In a world of social media highlights everywhere, we tend to only want to show the world our best side through a filter. I do it, and you probably do too.
We post pics of walks in the parks, but not the piles of laundry on the bed.
Some days are better than others and then there are weeks, even months, of The Funk.
A couple of months ago I did something amazing. I ran a marathon. Look, I’m a 37-year-old mom of two and I have never been athletic. Very few believed that I would be able to complete a marathon, and let me tell you a secret…I wasn’t one of them. I doubted myself every step of the way. Pun intended. Yet, I put in the work and ran the long miles and longer miles. I posted my progress to keep me accountable and because I was proud of myself for completing every mile. I posted when I got sick on the runs and had to go back home. I posted when I couldn’t gather the energy to make the runs because my body was simply exhausted. And every time I posted, someone liked, loved or commented. People started to believe in me. They gave me encouragement and helped me to believe a little bit more in myself.
And then I ran the marathon. The feeling of accomplishment was something that I had never experienced and there was such an outflowing of joy, support, and pride.
Afterward, I decided to take a couple of weeks off from training since my daughter’s birthday and Christmas were happening. I stopped eating my normal food. Treats, sweets, and junk were (are) my new go to. I mean, I ran a marathon, I deserve to indulge for a while, right? Now, I don’t have an immediate fitness goal so I’ve been slacking in my workouts. Honestly, I’m slacking in almost every part of my life.
I’m not in a spiral to a black hole of despair, but I am definitely in the grey hole of The Funk. My motivation is gone, my body doesn’t want to work that hard, and I’m not receiving constant support on my new endeavors. I have goals, but I just don’t have the will to finish them. No makeup and sweats are my new normal.
Some people call this the Post-Marathon Blues but I think its deeper than that. It can happen to anyone who has worked hard to reach a goal to now say “Now what?”
But I have made a plan and walking through The Funk is part of the journey. I know that there will be victory on the other side because I’ve been walking this road for thirty-seven years and I realize that there will always be ups and downs in life. Joy and pain, sunny and grey. Life is balance and I won’t be able to enjoy all of the good if I haven’t been through some struggles.
I have to realize that my knowledge is more important than my feelings. Feelings are good and help me navigate life. But even though I don’t feel like drinking water, I know that it is good for me. Here are some other things I know:
- I don’t feel like writing a chapter a week in my book sometimes, but I know that I need to in order to stay on plan.
- I don’t want to wake up at 4:30 to work out, but I know that physical activity makes my body happy.
- I don’t want to walk through The Funk, but I know that there is joy on the other side.
My plan to get through The Funk
- Scheduling everything on my calendar so that I can be prepared every day. This helps with my anxiety levels.
- Listening to uplifting or joyful music keeps my emotions on the happy side.
- Staying in my tribe. My first response is to be an introvert, but we are #bettertogether so I make myself stay in my community.
- Writing a list for my daily tasks. I feel accomplished when my lists are complete.
- Organizing anything that makes me feel messy, like my purse, helps keep my brain smiling.
- Helping my kids reach their goals. My eleven-year-old daughter’s goal is to run six 5k’s this year and training with her brings me such joy.
I will remember the joy and walk through The Funk with my head high knowing that there will be brighter days ahead.
