{"id":1336,"date":"2014-10-30T10:23:57","date_gmt":"2014-10-30T10:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/?p=1336"},"modified":"2014-11-01T14:23:46","modified_gmt":"2014-11-01T14:23:46","slug":"how-to-get-your-spark-back-when-things-get-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/2014\/10\/how-to-get-your-spark-back-when-things-get-hard.html","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Your Spark Back When Things Get Hard"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"get<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.\u201d – Marcus Aurelius <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You used to have passion, a certain joie de vivre<\/em> \u2013 a genuine, enjoyment of life.<\/p>\n

You also used to dream; creating wonderful plans for you and for the people around you who matter.<\/p>\n

Used to<\/em>. Past tense. <\/p>\n

Life took a twist. A gnarly one. Unpleasant things have happened and it had sucked you out of your energy. You began to worry more, became less passionate about things in life which used to get you all excited. You feel drained, tired, exhausted. You take fewer chances and became more timid, almost shying away from any of the challenges and delight. <\/p>\n

You have lost your spark and now you want to get it back and get rid of the heavy, uninspired feeling that seem to always hover on your shoulders. <\/p>\n

You want to get your enthusiasm back, feel the magic of life and the passion for living once more. <\/p>\n

You want to feel ALIVE!<\/strong><\/p>\n

And by recognizing all these, you are taking a positive step towards unravelling from the greyness and gloom, which, pulls you down. <\/p>\n

So how do you bring back that spontaneity into your life? How do you rouse yourself from a zombie-like existence?<\/p>\n

Some of the steps you can do now\u2026<\/p>\n

Journal your dreams and aspirations.<\/strong>
\nUse this effective tool to capture your hopes about the future. Then figure out how to make it come true. You don\u2019t have to limit yourself to realistic goals; you can also write down where your imagination takes you even if it sounds silly. <\/p>\n

Be less critical of yourself and of others<\/strong>
\nThis also means having a more relaxed and playful attitude at home and at the workplace. Be open-minded. This doesn\u2019t mean lowering your standards. It just means being less harsh on how you judge yourself (as well as others). It\u2019s okay to make mistakes, learn from it and move on.<\/p>\n

Engage your focus in learning something new<\/strong>
\nDo something creative. Pick a hobby. Pull out a pen and paper and draw a Zentangle or doodle then have this framed. You may be no Picasso but who knows, you may yet to discover the artist in you!<\/p>\n

Most of all \u2013
\nBe curious and be persistent about your curiosity. Make this an integral part of your adult self. <\/p>\n

Image Source:<\/strong> Google Images<\/p>\n

About Alex Blackwell<\/a><\/strong>
\nAlex Blackwell is a father, husband and writer<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.\u201d – Marcus Aurelius You used to have passion, a certain joie de vivre \u2013 a genuine, enjoyment of life. You also used to dream; creating wonderful plans for you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":554,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Get Your Spark Back When Things Get Hard - Everyday Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Get Your Spark Back When Things Get Hard - Everyday Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cWhen you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.\u201d – Marcus Aurelius You used to have passion, a certain joie de vivre \u2013 a genuine, enjoyment of life. 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