Have you ever experienced a weird feeling of fear and anxiety? Do you want to know how to get out of a funk? An attitude whereby you do not want to do anything at all. If you have been straining to get out of a funk, then this post contains your prescription. Being in a funk can deny you a lot of opportunities if not well managed.

There workable ways that can help you to get out of a funk. But before the prescription to get out a funk, let’s know about the funk attitude.

How is the funk feeling?

This can be a moment when the alarm rings and you are like Aaah, it’s morning again. It can also be on a Monday morning when you remember it’s time to go and meet with a stressful boss.

You just feel like sleeping and sleeping and sleeping especially on a cold/icy morning. The funk feeling does no good both to your general health and productivity.

Maybe you are expecting to meet your in-laws for the first time. You probably have goosebumps before that particular moment. You are worried if the in-laws will criticize or embrace you. This feeling leaves you helpless and tensed all the way.

It could also be the feeling of being emotionally down after a break-up with your fiance or after a divorce. You can even skip meals, not because you don’t feel hungry or you are fasting. It’s due to that mysterious feeling.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the funk feeling. I have to say that the times before the pandemic were better in terms of economy, employment, business startups, health and fitness, etc. Covid-19 has caused lots of damages to society. We can only pray to God to heal the world.

If you have been ever in the above-mentioned situations I’m sure you now know the meaning of being in a funk.

Here are the 8 workable ways to get out of a funk:

1. Embrace Creativity

Do you know that everything you see around you including the phone or computer your using is a result of someone’s creativity? Everything whether good or bad starts from the mind.

Putting aside thoughts that do not help you grow in any way is a good way to try to get out of a funk. The creative side of you can produce good results if done persistently.

In his book ‘Think and grow rich ‘ Napoleon Hill said that everything that a man owns begins from the mind. He talked about worldwide billionaires who started big companies from creative thought and unending desire.

Being creative plays a big role in solving a problem in society. Think of a way that can simplify a task. Believe in your thoughts, because if others have done great things, you are not an exception.

Proven ways that can help you to embrace your creative side

• Identify your desire- This will automatically drive you towards your creative side. You can never see the importance of creativity not unless you have some burning desire to do something new.
• Read blogs and books- Only read material related to what you want to do. Have you ever known there is a unique power associated with reading? Reading gives you not only knowledge but also a bunch of ideas.
• Watch motivational videos and podcasts – Successful people are not that selfish. That’s why you will find a lot of videos from the worlds most successful people. They always want to share their journey with everyone interested. These videos will open your mind to think beyond today.
• Do something physical- You can try drawing a portrait of a family member or friend. You can also take a nature walk which will help your mind to be still and think of new ideas. Try to fix a broken chair or table at home. Getting physically active brings about natural creativity.

2. Never compare yourself with others

Comparing yourself with others brings unnecessary envy which makes you feel bad about yourself. If you keep on comparing yourself with others, you will never get out of a funk. You will always be gloomy and you don’t want that, right?

Disadvantages of comparing yourself with others

• Lowers your self-esteem. When you see others ( especially your former classmates) doing better than you, you will have a sense of defeat. This alone lowers your self-esteem such that you cannot appreciate your work.
• You don’t grow. Growth comes from something which is done persistently. If you persist in seeing the achievements of those around you, you will never see yours.
• Wastes time. I take time as a very important resource. Think about this… Have you ever known that you will never see this particular second or minute again in your life? If you spend it on comparing yourself with others it will never come back.
• Builds a bad spirit in you. Eventually comparing yourself with others makes you start hating them for no apparent reason.
• Steals your joy. You will never be happy if you compare yourself with others. There will always be people ahead of you in different aspects. We can never be all the same. The best thing we can do is to accept who we are and work on daily improvement.

If you could stop comparing yourself with others, then you can be sure never to have a funk feeling.  Just get satisfied with what you have and work if you want more.

3. Show compassion to others

Research done in 2015 shows that there is a population of 150 million who are homeless and 1.6 billion who have inadequate shelter in the entire world. Covid -19 also increased these numbers due to the end of contracts and employment.

If everybody who has the potential can start helping the less privileged in the community then we could all be getting out of a funk. That feeling of helping others is unique.

When you touch someone’s heart they will never forget you and they’ll always pray for you. Spending time with orphans and street children makes them feel good and the feeling reciprocates.

