In a Funk? How to Break Out of A Slump
SUMMARY
5 STEPS TO JUMP OUT OF A SLUMP.
1. OWN IT. Accept responsibility for where you are, because only then will you take responsibility for breaking out of your slump.
2. CAUSE? Figure out what caused it. Look for causes, not excuses. (A failure, fear, bad experience?)
3. HOW LONG? Figure out how long it has been going on. When did it start? How long have you realized you were in a slump? Slumps happen. Acknowledge that you’re in one…you’ve been in it for a while….and then….
4. END DATE. Decide when you want to stop it. Set a date when you are going to end the slump. Change can happen in an instant….the moment you absolutely decide what you are committed to achieving.
5. ACT AS IF… Take the actions that you would take if you were on top of your game.
FULL TRANSCRIPT
I’m in a funk. And he says, “I know that I should be doing better but it’s just like, nothing seems to be working and so it’s discouraged me and I’m down. How do I get out of this slump?”
Hi there, it’s Kevin Ward, the founder of YesMasters Real Estate Success Training. Helping you to get more yeses and more successes in your business and in your life. And today, let’s talk about how to get out of a slump. It happens to professional baseball players all the time.
You got a batter, he’s going through the season. He’s crushing it, he’s hitting, he’s batting 300. Everything is going good and all of a sudden, bam, he can’t get a hit to save his life. He may go from batting 300, which means, three out of every 10 times, he gets on base. Or he goes 17 times in a row up to bat and he doesn’t get a single hit.
And those slumps can last for days, they can last for weeks. And sometimes, they can even last for months. And the same thing can happen in your business. And I just got a question from a coaching member that recently that really made me start thinking about this.
Because he defined his slump, as he said, “I’m in a funk.” I’m in a funk. And he says, “I know that I should be doing better but it’s just like, nothing seems to be working and so it’s discouraged me and I’m down. How do I get out of this slump?” How do I get out of the slump and I’m like, okay, that’s a great question.
Because we all go through it. How do we get out of the slump, whether it’s in real estate as a real estate agent or anything. And so today, I want to talk about the five steps that you can take today to break out of that slump in one day.
So there’s not a slow process, this is a fast process. The way you get out of a slump is get out of it today. All right, so let’s talk about those five steps.
#1 Own the Slump
If you want to jump out of a slump is number one is to own the slump. You got to own it. You got to accept responsibility for where you are today, I am in this slump because of my performance. I’m in this slump because of me. As long as you’re trying to find something else to justify it or blame it, say, “Well, it’s because of the market or it’s because of the prospects or it’s because of something else that happened.” As long as you’re trying to identify a cause outside of yourself, you are powerless to get out of the slump.
So you have to own the slump and say okay, it’s here, it’s me, it’s inside of me. And most of the time, my friend, it’s mental. Most slumps happen … I would say 95% or more of all slumps in any space, whether it’s a sports, or business, or whatever, is it is a mental slump.
Because think about it. You take a baseball player that is on top of his game, he’s getting hits after hits, and then all of a sudden, it’s just like a switch got flipped. Then he can’t get a hit to save his life. It happens in football, basketball, baseball, it happens in sports all the time.
Well, what changed? Did he lose his talent? Did he go from being coordinated and high athletic ability to being a klutz and have no hand eye coordination? Did somebody break both of his arms? I mean what caused this slump? It wasn’t that his skill level changed, it wasn’t that his talent changed. It wasn’t any of that. It was something else and so when you get right down to it, it’s not something physical most of the time.
It’s here. It’s mental. So when you own it and go like, okay, I am in a slump, I’m in a funk. Well, you got to own it that you can solve it. When you own it, you go like, okay, it was me that took me to funkytown. That’s why I’m in the funk, how do I get out of it is now something I can address because I own that I’m in the slump because of me.
Number Two: It’s On Me to Fix It
So number two then is I got to figure out, it’s on me to fix it, I own it. So what is it that caused me to get into the slump. Something had to happen and it may have been just one bad at bat that made me have self-doubt. What is it that caused it to happen?
Look for causes, not excuses. bring it to you, not to somebody else or something outside of yourself because if it’s something outside of yourself, you can’t fix it. Was it a bad experience that caused me to then have self-doubt and that self-doubt then turned into this downward tumble eventually pulling us down.
