Motivational Monday Volume 249! How to break out of a funk!

Hello??, welcome to Motivational Monday! #249!

I hope you enjoy! ?? (I always love hearing your feedback so please don’t hesitate to reply!)

Here is another extract from our upcoming book, The Premier Way!...

I am very favoured to be able to mentor quite a number of younger and middle aged people around NZ and indeed from various corners of the globe.

10 years ago I would never have imagined I would be playing this role but with my daily contributions to various lean group chats and my regular posting on Linkedin and our Youtube channels, I have just kind of fallen into this.

Do I enjoy it? Absolutely, yes! It is amazing and I learn so much from every person I work with.

A common theme I come across is this: “I am feeling down/depressed. I have lost my mojo. I have spent the last week struggling to get out of bed on time, not motivated, feeling useless, feeling like a failure etc etc.”

Then the obvious question they have is: “How do I break out of this? What do I do? Etc”

So here is my advice for them. Here is a few tips that always seem to work (if applied). There is no one silver bullet but I can tell you for free that anyone I have coached and has applied these simple tips are blown away by the results.

1. I say: Well done. The first step is admitting this to someone who can help. Too often people bottle this up for far too long and waste so much precious time/life.
2. Then I say: You need to review your daily routine. If you don’t have one yet, then write it down right now! What does the ideal daily routine look like for you?
3. Then when your alarm goes off, simply get up and follow the process. Just by following the process you will build momentum and unless you start building momentum you will remain stuck and your depression will get worse. Far worse. You will keep sliding backwards.
4. So in a word: Action! You must take positive action. You must move! You must follow the process or nothing will change.
5. The universe rewards action and momentum. You cannot build momentum until you get up and start moving! Even if you just feel like you are going through the motions. That’s ok! At least you are moving! You are giving yourself a chance!
6. Think of depression like a season. It might feel like a cold dark winter in your mind right now, but if you simply follow process and keep moving, Spring will come! And you can accelerate the onset of Spring by simply taking action.
7. Then you have to keep working on your mindset. If you have a victim mentality then you have to banish that. For some people this is really hard because they have spent all of their life making excuses, blaming everyone else for their situation and playing the victim card. This is a hopeless situation. You will never move forward with this mindset.
8. You must accept 100% responsibility for where you are in life right now. This can be a very bitter pill to swallow. But as soon as you do you are unshackled and you can GROW!
9. Write 2 lists in the front of your diary. 1 list shows the things you can control and influence each day eg the way you react to situations. The other list shows the things you cant control eg the weather. Practice focussing all your energy and time on the things that you can control and learn to accept the things you cant control. Don’t waste your precious time thinking or moaning about these.
10. You must keep a diary. No excuses. And in that diary, when you wake up, one of the first things you should do is write down 10 things you are grateful for. This is a game changer!
11. Then you must write down 5 to 10 life goals you have. These can be anything from becoming 1% fitter every day to buy my first house by such and such date. This is another game changer.
12. Then you must ensure you block out at least 30 mins in your day for fitness. You can also use this time to listen to my recommended audio books. This knocks over 2 very important life changing habits at once.

How many tips I give them depends on who I am coaching and how much they can take in at one go. Usually it is a progression over time and I hold them accountable on Habitshare and Whatsapp groups.

The people who crush it in life are the ones who take action quickly. They make no excuses and just get on with it. They trust that the process will get them out of their funk and get them going.

Here are some other important tips/life hacks I ease them into over time as well. Once again, the high achievers are the ones who embrace these and go for gold.

All these tips/hacks below will have a transformative effect on your mindset, success, relationships, lifestyle, health and overall well being:

1. Stop reading the news. Switch your news reading time to learning time. Reading or listening to a business or personal development book.
2. Stop wasting time on TV or Netflix etc. Turn this valuable time into learning a new hobby eg guitar, piano, painting etc.
3. Disconnect from your phone 2 hours before bed. Put it at the other end of the house and spend this time with your significant other or kids etc. make it quality time eg reading books to the kids or board games etc. NO screens!
4. Use habitshare and improve the way you use it daily and weekly.
5. Plan each year, month, week, day and hour. This puts you in control, reduces stress and many other benefits.
6. Make at least one small improvement at home and at work every single day. Never miss. This is another game changer. Fix what bugs you. Remove the struggle. (you can read more about this in our lean chapter)
7. Build the habit of stopping to fix what bugs you in all areas of life. If something is bugging you, STOP and fix it. Make the improvement then and there. Don’t put it off!
8. Listen to the book, lean health, and practice the golden advice shared there.
9. Do at least one thing for someone else each day without any expectation of reward or recognition. Become a habitual giver.
10. Think about service as the highest honour you can bestow on others. Serve, serve, serve!
11. Keep your home and workspace clean and tidy. No excuses! A tidy clean environment makes for an uncluttered mind. Get your family involved and on the same page.
12. If you have room, start a vegetable garden. This has many positive benefits for your mind and body.
13. Get involved in regular volunteering for good causes. Help those in need. Those who are less fortunate than you. You don’t have to look far!
14. Play some kind of sport weekly with a team or buddy eg tennis or soccer etc.
15. Create walk away standards for everything at work and at home. Make life flow. Make everything visual and easy to understand.
16. Become a lean maniac. This will change your life in ways you cant even begin to imagine.
17. Make sure every transaction you are involved in is a win win.
18. Build your life foundation on these 2 pillars: 1. A deep respect for people. 2. A deep respect for resources.
19. Help others to achieve their most important life goals in any way you can.
20. More to come!....

Cheers to your success!

Bernard and the team at Premier Group NZ!