I lost my mojo (and 7 ways I’m getting it back)
I’ve lost my health mojo.
There, I’ve said it. The very thing a ‘fitpro’ isn’t supposed to say.
I mean we’re supposed to be perfect aren’t we?
Eating macroperfect meals out of Tupperware, gyming everyday, wearing blue light blocking glasses, swigging gallons of water & posting belfies 🙄
But we fuck up too.
We’re not immune to life stresses.
And the past couple of years have been full of those for me:
- I’ve relocated back to the UK from Ibiza
- I’ve moved to Hereford
- I’ve moved to Nottingham
- I’ve moved back to Hereford
- I’ve moved to Brighton, away from my family & on my own at the start of the first lockdown
- I’ve moved to Bournemouth, then moved house IN Bournemouth 2 weeks later.
🤯🤯🤯
During all that there’s been a pandemic and the world has changed.
Don’t get me wrong, a lot of good shit has happened during this time too.
My business has grown exponentially, which I’m incredibly grateful for, but brings its own set of stresses and time demands.
I met my partner who thankfully is ridiculously patient, because it’s the first relationship I’ve been in for 10 years & lets just say it’s been a hell of an adjustment 🤣
And while I’m not complaining (about the business growth & boyfriend anyway), this constant state of change-adjust-change-meltdown-adjust has taken it’s toll on my mental resilience.
Not only that but feeling like a human pinball doesn’t leave a lot of room for consistency.
Right now I need to feel like I can DO, ACHIEVE & COMPLETE things!
Maybe you feel the same?
If you do, read on, cos now that I’m settled in my lovely new home, with my lovely new(ish) boyfriend, it’s time to sort shit out!
I’m gonna share my 7 top tips (and plan of action) with you, in the hopes that your mojo comes back for good too.
- Don’t put pressure on yourself
I suffer big time from overwhelm (surprise surprise I haven’t been journaling to resolve that), and the pressure that I was putting on myself to be a perfect ‘fitpro’, to be a good example to my clients, and to not be a fucking hypocrite was crippling.
I thought I should be able to maintain all my healthy habits while figuring out who/where I was in the world and I felt like a big fat fucking failure for not being able to ‘live my best life’ 🙄 while doing it.
IF you take action, shit will happen.
Don’t put pressure on with a time-restricted goal – you don’t have to be a size 10 for the Christmas party, or a 6 figure business owner this time next year.
Just do shit & it’ll happen.
2. ADD stuff in
This might sound counterintuitive when the ‘self-care’ brigade is telling you to slow down and do less. But, as I tell my clients when we’re talking about their nutrition, add more of the good shit in!
When you can’t see the wood for the trees it can be a ballache to try to prioritise & figure out what you should/shouldn’t do.
Instead start doing MORE of what has an impact.
Add an extra walk in your day, pile your plate with more veggies, go to bed an hour earlier, drink an extra litre of water.
3. ENJOY shit
A big part of me losing my mojo was forcing myself to do exercise I didn’t really enjoy.
I had no continuity, geographically or otherwise, so I joined a super cheap gym & tried an old weights programme that I didn’t particularly enjoy the first time round.
What was I thinking? 🤦🏼♀️
I just felt I ought to be exercising, & that seemed like the easy option.
Except it wasn’t. It became a chore, I procrastinated & avoided it.
Do stuff because you enjoy it, not because you think you should. If salads and smoothies aren’t your bag, find some delicious recipes that you can tweak to fit your goals.
No need to make yourself miserable.
4. Make shit easy
With most of my possessions in boxes for a large part of the past 2 years, designing my environment for success hasn’t been easy!
Now that I’m settled I will be making all the nutrient dense food in the kitchen easily accessible, and tucking all the stuff I only want to eat occasionally out of sight – which for me, being a little short arse, is a very high shelf 🤣
I’ll also be meal planning on a Sunday and doing an online shop so I don’t see all the Christmas fucking shit that’s already in the supermarket.🤯
Finally, little things like leaving my supplements next to the kettle so I remember to take them, and filling my water bottle every night ready for the next day.
5. DO ONE THING.
Something. Fucking anything.
Moping is easy when your mojo has left the building.
I’m lucky (😳) enough to add perfectionism into this mix which has meant dragging my heels and not starting things because what’s the point?
What difference will one imperfect action make?
It turns out, when I stopped being a little dickhead, pulled my positive pants on & just committed to ONE THING each day, it made a big difference.
But Dale Carnegie says it much better than me..
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” ~ Dale Carnegie
OK Dale, get busy 😏, gotcha.
6. KNOW YOUR PURPOSE
So much of my mental energy over the past 18 months has been taken up on the ‘basics’ like where to live or how to make sure my business survives the pandemic (without fucking pivoting) that I’d forgotten my ‘why’, ‘purpose’ or whatever you want to call it.
I started my business because I experienced firsthand the effect physical health had over my whole life – mental and emotional health, my relationships, self esteem, my working life and even my social life.
I wanted to help other people like me, who are a little bit ‘different’, to define their own version of success, get healthy enough to achieve it, and stay healthy enough to enjoy it.
Just typing that gets my mojo fired back up! I clearly need to make an inspirational poster for my new office 🤣
If you bob along in life doing random shit you’ll never feel fulfilled – find your purpose, your reason for getting up in the morning, and get excited again.
7. CHALLENGE YOURSELF
Loitering around trying to sort my shit out has definitely been challenging, and I guess on reflection it’s made me ‘grow as a person’ 🤢
But on the whole it’s been a fraught experience, and I’ve had to be incredibly reactive, rather than proactive, so I need to plan a more positive experience.
To get my mojo flowing again, I’ve set myself a pretty big challenge – I’m still in the planning stages at the moment, but I promise you you’ll be the first to know as I’m gonna be blogging about it all year next year!
I’ve also got a couple more exciting projects/ challenges to keep me busy.
There’s the new Food Ninja Dojo which will be up and running by March (you can find out about that here).
Our new home will obviously need to be decorated & made fabulous (little potato-headed boyfriend is looking forward to that), and I also need to make myself at home in a new town.
So I’ve decided to get out & about & try loads of new fitness/health stuff in Bournemouth, which I’ll also be blogging about.
Know about any interesting stuff I should do in Bournemouth? Contact me here.
Setting yourself an exciting challenge or new project can get those creative/physical/mental juices flowing once again.
It can connect you with new people, places and experiences and build your mental resilience.
So that’s it, my top 7 tips for regaining your special sauce 😉
What did you think? Do you have any to add? Comment below & let me know.
Here’s to feeling healthy, happy, at home and connected to my mojo once more in the near future. 😘
