How to Beat the Blahs

I came down with a pretty ugly case of the Blahs last week. You know the symptoms: lack of motivation, low levels of umph, little energy, even less excitement (about anything). I’m am usually the Energizer Bunny type – rip, roaring and raring to go, full of excitement, energy, smiles, laughs and dreams. I didn’t feel much of that. Actually I felt none of that good stuff.  I felt quiet, plain, boring, like my get-up-and-go had got up and went. Getting out of bed was hard. I didn’t wake up all pumped up for my morning workout. I wasn’t enthusiastic about my evening workouts either. I even skipped a couple of those altogether. I just wanted to veg in front of the TV or sleep. Yuck!

I don’t know what causes the Blahs, be it the weather getting foggy, just a change in our biorhythms, or plain old boredom. What I do know is that they do hit and when they do, we have to know what to do about them.

Here’s how I treated my bout with the Blahs.

1. I did my daily morning workouts anyway. I knew and told myself out loud, “I know you don’t feel like going to workout, Rache, but you are going to be glad you did. You are going to feel better once you get into it. And when you complete it, you are going to be so glad you did.” And I wasn’t even lying to myself. I just needed the out-loud reminder.
2. Change things up. While my daily workouts are great full-body workouts and have lots of variety, I just wasn’t into being all mental and involved. So I just went running a couple of times. Do what sounds good to you when you have the Blahs. The key word there is DO. Do something as a workout. Don’t just sleep in and give in to the Blahs.
3. Involve your village. Do things that keep you engaged and involved with others. Tell your partner (husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend) where you are at (in Blah-ville) and ask them to keep you close, give you some extra hugs, kisses or attention. Tell your friends you need some extra energy from them. Hang with the people who usually make you laugh and smile. Do something to help someone else. This last one is a great cure for the Blahs.
4. Snap out of it. What is your sure-fire way to renew your spark, to energize yourself, to make you feel happy? Oh, come on, you just have to know what this is or you’re in deep doo-doo. We should know ourselves well enough to know what is “our thing.” That thing that lifts us up, heals us, gets us back on track. I know mine. I turned on the stereo good and loud yesterday and blasted some super upbeat music, danced around while I worked in the kitchen and sang my lungs out – sorry neighbors. 

I did all of this while the fog was still blanketing my town yesterday. I got myself back to full-power despite the crappy weather. The Blahs have been vanquished and I’m good to go. And coincidentally, this morning the sun was shining, the clouds were gone, and it was a beautiful day.