5 WAYS TO WORK THROUGH THE TWO-WEEK SLUMP AND ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS
Yesterday on the podcast (episode #158), I shared the idea of the two-week slump. Essentially, "the sump" is what happens 10 to 14 days into setting a new goal. This is about the time period where your brain starts to realize that you will have to make a long-lasting change to achieve your goal and you suddenly lose motivation. This is the make or break period to discovering what it takes to reach your goal or to fall back into old habits and routines. You can learn more about the slump and what it looks and sounds like in the episode, but today, I want to discuss five ways to work through the slump and actually achieve your goals.
- Track your progress from the beginning.
- Weigh the results.
Monitor for your trigger habits.
- Be accountable to someone else.
- Remember why you want your goal in the first place.
1. Track your progress from the beginning.
Have you ever tracked doing something on a daily basis and then kept it up because you didn't want to lose the streak? If you can track towards your goal from the beginning, it can help you keep up your motivation when the slump hits. Tracking can help you keep the streak alive, even if it's only to have a consistent row of checkmarks.
2. Weigh the results.
Achieving the goal is the result of your hard work. You already know what you want but when the slump hits, it can be hard to remember or even see the value in achieving the goal. In other words, it can be hard to keep going. This when it's time to weigh the results. Not just the results that the goal will help with but the results that not taking a new action will achieve. Every action has a result so when you are in the slump, weigh the results of inaction to help you keep going.
3. Monitor for your trigger habits.
Once you're in the slump, old habits come back quickly. Especially the habits that are your coping habits for when things get uncomfortable. For me, that's watching TV, staying up late, eating sugar, and craving hamburgers. But when I know I'm in the slump, I can monitor my trigger habits and decide not to act on them... instead of blindly giving in. Knowing your trigger habits is part of growing through the slump and coming out strong on the other side.
4. Be accountable to someone else.
When you have to report your progress to someone else, it can help keep you on track during the slump. Whether a trainer, a nutritionist, or a coach, reporting to a person with your best interests and your goal in mind – someone who has been through it before – can really offer you the accountability you may need to make it through the slump.
5. Remember why you want your goal in the first place.
Why did you set your goal? What excites you? What is the end game? Remember and relive these things when the slump, the doubt, and the negativity begins to set in. You set the goal for a reason, remember why to help motivate you through the time when it's more comfortable to go back to how things were.
Getting through the slump.
The slump isn't easy. It' your brain trying to work through the discomfort and change that MUST happen when you want to achieve a goal. Any goal. Your brain wants to be comfortable, even if comfort isn't good for you. Know that the slump is coming and use these tips to work through it.
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Tune into Happiness Abound, The Podcast (Episode 159) for the audio reading of this blog article as well as to hear additional color commentary on the inspiration for this topic, the details of my letter writing experiences, and more.
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