There’s a saying in sport that you’re never really in a slump, but that you’re never really out of one, either. The basic idea is that, if you stretch your recording window forward, or back, far enough, the numbers average out.
I’ve been in a bit of a slump the last few days. Listless, bored, kind of spinning my wheels and not really accomplishing anything. I took a hit last week, a couple of poor nights’ sleep, which left me battling the depression, but as I felt the downward spiral begin, I created a pattern interrupt to deflect myself out.
It worked, to a degree, because the spiral stopped. I didn’t tip over into the pit of despair.
On the other hand, while the downward spiral stopped, I don’t feel as if I’m moving up. I feel caught in-between, not going down, but not improving. Kind of like a sportster having a mediocre patch in his season.
The good news is that, by focusing on my routines I’m getting my baseline stuff done. Applying the small disciplines to create the habits of success has kept me moving forward, if not up.
For me, that’s key.
Upward movement is important, yes, but preventing downward movement is more important. I can live with being stuck in the doldrums for a few days, but I quite literally could die if the spiral takes hold.
So I focus on the small disciplines and habits. I’ll worry about the 1% improvements another day.
Because, if I can keep the depression at bay, even if I’m stuck in the in-between, at least I know there will be another day.
