funky feeling
I have been in a funk the last three days! I don't get into those places of no energy and non-motivation very often, so when I do, I really notice it (as does everyone around me). I'm going to share the story of my personal funk with the hope that it causes you to think about your own "funky style". I have three points to explore with you.
1) What does it feel like to be in a funk?
2) What puts you there?
3) What gets you out of there?
THE FEEL OF A FUNK
I can tell I am in a funk when I want to sleep a lot. My first thoughts in the morning tend to be about how many hours there are until I can take a nap that day. I really get sad when I realize that I have a day that is fully scheduled and have no time for a nap. Sleep is my best friend when the funk has struck me. Some people eat all the time and others don't eat at all. I have an appetite for ...JUNK! Purely empty, useless calories with lots of fat and sugar are what I want to eat. This type of eating works well with a funk because when I start to feel a bit better about myself (and life), I can reflect on what I am eating and go right back into the funk. BTW, this has nothing to do with hormones (so, my male subscribers are safe here - funks have no gender preference). I do a lot of blaming and wishing when I am in a funk. I wish the weather were better - I wish my kids would call me more often or tell me how much they love me - I wish I had more time for movies or books - I wish I had loads of energy and money to start redecorating my house. I also feel myself pulling away from everyone. I go right into a shell. I can feel myself putting on the sadsap face (do you know that one?) and using a flatline, monotone voice when I talk to anyone. My husband is especially a target of this voice because I know he loves me and I don't have to hide anything from him. I feel pathetic and want him to see how pathetic I am. Is anything sounding familiar yet?
WHAT PUTS YOU IN A FUNK
I wanted to blame this funk on the weather; after all, we have had 99 hours without a peek of sunshine. I also started to think about clients I have that aren't responding the way I had hoped they would. My husband has been gone for long hours with work, church, and family obligations lately. That translates to me spending a great deal of time by myself. I have been traveling a good bit and that makes me feel like things at home are getting out of control. There are always situations with children (even though they are grown adults) that cause concern. I had hoped after 7 months of physical therapy that my knee would be good enough for me to resume my old exercise program and that is starting to look less likely. Add up all of those things and you get FUNK! If you reread that list, you will notice that there isn't one thing on the list that I have control over. As a matter of fact, I don't even have much influence of any of the funk factors. I realized this when I was out for a long walk yesterday. BUMMER! I wanted to have things outside of my control change so I could get out of the funk. The moment of clarity was that I was the only one that could pull me out of it. I know that at the end of the day I have control over how I react to situations, but I sure wanted to blame everything outside of my control for how I felt. I wish I could say that I snapped right out it after I realized that I was in control, but I didn't. It still took me about 24 hours to work my way back out of it. It's a ton of work to stop feeling sorry for myself. It's easier to go to bed early than to read a book or make a phone call or write a blog post :-) It's easier to sit back and wait for the weather to change than to figure out how to make sunshine through clouds. It's easier to be pouty and uncommunicative than to talk about how I feel. So, back to the question - what puts me in a funk? It's when I am overtired or feeling neglected by others or when I start to focus my energy on things I have no control over and get frustrated by the return on my investment of energy. What about you?
WHAT GETS YOU OUT OF A FUNK
I just told you that it took me about 24 hours to crawl out from under the covers and the gloom. What helped me pull out? Here's my list ...
* Go for a walk - even if it's cloudy - FRESH AIR IS MAGICAL
* Exercise - even if it's not your favorite exercise - SWEAT IS MAGICAL
* Snuggle with a puppy dog (or your creature of choice) - CRITTERS' UNCONDITIONAL LOVE IS MAGICAL
* Do something nice for someone else (or a whole bunch of somethings, if you have time) - SELFLESSNESS IS MAGICAL
* Watch a favorite movie - it's a distraction - DISTRACTIONS ARE MAGICAL
* Tell someone you feel funky -stop pretending it's all okay, when everyone knows it's not - HONESTY IS MAGICAL
* Focus on what you can control - exhale and say a prayer as you let go of the other stuff - LETTING GO IS MAGICAL
* Put on music you like and turn it up really loud - LOUD MUSIC IS MAGICAL
These are my 3 current favorite GET OUT OF A FUNK SONGS ( add in the soundtrack to Mama Mia and a sun roof) ...
I hope you take a few minutes to think about what makes you get in the blues/funk/dumps. I bet you will see how much of what puts you there is out of your control. I challenge you to focus on what you can control during times like that. POWERFUL QUESTION IS - What part of your funks are you blaming on someone else?
Let us know ...
WHAT GETS YOU OUT OF A FUNK?
WHAT IS THE BEST SONG GUARANTEED TO PICK YOU UP?