When you can reduce someone’s problems, just do it. Even the holy scriptures state that “blessed is the hand that gives”. You will be able to get out of a funk if you practise the art of compassion.

4. Build yourself

If you have been through a relationship breakup, the best thing to do immediately is to start focusing on yourself.  too much of the broken past stagnates your personal growth.

Don’t think of words or actions you should have said or done before. The past is gone and you should not let it govern your present and future. Instead, try the following activities to build yourself:

• Learn something new – Read a lot and watch educational videos to help you add more knowledge. Try practical learning like riding a bicycle or driving a car.
• Do a lot of workouts- Exercises help in clearing your mind and creation focus. They also help in maintaining body weight hence promoting self-confidence.
• Eat healthy meals- Healthy meals can help boost your immune system.
• Learn to meditate- Meditation creates a personal special time to focus on positive thoughts. Many types of meditation can be easily practised at home.

5. Getting social helps you to get out of a funk

When you are experiencing funk feelings do not attempt to stay indoors. Freshen yourself and get going. This helps you to avoid any form of negative thoughts when you are alone.

Hook up with a long lost friend, former classmate or family member. This kind of social interaction helps you to have a good mood all the time.

You can try to be a friend of an extrovert at your workplace. Extroverts are very talkative people and you will never get bored to have them as friends.

Be a conversation starter when you are with your friends and family. Start an ongoing conversation that will lead to more interesting stories as time goes by. This group of friends can keep you active to a point of forgetting your problems.

When you are in a social gathering, try to make new friends instead of staying alone at a corner. Social mingling helps you to get out of a funk more easily.

6. Remaining positive helps you to get out of a funk

No matter the magnitude of problems that you have, try your very best to remain positive all the time. Positive thoughts have high chances of high productivity compared to negative thoughts. In short, nothing good comes out of negativity.

Always stay at peace with everybody around you. This alone creates a peaceful environment resulting in teamwork.

Benefits of staying positive

• Positivity increases productivity.
• A positive personality attracts more friends. No one would befriend a gloomy person no matter how beautiful they may look.
• Having a positive mind broadens the opportunity chances. Being positive means seeing things from different perspectives and flexible to change.
• Staying positive reduces stress and depression. The more negative you are, the closer you are to stress and depression.
• Being positive helps to reduce anxiety disorders.

Generally, positive thoughts help one to get out of a funk situation. Monitor your thoughts because the mouth speaks directly from the mind.

7. Get help

• If you are having funk feelings, you can consider getting professional help. I know you are wondering if you should pour out your problems to a stranger. I want you to know that it can greatly help you to get out of a funk situation.
• Do not wait to get overwhelmed by funk when you can get help from a professional. They usually help a lot of people so you will not be the first nor the last.
• I believe that a problem shared is a problem half solved. You can as well open up to a close friend, spouse or even a family member. But I would like to caution you on this- make sure you trust whoever you are telling your issues.
• Friends and family may make it worse by spreading your problems. This will greatly affect you if it happens.
• Getting assistance helps to boost your self-esteem since you will know that someone cares about you.

8. Avoid Drug abuse

Too much of everything is dangerous. Drug abuse refers to the inappropriate use of legal or illegal drugs. Abusing drugs has a bunch of negative impact on someone’s health. Abuse of drugs causes addiction which may be hard to get away with.

Drug addicts tend to have a self satisfactory feeling after using drugs. For instance, an alcoholic can forget their problems while drunk but as soon as they become sober, they are back to square one. Instead of progress, drug abuse stagnates growth in all aspects of life.

In addition, alcoholics are too weak to eat a balanced meal. They just go hungry which may have advanced health dangers.

Drug addiction leads to stress and depression which may last for a lifetime. Knowing this kind of dangers should help to keep you off drug and substance abuse.

Avoiding drugs will automatically help you to get out of a funk.

Finally…

We have seen it detail how to get out of a funk, Getting out of a funk helps to boost productivity at the end of the day. That’s why I’m giving you the assignment to follow the above-mentioned ways to get out of a funk.

No one likes a gloomy and bad day, so you should dust yourself and get going. Avoid all things that can make you feel bad about others or even about yourself.

Surround yourself with people who can appreciate the way you are in a great manner. Avoid any form of negativity that can pull you down.

Why don’t we embrace the life journey by staying happy all the time? Come on, I challenge you to try all the 8 ways to get out of a funk and I’m sure you will come here later to thank me. Believe in your abilities and confidently work towards achieving your goals.

See you soon!