Welcome to The Spark Show! In this episode, I'm going to be sharing with you five ways to get unstuck, because I know the feeling. I have recently been in complete burnout mode a few months ago where I just couldn't do anything. I had overworked myself to the point where I was just done. I was physically tired, mentally exhausted and there were even some points where I just didn't want to work on anything anymore. I was uninspired, I couldn't create anything. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, how do I get out of this?' and I felt stuck, literally stuck. I knew I wasn't physically stuck, that I can move around and do stuff, but I just really didn't want to.

So, I want to talk to you about five ways to get unstuck. And, I've done all of this, especially during that severe burnout mode that I experienced. It may take time, but it does work. I'm a super impatient person and sometimes I just want to get it done, but our mind and body thinks otherwise.

1. Be Thankful

I do my five-minute journal every day and there's a section for gratitude. Sometimes I need more than the three lines they give me. But sometimes, it's hard to pinpoint what to write. What I do know is that when I'm in the energy of gratitude, I'm in the energy of abundance. When I start my day with gratitude, I feel so good. And so, when I'm feeling stuck, one thing I like to do is to create a gratitude list. I just write down everything I'm thankful for and by item number 50, I'm usually back in a positive state of mind. When you think of everything you have and everything you've accomplished, it's tough to stay in a black hole of negativity.

2. Tune Into Your Vision

In the past three years, I've committed to the daily practice of tuning into my vision every morning as part of my routine. This really sets me up for my day, reconnecting with what I want to accomplish, and most importantly, why. It's not enough for me to stay motivated for the year just by doing my goals at the beginning of the year. To me, I need that daily inspiration and motivation to keep going. Some people like to have a vision board that they can see every day. I like to have a vision book where I write everything down. I take notes and I take that book with me everywhere.

3. Try Something New

This is something that I feel like I need to do more. Sometimes when we've been doing things a really long time, we get stuck in our ways. And sometimes, we need to try something new or do something differently. I'm always reading and looking at trends in the industry and even on TikTok and seeing what new ideas we can incorporate into my content or in the business. I feel like when I'm stuck, sometimes I need something to pull me out of my comfort zone and that can mean doing something you don't usually do. Sometimes you just need to change up your routine, break the pattern, and that will give you a jolt and push out of being stuck.

4. Talk to Your Community

When I do this, I feel really good, especially when I focus on how I've helped others. When I'm feeling stuck, I go into my messages and reply to my community and I get all these replies saying, 'thank you, that was unexpected' and 'OMG, I didn't think you would reply' and it just makes me feel good to help someone even if it's one person at a time. Sometimes when I get stuck, I like to read testimonials or posts in our member community because that really inspires me to continue doing what I do because I see the impact that I've had on others.

5. Take a Break

I know you've heard this before, but sometimes, okay, a lot of the times, we don't listen. This includes me, I'm so guilty of this. I don't know about you, but it's really hard for me to take a break. I like to feel productive all the time. That's why I started knitting while watching TV so that it could feel like I was doing something and got something out of that time. But the truth is, a real break is just that - a real break. It means absolutely no work, no emails, texts, social media or quick message to your team - not even that. That time I was in complete burnout, I kept taking breaks that were not really breaks and kept working a little bit and that just prolonged the burnout. I needed a zero productivity break. If I just watched movies and did not get on my phone for a week, then my burnout mode may not have lasted for more than three weeks. And, it doesn't sound serious, but now I take my breaks seriously.

The best thing to do is to plan for it. I'll be taking time off for this upcoming week and I'm making sure to cancel all calls, meetings and events so I can really take a break. I want to give myself a break from my phone, social media, anything I feel like I have to do. Being in business for over six years now, I've learned that I have to plan for my breaks - that means a week off every quarter, maybe all holiday weekends fully off. I think we also have to be clear with ourselves and be in the mindset of what a break really means. Maybe you've seen people on vacation who are not really on vacation. Yeah, you know what I mean. You're not really present in the moment. If your mind is thinking about work or what you have to do, that's not a break.

So, if you're reading this and you're nodding your head 'yes, I need a break,' it's time to plan for your break. Maybe it's a day off this week, clear your calendar, cancel what you need to, communicate with whomever you need to, ask for help and support and give yourself that time to do nothing, to not be productive and give yourself some space. I find that after a break, I feel so inspired, energized and excited to go back to work. I actually miss work and I feel like my best self. We are human, so we just can't keep going and going and going. We need time for rest, relaxation and to refresh, just like our devices need to be shut down, they need to be charged, they need an update. We need to give ourselves that gift of time and space. It's not just good for us, but for the people around us and those we help.

Those are the five ways to get unstuck that I wanted to share with you in today's episode. If you're looking for more mindset tips, make sure you scroll through my podcast episodes or my blog - there's a lot of content for you there.

If you found this helpful, make sure to tag me on Instagram @heygwenlane and @thesparkschool and we'll repost it!

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Listen to Previous Episodes: 

Money Mindset for Influencers

Impact With Podcasts Featuring Jeremy Ryan Slate

Get Yourself a Mentor with Kelsey Chapman

Wellness is a Priority with Katja Lillian

Influencer Success Roadmap

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