that have hurt me or that I am invested in, emotionally or otherwise. I think this comes up a lot when we look back on our past and, more specifically, when we own our past.

Although the outside world can’t see it, the moments we have let define a spot in our lives carry weight and tremendous value in some way. Quite frankly, others may never understand the impact or meaning it had and could be quick to assess it without knowing the full picture or context, but that doesn’t mean we need to guard it with our lives and defend it through excuses, leveling, or justification.

Thinking you have to provide justification for your first-hand experiences is living in fear or letting your past define you, fear of judgement. In reality, the past you carry with you doesn’t need justification. If you feel like you need to justify it to others, you may have to take a good look at who you are surrounding yourself by. The people who you choose to share your life with should be the same people who accept you for who you are fully and completely, in the present moment, in what’s to come, and for everything that you’ve been through before now.

Your past is the past, treat it as such.

Don’t beat a dead horse. Truly. I think this cliché applies here, don’t you?

We can get so hung up on things that have happened to us. I know for me, I will be out and about, going on with my day and suddenly a memory from 5 years ago pops into my head. Suddenly, mu thoughts are consumed with “what if” questions and a detailed analysis of everything, looking for an alternate solution or something I could have done differently.

Hello, over-thinkers anonymous, I would personally like to introduce myself. — Hi, I’m Megan.

*collective response* : “Hi Megan.”

You don’t even need to be an over thinker to have this experience. So many of us carry the past into the present. We let it hold us back or tie us down to what we knew, rather than exploring and growing into who we are becoming.

The past serves a purpose, but at some point we must let that purpose be the past, go to where we are being called, and be where we are now.

It’s okay to let go. It’s okay to feel pain, anxiety, bittersweet, joy or happiness when letting go. Let the past be the past, be present in that decision.

Now be present in your life.

SHOP THIS LOOK