What caused it? It may have been a failure, it may have been a fear that raised its ugly head. It may have been a bad experience, I got discouraged, I got disappointed, I got distracted. Something happened and that’s when it happened.
Number Three: How Long Have I Been In The Slump
Now, the third thing is, is I want to know how long have I been in the slump. When did this start? How long has it been going on because if I can figure out how long then you can acknowledge that you’ve been in a slump for a while. And it’s okay. See, slumps happen, acknowledge it, I’m in one. I’ve been in it for awhile. And then I can do something about it. And then you just accept reality and understand slumps happen, slumps are okay.
The moment you figure out how long it is, then you can ask,
How long do I want it to last? When do I want the slump to end? When am I gonna stop it? And you decide right now, today, if you’re on a slump right now, you decide when do I want this to end.
Then you can say, “Well, I want it to end right now.” Okay. There’s a difference between saying, I want it to end right now and saying, I am ending it today. Decide when you’re gonna stop the slump. Because you have the power to break out of it. We’ve already talked about that it is a mental thing. It’s something that happened. If you are used to taking three listings a week and all of a sudden, you haven’t had a listing in a month, it’s not because all of a sudden sellers quit selling, it’s not that all of a sudden, you went from being experienced and confident to not experienced. And you may have lost your confidence but that’s here.
Number Four: Set a Date to End the Slump
So you can decide, when do I want to get my confidence back. How about today? How about tomorrow? How about Monday? It doesn’t matter and it doesn’t have to be right now. You may go like, okay, I’m mentally here, I think I need a day to get out of this so my slump is ending today. Tomorrow, I’m out of the slump. And you set the date. Okay, set the date, set the time. The moment.
Here’s the reality, getting out of a slump can happen like that. Now is it always going to happen like that? Maybe, maybe not. But there’s no value in saying, “Okay, I’m gonna come slowly out of this slump.” So the strategy has to be, you break out of a slump. All of a sudden, bam, everything’s back on track. How do you do that?
You commit, because change can happen in your performance in an instant, the moment you absolutely decide what you are committed to making happen. I will make this happen, period, I’m out of the slump. Starting today, starting tomorrow, you set the date. And then boom, get on with it.
#5 Take action
And then the final step is, once you set the end date, and you go into it, then you have to take the action. Act as if you are on top of your game. I want you to take the actions that you would take if you were in the zone. If you were on a hot streak. If you were just on a tear and everything you touched was turning to gold.
Everything’s working at 100%, that’s how I want you to think and that’s how I want you to act. You just take it and you go like, okay, what did I do when I was on top of my game? How was I feeling when I was on top of my game? What was I saying to myself when I was on top of my game? And that’s the actions you take. You start saying, thinking the thought.
And if you have a thought that sneaks in that goes like, you’re really in a slump. Bam, get rid of that thought, no. I am on top of my game, I am the best. I am unstoppable. Get those feelings, those thoughts, those words that you say to yourself, the way you move your body. The way you act during the day, the way your dress. Don’t go, oh, I don’t feel like getting dressed today.
Well, get dressed, get cleaned up. Act as if you were on top of your game. Because the moment that you start performing, the moment that you start acting as if you are on top of your game, the moment you start acting like you’re not into a slump, and immediately, your mind follows your action. Your mind and emotions will follow your behavior.
And it’s in that instant that breakthroughs happen. Commit, get started, take action, and do not stop. Okay, motion creates emotion. So when your motions are taking the motions of success, then your emotions are going to follow that. You take the motions of confidence, then the emotion of confidence is going to follow.
How do you get out of a slump? Well, don’t let the slippery slide of the slump take you to funkytown and keep you stuck in a funk. You can get out of it today. But you decide. Follow the steps right here. If you have questions or comments, I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve done some things that are really cool that helped you break out of a slump.
Make sure you post those in the comments below, let’s continue that conversation on. If this video has helped you, give it a thumbs up. Make sure you subscribe to the channel if you haven’t done that. Anyways, and let me know below what questions you have, ideas, what’s worked for you, and we’ll continue that conversation there. And I’ll see you on the next video.